During his six-year stint with WWE, Riddle managed to win multiple championships and compete in several pay-per-view main events, but arguably his best work came alongside Randy Orton when both stars formed RK-Bro. Although Riddle and Orton would become friends both on and off screen, the former United States Champion revealed in an interview with"Rewind Recap Relive" that his relationship with "The Viper" got off to a rocky start.
"I first made my debut on the main roster, I was in the locker room ... Randy came in, he was talking to a lot of people but I didn't want to get up and interrupt his conversations ... I guess learned later that he found that very disrespectful and wanted to get me fired for that.
Despite failing to initially earn Orton's respect, Riddle explained that his relationship with him began to trend upwards during his infamous scooter promo with Asuka, when he accidentally forgot his lines on live television. However, Riddle improvised the segment so well, that he impressed both Orton and former WWE CEO Vince McMahon.
"Randy's like 'Hey Riddle, I don't know if that promo was planned but that was your best effing work yet kid keep it up' ... then of course Vince loved it, he's like 'Your character, that was better than what was written' and I was like 'Oh awesome.'" Riddle then explained that Orton and himself truly became friends after they wrestled for the first time in 2021. "After we wrestled, he went right in the back, he was like, 'I want to work with this guy. I want to work with this guy as much as I possibly can. He's good."' Lastly, Riddle commented on being allowed to use the RKO, explaining Orton found it "insulting" until they started to discover creative ways to perform the move together.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Rewind Recap Relive" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
