Matt Hardy never had any issues being in the ring with The Apex Predator.
The wrestling world is eagerly anticipating the return of Randy Orton, who has been away from WWE for over a year. Many are expecting the major return to take place at Survivor Series, with Orton balancing out the WarGames teams now that Drew McIntyre has aligned himself with The Judgment Day.
Hardy and Orton would cross paths on multiple occasions, with the AEW star frequently facing off against Orton as he developed from Legend Killer To The Viper. Discussing the probable return of Orton on the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy revealed how smooth Orton was in the ring and how easy their many matches together were:
I mean, I’d be extremely happy for him. Big Randy Orton fan, big Randy Orton supporter right now, I think since day one, even before, you know, people really grew to appreciate how great Randy was. I think from day one he’s always been great. And he’s always been great in the ring, the way he takes his time, the way he calculates every single moment, every single time he does he’s very, very smart. Very crisp with that.
I love working with Randy always a blast working with him. It feels like a night off. He’s just one of those guys that I gel with so well. So yeah, super happy that he’s healthy, super happy. He’s coming back. And I think he’s going to be a huge, huge boost for WWE and a huge contributor going forward.
Although Hardy has a great deal of respect for Orton behind the scenes, their onscreen WWE relationship was the complete opposite. During Orton’s rivalry with Edge in 2020, Hardy would attempt to intervene and talk sense into The Apex Predator. Hardy would confront Orton on the February 17th edition of Raw and would be the victim of a brutal Orton assault. This would be Hardy’s final WWE appearance before departing for AEW.
Matt Hardy Praises Fellow Veteran
Having worked with the top stars of multiple eras of wrestling, Hardy is very aware of what the legends have done for promotions around the world. When discussing the impact of another legend of wrestling, Matt Hardy referred to them as “The Hulk Hogan of AEW.”
If you use any quotes from this article please credit The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy and leave a h/t to Inside The Ropes.