Randy Orton Discusses When He Plans To Retire From The Ring

During the most recent Kurt Angle Show, Randy Orton discussed when he plans to retire from the ring, learning from Ric Flair and more.

Randy Orton on when he could retire from the ring:

“A lot of guys, I see them branching off and doing other things or making sure they have something lined up for when they can’t wrestle anymore. I don’t know if this is showing my cards or not, but I kid of see myself being with WWE for life. I don’t know why I would go anywhere else. Who knows what the future holds, but although I love movies and auditions – I don’t think acting is my passion. I’m not trying to move to Hollywood or New York and be a full-time actor. The way Batista and Cena did it is they used WWE as a jumping board to go into Hollywood and all that stuff. But I think I’m happy with my place in the WWE right now. The money’s good, the talent’s good, the locker room’s great, and I have a good relationship with all the people that are in charge. I don’t see why I would change that. I only see all of those different variables getting better over the coming years.

“So, at 41, if I’m on a contract where I’m able to wrestle a handful of years in my late 40s and possibly even as a 50-year-old man, I would love to do it. My big thing, and my wife Kim has promised me – if she looks at me and thinks I’m becoming a parody of myself or if I’m unable to do the things the fans need to physically see me do to believe, she’s gonna let me know it’s time to hang up the boots. Until then, I’m just gonna enjoy what I do because I have five wonderful children, I’ve got a beautiful home, a beautiful wife, and life is really good. Although being the next Marvel superhero would be really awesome, the work that would go into that and the amount of time I would have to take away from WWE, I don’t know there’s a price tag that would make it worth it for me to step away from what I love for so much and for so long. That, first and foremost, being my wife and family. But also, WWE. I like showing up each week.”

On learning from Ric Flair:

“I saw Ric Flair and we actually rode from the hotel together. I asked him if he was doing something on the show, and he goes, ‘Oh no. Hell, Randy, I love coming around and seeing the guys and seeing you talk and put your stuff together. I love talking to some guys.’ He said the comradery and that he loves this business and being around it. If Charlotte wasn’t there, he would’ve been there anyway. I like that attitude. I like that he looks at this industry and can say that it’s made me happy and gave me so much and made so many other people happy because of what he did in the ring. I want to feel like that too. I feel like he’s happy and content. Made many mistakes, but also, made many positive situations and positive moments for fans millions of times over. I’d love to be in his shoes one day and be happy with my body of work and just kind of sit back and be grandpa and watch the grandkids play. That’s all I need to be.”