Randy Orton’s first RKO victim reflects on receiving the move
Tank Toland, who first received an RKO from Randy Orton, was recently reflected on his time with WWE Superstar in 2003.
Orton defeated Toland in WWE’s Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) development system on June 7, 2003. Viper won with a Diamond Cutter, later known as RKO. Seconds after the game, he used the move on Toland again before Matt Morgan made the save.
Speaking on Rene Dupree’s Cafe de Rene podcast, Toland recalled how Orton had warned him he would use Diamond Dallas Page’s finishing blow.
“He said, “Hey, you know DDP, how does he make the Diamond Cutter? ”” Toland said. “I said, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ He said, ‘Well, since he’s no longer at the company, I wouldn’t mind using it, if you don’t mind, as my finisher?’ I said, ‘No, no, not at all. Of course.’ Sure enough, he hit me twice that night and they took Matt Morgan out.” [5:11-5:31]
Toland is best known for his role as James D*ck on SmackDown between October 2005 and February 2006. He collaborated with Chad Toland, also known as Chad D*ck, during his time that time.
Randy Orton spoke to John Laurinaitis before the launch of RKO
DDP wrestling legend and WWE executive John Laurinaitis used a variation of RKO before Randy Orton adopted the move as a finisher in 2003.
Last year, the 14-time world champion revealed on The Kurt Angle Show that he got permission from Laurinaitis to do the move.
“He [Laurinaitis] used Ace Crusher the other day and he said, ‘Get my job done, kid,’ Orton said. “And you know that Diamond Dallas Page made this move famous. So give those guys credit for letting me steal their *** and make it even better. ”
Orton tagging team partner Riddle has also been using RKO in the last year. In this week’s RAW, he helped RK-Bro beat The Street Profits after catching Montez Ford in mid-air with an RKO after a top-notch loop.
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