Former WWE Champion believes he deserves credit for Roman Reigns' success

Roman Reigns is one of the biggest WWE Superstars of all time. A former champion recently stated his belief that he also deserves some credit for Reigns' success. The name in question is Randy Orton.

The Apex Predator made his return to WWE at Survivor Series: WarGames following a devastating back injury. The 43-year-old joined forces with Cody Rhodes' team to take on the team of The Judgment Day and Drew McIntyre.

Following the premium live event, Orton confronted the members of The Bloodline on SmackDown. He signed an exclusive contract with the blue brand while expressing his desire to beat The Tribal Chief for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

The 14-time World Champion recently made an appearance on WWE's The Bump. The Viper talked about several things, including his return to the company, The Judgment Day, CM Punk, and more. Orton also talked about Roman Reigns.

Randy Orton talked about how the former member of The Shield has grown over the years. He recalled a segment with Reigns from the past while stating that The Head of The Table hasn't looked back since his match against Orton at Summerslam in 2014:

"I remember cutting a promo with him [Roman Reigns] around 10 years ago in the ring... I am basically telling him everything I have done and how he has done none of that. Now here we are, ten years later, I think he has main-evented WrestleMania like maybe six years in a row, or something like that. That's unheard of. It is almost like after he faced me at SummerSlam in 2014, I was like the good luck rabbit's foot or something," he said.

On being asked if he deserves credit for Roman's success, Orton answered in the affirmative while joking about getting a share from the latter's merchandise sale:

"I think at least half of the credit. At least half of the credit should be mine. Does that mean I get a percentage of his merch sales?"

You can watch the full video below:

Roman Reigns will defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Royal Rumble

The Tribal Chief is scheduled to defend his title in a Fatal Four Way match against Randy Orton, AJ Styles, and LA Knight at Royal Rumble.

The announcement of the match came right after The Bloodline attacked the other three men during their Triple Threat Match to decide Roman Reigns' opponent for the premium live event. The fight ended in no contest, and Nick Aldis made the call to punish the champion for his actions.

Who do you think will win the championship match at Royal Rumble? Sound off in the comments section below.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit WWE's The Bump and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.