Randy Orton Reveals Who Came Up With The RKO In WWE
His previous finishing move was called 'The Overdrive'
Mar 22, 2021
Randy Orton has revealed that John Laurinaitis taught him how to do the RKO in WWE.
The RKO has become Orton's go-to finishing move over the last 18 years in WWE, with the movement transcending professional wrestling and hitting mainstream media. Fans reference the move in memes on social media due to the sudden nature of the impact.
One of the most instant finishing moves in WWE, Orton has revealed it was the former Johnny Ace who taught him the move, who used to utilise a variation called the Ace Crusher.
Speaking on Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions, Orton said: "As far as the move goes, of course there was the Diamond Cutter, and of course there was the Ace Crusher. So, Laurinaitis and me, Laurinaitis had my back.
"I was trying this move off the shoulder, I believe it was called the Overdrive. It was hurting my shoulder a little bit, which had already been fixed up, and then Laurinaitis said, ‘hey man do the Ace Crusher.’ I said, ‘Okay'.
"Change it up a little bit. Holy sh*t — Thank you Johnny because now I got this thing I can hit anybody with from anywhere. There’s no setup, no nothing. Just BOOM — and it just happens."
The 14-time WWE and World Heavyweight Champion would name his finisher on the fly when Vince McMahon asked him about it during a passing moment in the hallway.
He added: “As far as the RKO, the first night I was doing it on TV it might have been against Hurricane Helms, Shane Helms. Vince is walking in the hallway, we needed a name for this thing, you know my name Randy Keith Orton, like my initials I came up with like ‘RKO, TKO, KO, KO, KO, KO, KO. Vince, what do you think?’
"He just never skipped a beat, kept walking, never changed his stride and he said ‘I like it!’ That was it. The next thing you know it’s ‘RKO, RKO.'”
