Randy Orton recently appeared as a guest on WWE’s The Bump for an in-depth one-on-one sit-down interview covering all things pro wrestling.
During the discussion, “The Apex Predator” reflected on CM Punk’s departure from WWE back in 2014 and how his own return after a lengthy hiatus came on the same night as Punk’s long-awaited return at Survivor Series 2023.
Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview where he touches on these topics with his thoughts.
On how it was cool that they both showed up on the same night and thinks things were handled in a way that nobody stepped on anyone else’s toes: “Dude, it was so cool. I was so nervous, and funny little side story to that day. So for a month prior, there was all these rumors online that I was coming back, but there was also rumors like that CM Punk was coming back. Instead of it being a surprise that it was me, instead of Punk, they let everyone know the week prior [that] Randy Orton’s gonna be the one joining Cody’s team in WarGames. Kind of let the wind out of my sails a little bit because I’d been gone for a year and a half, there’s all this anticipation, people have been expecting me to return for the past six months because I’d been out so long. I can tell that I’ve matured a lot because a part of me wanted to be irate, right, like this was taken from me, this reaction from the crowd that I’d been looking forward to for 18 months. But after all was said and done, I came out, got a great reaction. Punk came out, got a great reaction, and I realized after the fact that nobody stepped on anyone’s toes. It was really just a really fun night for the fans. They got Randy Orton back, and they were very happy about that. They weren’t even thinking about Punk. Then here comes Punk. So that reaction was just, they were two different reactions, two different people. Everybody was excited to see us both. Personally, on a personal level, I was happy to have him back. He’s a hell of a worker, hell of a guy. But it was funny because here I am after 18 months, ready to go, and then, ‘Oh, no, we’re gonna announce your return.’ Then he comes back anyway. Like, ‘Ah.’ But that’s kind of how it goes here, you never know.”
On CM Punk’s departure back in 2014, and how he’s happy that he’s back with the company and in good spirits: “I haven’t been around him for a decade. I remember back in the day, of course, before he left. He had a little bit of a, I guess a dark cloud over him in the locker room, but so did I. So did I. So I can’t really judge, can I? We both had our shit that we were going through, and for whatever reason, and I think now, he’s changed. He’s matured. He’s more mature. I think us pro wrestlers are never really mature, but he’s more mature than he was, as am I. I think that when I saw him in Chicago, shook his hand, gave him a little hug, and it was nothing but sincere. We were both happy to see each other, and I want him to do great here. I think the feeling is mutual.”
Check out the complete interview via the YouTube player embedded below. H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.
