The rivalry between Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre got intensely physical on last Friday’s SmackDown, culminating in a wild brawl that required WWE officials and security to separate them. The fight, which saw McIntyre land a “Glasgow Kiss” headbutt and Orton hit a draping DDT, spilled onto the stage before security intervened. Even then, Orton managed to hit an RKO on Shane “Hurricane” Helms, who was part of the crew trying to restore order.
Even with Orton locked in such a high-profile feud, at least one WWE Hall of Famer thinks the company isn’t getting enough out of him.
In a new interview with The eScapist, Ric Flair stated his long-held belief that his daughter, Charlotte Flair, is the best wrestler in the world. However, he named Randy Orton as the only competitor he sees on her level.
“The only person who I think is close to Charlotte, when he is on and healthy, when you think about in-ring timing and knowing where you are all the time, is Randy Orton,”
Flair then explained that he feels Orton has become underutilized, suggesting it might be because of The Viper’s outspoken nature.
“Randy’s really underutilized these days. I don’t know why. I think maybe he made somebody mad along the way. Randy’s not afraid to say what he thinks, and that’s not always popular.”
Flair himself has been mostly off television for much of 2025, despite still being under contract with AEW. He has previously stated that this stems from a disagreement with Tony Khan over his involvement in Sting’s retirement match back in March 2024. Back in May, Flair also noted his AEW contract was preventing him from attending events like the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony and WrestleMania 41.
While there was some speculation that Orton and McIntyre would have a singles match at Clash in Paris, the event passed without it being added to the card. Meanwhile, Charlotte Flair is currently one-half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions with Alexa Bliss after the duo defeated Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez at SummerSlam.