Amid growing calls from industry veterans for a more aggressive character direction, Randy Orton has confirmed a future collaboration with streamer IShowSpeed, suggesting his next on-screen angle may involve the mainstream influencer.
The confirmation occurred during the “Speed Goes Pro” event, where IShowSpeed confronted Orton over the RKO he received at WrestleMania 40. After teasing a retaliatory RKO, the streamer ultimately stopped short and embraced the 14-time world champion. IShowSpeed had made his intentions clear, stating, “I owe you… hey, you did a lot of s–t to me. I should’ve done it.”
Orton deflected the tension with a joke about Bron Breakker before shifting the conversation to a future project. “I think we’re gonna do something in a few weeks, right?” Orton asked, prompting a direct confirmation from IShowSpeed, who replied, “Yeah — you ready for that?”
IShowSpeed Attempts to RKO Randy Orton at “Speed Goes Pro” Launch Event pic.twitter.com/h3hjjjgr6b
October 1, 2025
This interaction with a mainstream personality comes as prominent figures, including WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry, are publicly advocating for Orton to return to his signature heel persona. On the Inside the Ring show, Henry argued that Orton is currently underutilized as a babyface. “Let Randy be Randy,” Henry said, adding he wants to see the “Viper” persona return to be “punting people again, RKO’ing people’s grandmothers and kids, stomping everyone.”
To emphasize that the heel role is Orton’s inherent nature, Henry referenced the fable of the frog and the scorpion. He concluded the story by quoting the scorpion: “You knew I was a scorpion when I got on your back.’ That’s Randy Orton. That’s who he is.”
Henry’s sentiment echoes recent concerns from Ric Flair and Orton’s wife, Kim Orton. On September 25, 2025, Kim Orton publicly supported a social media post that accused WWE of disrespecting her husband. This critique of his creative direction persists despite his consistent television presence on SmackDown, where he has been featured in an ongoing storyline with Drew McIntyre throughout September 2025.
Orton’s last premium live event appearance was a loss to Cody Rhodes in the King of the Ring tournament finals at Night of Champions on June 28, 2025. This followed another high-profile defeat to John Cena at Backlash on May 10, 2025.