"I was an a**hole" - Randy Orton reflects on his early years as a WWE Superstar

Randy Orton opened up about his early years as a WWE Superstar and claimed he was challenging to deal with.

The veteran returned to the promotion on November 25 at Survivor Series at the Allstate Arena in Chicago. At the premium live event, he helped Cody Rhodes' team defeat The Judgment Day in the Men's WarGames match. This past Friday night on SmackDown, Randy Orton officially signed with SmackDown to ensure he can get revenge on The Bloodline for their brutal attack on him last year.

Speaking on the Impaulsive podcast with Logan Paul, Randy Orton discussed his attitude early in his career. He noted that it was a phase that he grew out of, but he he still gets bothered when he sees old clips of himself and how he used to act around fans:

"That was like my armor. I was an a**hole I think, because I wanted people to respect me, maybe? I don't know. I just know that I grew out of that phase, and I thank God that I did. But I see footage that I didn't know the camera was rolling at that autograph signing and there is an interaction with a fan, and it is picked up. And now, they are doing this documentary on A&E that they are just kind of finishing up, and I'm seeing some of this footage from 10-15 years ago, and I'm like 'Oh my God, that is horrible.' But that is just kind of who I was," he said. [From 48:45 - 49:27]

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WWE star Randy Orton reveals his bad attitude was a shield

Randy Orton has come a long way as both a superstar and as a person throughout his incredible career in WWE.

During his conversation on the Impaulsive podcast, Randy Orton disclosed that his bad attitude wasn't from a place of confidence when he was younger. The veteran admitted that it was coming from a place of fear, and he wanted his peers to respect him:

"It wasn't coming from a place of confidence, I think it was coming from a place, it was my armor, man. I was an a**hole, and maybe I would get respect that way. Maybe it was a little bit of fear, and I took it as respect, either way I was fine with it. Luckily, I was given a 2nd, 3rd, 4th chance from Vince McMahon coming up when I would get in trouble. Or I would have to get sent away for a couple of months, or have to get fined for a 2nd or 3rd time. I am so blessed. I just had the right guys in there to kind of yank my a** straight and make sure I was walking a straight line with the times that I did veer off," he said. [From 49:29 - 50:11]

Randy Orton will now shift his focus to getting revenge on The Bloodline on WWE SmackDown. It will be fascinating to see how the storyline between The Legend Killer and the heel faction plays out moving forward on the blue brand.

Are you excited to have Randy Orton back on WWE television? Sound off in the comments section below.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Impaulsive and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.