On the July 12, 2010 episode of WWE Raw, Randy Orton pulled off arguably his most RKO ever.
Matt Sydal (Evan Bourne in WWE) went to the top rope, looking for his trademark shooting star press. Coming down from the move, Orton was able to catch Sydal in mid-air to deliver the RKO. Fans can watch the spot in the video above.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Sydal detailed how the move came about.
"The first time I saw it get nailed was [Matt Cross], him and B-Boy did it on an IWA Mid-South show I was on. I was talking to him about it and I told him, 'If I ever have a feud with Randy Orton, I want to do the shooting star into the cutter.' The next day, turns out me and Randy have a segment. I said, 'Anybody want to do the shooting star RKO?' There were some doubts from management that it was humanly possible, but it was this perfect merging of two guys' finishers. It's something we can do confidently. I jump, and there's no control, so I'm jumping and thinking that if he's there, I'm going to land on him. If he jumps up to give me the cutter, I'm taking it. I basically do the same leap and when I'm able to see the ground, it's just getting caught."
When discussing how to and for the move, Sydal said the toughest landings are one he basically belly flops onto the ring, which is what he ended up doing on the RKO.
"This one was the highest level of pain degree because I have the extra downward gravity of it. I landed the best way to land, which is just belly out and eating it. I basically just laid there after. Sometimes I have energy and I'm selling, on that one, I just ate it and there was no wind left in me," he said.
Sydal praised Orton for his timing and athleticism on the move, noting that they didn't practice it beforehand. He also praised the camera work for zooming in on him on the top rope and not tipping the counter until it was happening.
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