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Randy Orton Reveals Why He Pushed To Face Joe Hendry At WrestleMania 41

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Rick Ucchino | Last updated May 7, 2025 3:37 PM ET

Randy Orton defeated Joe Hendry at WrestleMania 41 in what ended up being a very fun, albeit, short bout inside of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The Viper was originally supposed to wrestle Kevin Owens in a match that would have had a much darker tone to it. Just weeks before the show, however, Owens was ruled medically unable to compete due to a severe neck injury that would require him to undergo surgery.

With KO a no-go, the WWE creative team went into scramble mode to find Orton a new opponent. Speaking to Billboard ahead of WWE Backlash this weekend, Randy explained the thought process that went into choosing the reigning TNA World Champion to face him at the 'Showcase of the Immortals.'

"This one was important to me because it was my 20th, and I’m closer to the end of my career than the beginning," Orton said. "Getting these Manias in, and leaving as much of a legacy behind [as possible], is important. It kind of came down to, 'OK. We need to get Orton an opponent. Who’s it gonna be?' And there was a very short list of guys on our own roster, but we had some new guys coming in."

As fans would find out in the days after WrestleMania 41, those 'new guys' included Rusev and Aleister Black. Two former WWE Superstars who were returning to the company after spending the past few years with All Elite Wrestling.

The only issue with choosing either Rusev or Black to face Orton at Mania, was that WWE already had plans in place for Randy to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship at Backlash just three weeks later. Orton had to come out of that weekend with his hand raised.

RUSEV IS BACK!#RawAfterMania pic.twitter.com/8EjfEnJup4
— WWE (@WWE) April 22, 2025

"It couldn’t be one of our new guys, because when we debut a new talent into the show [we couldn’t] have him start with a loss," Orton explained to Billboard. "We put our heads together and it was actually my idea [for it to be] Joe Hendry. I kept pushing for it, and a couple people we’re unsure, but I was able to talk everybody into it. I’m really glad that they went with him. It was perfect. It was different from anything else on the card."

Orton was more than happy to give fans a genuine surprise and to present Joe Hendry with an opportunity for a WrestleMania moment. The reaction from the 60,000 plus fans inside of Allegiant Stadium when Hendry's music hit was an all-timer.

What did Randy get out of facing TNA's top champion? A stress free night.

"I didn’t have this crazy 30 minutes balls-to-the-walls match with all this high-risk s–t. I had this cool little segment with Joe, and we didn’t have to do much to have fun out there. So I was really able to enjoy the week and just soak it all up."