Randy Orton has recalled the iconic RKO he hit on Evan Bourne as Bourne flew through the air attempting a shooting star press.
The magic moment happened on an episode of Raw in July 2010. Bourne attacked Orton in the ring before making his way to the top rope to hit his ‘Air Bourne’ shooting star press. As Bourne flew through the air, the coiled Viper was waiting to shock him with a patented RKO out of nowhere.
The moment has gone down in wrestling folklore and is often mentioned as the best RKO that Orton has ever hit. Speaking to Stone Cold Steve Austin on The Broken Skull Sessions on the WWE Network, Orton discussed hitting the iconic move.
Orton stated:
“Evan Bourne cut the shooting star [press]. That dude could land just anywhere, hit his mark. The hard thing for me was, being able to get up to my feet and then hit it. We figured out, I just had to lay down and wait for it. If you watch a different camera angle, I wasn’t but two feet off the ground – I’m just laying down.”
“It was all him and everyone was like ‘oooooh that was the best ever’. But isn’t that how it goes? We knew it was gonna be cool if we hit it. But I remember they shot it real tight, we did it, live television, and there you go.“
Evan Bourne now competes as Matt Sydal in All Elite Wrestling. Sydal debuted for the company at All Out in 2020. As part of the Casino Battle Royal, Sydal was the last man to enter. In a scary moment, Sydal scaled the ropes to attempt a shooting star press but slipped and landed on his head. Thankfully no injury occurred and Sydal finished the match. Sydal has most recently formed a tag team with his brother Mike.
Randy Orton discussed many topics from his career with WWE Hall Of Famer Steve Austin. Orton revealed that until his high school days, the Legend Killer had no interest in professional wrestling, despite his father being a star of the eighties.
Credit: The Broken Skull Sessions
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