Randy Orton has a polarizing reputation in the wrestling industry with both the fan base and the people that have worked with him over the past seventeen years. The signing of Orton at a young age came with an instant push as WWE believed he would be the future of the company. Orton was viewed as a hothead throughout the early portion of his career as he made many enemies by never holding back his thoughts.
There were also quite a few wrestlers that earned his respect and formed a friendship with him. Orton is at the latter chapter of his career as he still is viewed as a top star for WWE after all this time. We will take a look at his history of bonding or clashing with many of his co-workers. These are five wrestlers that Randy Orton loved along with five that he disliked in WWE.
10 Loved: Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho has always been viewed as a true professional in the WWE locker room. There have been few stories of him clashing with co-workers, but one of them featured Jericho going out of his way to show respect for Randy Orton.
Brock Lesnar brutally attacked Orton at the end of their Summerslam match event leading to a gruesome visual. Jericho confronted him for being that reckless with another professional. Orton and Jericho have been friends through the years, and this story further confirmed it.
9 Disliked: Kofi Kingston
One long-time rival of Randy Orton that used to feel his dislike was Kofi Kingston. The most important feud of Kingston’s early career in WWE featured him scoring a couple of wins over Orton. Many fans hoped it would lead to the main event picture, but one moment summed up why his push ended.
Orton was heard yelling the word “stupid” over and over at Kingston after genuinely getting upset over a miscommunication. Following the loss, Kingston fell to the mid-card for many years until his recent rise as WWE Champion. Orton and Kingston have made peace throughout the years and are friendly today.
8 Loved: Rey Mysterio
The long careers of Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio have led to them having quite a few feuds throughout the years. One of the first programs for Mysterio when returning to WWE in 2018 was working against Orton since they have a lot of chemistry together.
Orton expressed happiness at Rey coming back to WWE and has always had kind words to say about the underdog hero. Mysterio had the crowning moment of his wrestling career when defeating Orton and Kurt Angle for the World Championship at WrestleMania 22.
7 Disliked: Amy Weber
Randy Orton developed a negative reputation backstage for bullying some of the female wrestlers to land contracts with the Diva Search. Amy Weber is the one that most felt his wrath when she joined the main roster as part of JBL’s Cabinet faction as a manager.
Orton reportedly bullied her with hazing moments that led to her eventually quitting WWE due to the miserable atmosphere. Weber used the term “dirt bag” to describe Orton and his actions to her among other divas of the time.
6 Loved: Kurt Angle
The friendship between Randy Orton and Kurt Angle is still strong today after many years of working together. Both legends were dealing with their personal issues in the mid-2000s, but they always worked well together to have great matches based on a mutual respect.
Angle and Orton would bond again all these years later when Angle returned to WWE. Their wives often sit together at WWE events and each took part in the WWE Network Table for 3 episode along with Reby Hardy. Orton’s respect for Angle led to a lifelong friendship.
5 Disliked: Bully Ray
The tension between Randy Orton and Bully Ray has been going strong for a long time. Orton developed a dislike for Bully when they worked together in the early 2000s during Orton’s first few years on the main roster. Bully had a reputation for intimidating the new wrestlers.
There was a memorable moment where Orton suffered an injury working with Bully that led to the beef starting. Orton showed the reports were true when ripping apart Bully on social media during a disagreement about dives in wrestling.
4 Loved: Umaga
The late Umaga is one of the most underrated wrestlers to compete for WWE in the 2000s. Incredible matches with John Cena proved that Umaga could hang with the top stars and won the respect of Randy Orton among others backstage.
One story from the time featured Orton getting into a shouting match with Shawn Michaels and Triple H when they were upset over Umaga’s green gear clashing with their DX colors. Orton even posted in honor of Umaga on the 8th anniversary of his passing referencing missing his friend.
3 Disliked: Kelly Kelly
Randy Orton clashed with Kelly Kelly enough to make some distasteful comments about her when they worked together. Kelly had a couple of different relationships during her time in WWE with fellow wrestlers like Test, Justin Gabriel and CM Punk.
Orton put her on blast during a radio interview calling out for being involved with a large percentage of the roster. This was during the early stages of social media that it unpleasant for Kelly to check any of her feeds. Orton’s reputation for being a bit of a jerk was shown here.
2 Loved: Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes may work for and help run the competition of AEW, but he remains a close friend of Randy Orton. Both guys worked closely together when Rhodes was learning from Orton both in script and real life as part of the Legacy faction along with Ted DiBiase Jr.
Orton bonded more with Rhodes than DiBiase and it shows today. Cody goes out of his way to put over Orton and has stated he’s one of the best in the world. Orton also shows praise for Rhodes finding success on his own after the WWE disappointment.
1 Disliked: Brock Lesnar
The aforementioned Summerslam match between Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton is one of the most violent matches in WWE history. Lesnar busted Orton opened with vicious elbows that left the audience uneasy as Orton poured blood in the ring from his forehead.
This was the situation where Chris Jericho confronted Lesnar for his actions in defense of Orton. The unpleasant match led to Orton taking some shots at Lesnar on social media in the following years. Orton clearly does not appear interested in working directly with Brock again given how ugly the first match went.