Despite Vince McMahon originally being reluctant to sign Randy Orton in 2001, he will end up spending at least 23-years with WWE by the time his newly signed contract expires.
Orton had been teasing going to AEW recently by posting a photo on Instagram that he tagged Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho in, plus mentioning on a Twitch stream that he thought AEW was cool and he wanted to wrestle Sammy Guevara. That appears to have just been Orton teasing fans, or possibly getting leverage in contract negotiations with WWE.
The below Tweet confirms Orton’s deal.
The 3 most dangerous letters in sports entertainment- #RKO
just re-signed with the 3 most dominant letters in sports entertainment- #WWE
Looking forward to pi$$ing off the #WWEUNIVERSE for at least 5 more years #WWEBACKSTAGE @FS1 @WWE— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) November 6, 2019
Orton originally started in WWE’s developmental system which was part of Ohio Valley Wrestling before going on to become the youngest World Heavyweight Champion at the age of 24. He has since become a 13-time world champion, 2-time tag team champion, the Intercontinental champion, the U.S. champion, two time Royal Rumble winner, and Money In The Bank winner.
