"He's a legitimate Hall of Famer" - former WWE champion shares his views on Randy Orton

A former WWE champion recently shared his personal views on Randy Orton, as he praised The Viper for his work over the years. The name in question is Matt Hardy.

The Apex Predator made his much-anticipated return to WWE at Survivor Series: WarGames 2023, as he aligned himself with Cody Rhodes' team to defeat The Judgment Day and Drew McIntyre in the Men's WarGames Match. Orton had been absent from the company since May 2022 due to a back injury.

On the recent edition of Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the former WWE Tag Team Champion talked about Orton's legacy, his feud with Hardy, his WWE return, and more. The 49-year-old hailed the 14-time world champion as a future Hall of Famer. He believed that The Legend Killer will go down in history as one of all-time greats.

“I mean, he without a doubt will go down as one of the greatest of all time. Multiple times champion. He’s had a bunch [world title reigns], so he’s a legit guy. He’s a legitimate Hall of Famer, without a doubt, as they say, a first-ballot WWE Hall of Famer. In the whole lore of pro wrestling, he’s a Hall of Famer, no matter what era you’re talking about. He’s a guy who’s just special, who has sold tickets, who has had people care about him, who has evoked emotion. He is a guy that people give a s**t about. He’s been very consistent," Matt Hardy said. [From 1:04:32 to 1:05:24]

He further stated:

"He might not have the five-star match, he might not have the banger. But he goes out and he produces. He has these great matches, he tells these great stories over and over again. At the end of the day, after you watch a Randy Orton match, you remember how you felt during that match. Especially if there was some hot story connected to it.” [1:05:26 onwards]

You can watch the entire video below:

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Randy Orton hits Nick Aldis with an 'RKO outta nowhere'

Following his blockbuster return at WWE Survivor Series, and an impressive showing against Dominik Mysterio on the following edition of RAW, Randy Orton received an invitation to SmackDown from General Manager Nick Aldis.

As the show was about to end, Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce approached Randy Orton to sign with their respective brands. The Apex Predator chose the blue brand, searching for retribution against The Bloodline. Aldis entered the ring and raised Orton's hand in celebration, only to receive an RKO out of nowhere.

Aldis has been an impressive authority figure to this point. He suspended Kevin Owens a couple of weeks ago for breaking a rule. It will be interesting to see if Orton's actions have some repercussions or not.

Will Nick Aldis punish Randy Orton on SmackDown later tonight? Sound off in the comments section below.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit MATTHARDYBRAND with an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.