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A major WWE Superstar had to be pulled from WrestleMania 41 due to a serious injury. Randy Orton recently broke character to address the situation, revealing that he had conversations with that superstar.
After turning heel at Bad Blood 2024, Kevin Owens took out Randy Orton with a devastating Piledriver in November last year. After remaining on the shelf for several months, The Viper returned to get his revenge on The Prizefighter at Elimination Chamber: Toronto last month. The former tag-team partners were booked for a grudge match at WrestleMania 41. However, it was later canceled after Owens revealed he had to undergo neck surgery and that he would be out of action indefinitely.
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In a recent interview with Denise Salcedo on Instinct Culture ahead of WrestleMania 41, Orton broke character to address his on-screen rival's injury. He disclosed that they were friends in real life, and he had talked with the former Universal Champion during this tough period in KO's life.
"So, Owens and I are buddies outside the ring. And I really respect him as not only a wrestler but, like, a husband and a father. And I know what it's like to go through an injury like that. And so, I've actually had a couple of conversations with him about what to expect and the mental, you know. It's tough. It's tough to be home, be hurt, and not be able to do what you love to do. As much as some people might think that it would be awesome to be home for a long time, you know, paid vacation type of stuff, just this is in our blood. And until we're told we can't do it anymore, we wanna do it," he said.
Did you know a top WWE Superstar just wrestled outside the company? More details HERE
The former WWE Champion was confident that Owens would eventually return, enabling them to finish their storyline.
"So, I know he's got that feeling. And, you know, I'll be thinking about him during this time. But I know he'll come back, and we'll get to finish what we started." [0:21-1:02]
Randy Orton issued an open challenge for WWE WrestleMania 41
With Kevin Owens out of action, Randy Orton demanded SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis find another opponent for him. The Viper asserted that he could not miss this year's Show of Shows.
After RKOing Aldis on WWE SmackDown a few weeks ago, Orton threatened to do it again if the on-screen authority figure failed to find an opponent for him. The Apex Predator eventually issued an open challenge last night, pointing out that he would head to the ring on Sunday in his wrestling gear, ready for anyone in the WWE locker room or from the outside world to step up and face him.
It will be interesting to see who steps up to be The Viper's opponent this Sunday at The Showcase of The Immortals.
Please credit Instinct Culture and give an H/T to Sportskeeda if you use the above transcription.
