WWE had a chance to squeeze more time out of Randy Orton’s old contract after his lengthy injury layoff, but somebody apparently realized that ticking off The Viper over a contract technicality probably wasn’t the smartest business move. Instead, WWE skipped the injury-time fight and handed Orton a brand-new deal.
Sean Ross Sapp broke down the situation during a Fightful Select Q&A while explaining how WWE’s contract strategy changed during 2024. Unlike some wrestlers whose negotiations went right down to the wire, Orton’s future was handled months before his previous deal reached the end.
“Now one of those deals that got done months ahead of expiration was Randy Orton.”
There was one big catch hanging over Orton’s situation. He had missed a huge amount of time with his back injury, meaning WWE potentially had the ability to tack that missed time onto his existing deal instead of immediately giving him another contract.
“He had confirmed to fightful he had signed a five year extension, but the company could have added injury time.”
WWE apparently wasn’t interested in turning that technical option into a contract war with one of its biggest stars. Sapp said the company was determined to make sure Orton was happy and remained under the WWE umbrella.
“There were a lot of things like that, but WWE was adamant that they were like, all right, we want to make sure that he’s happy, want to make sure that he stays here.”
There was also a giant money issue staring WWE in the face. Orton signed his previous contract in 2019, when the wrestling business looked very different and the salary landscape wasn’t what it became several years later.
“Considering how different the landscape was when Horton signed in 2019, it, it wouldn’t have been productive to say, Randy, you signed this big deal in 2019 and you would put in your five years here on that deal.”
WWE theoretically could have told Orton that his injury absence meant he still owed the company additional time under the old agreement. According to Sapp, that probably would have gone over about as well as stepping directly on The Viper’s tail. Sapp didn’t dance around what he thought that would have done to Orton’s mood.
“But you were out for a while, so we’re going to extend you due to injury time.”
“Because here’s the thing that would have pissed Randy Orton off.”
Instead of trying to milk extra months out of a 2019 contract, WWE apparently looked at the situation and decided Orton had already put in his five years. The company then moved forward with a new agreement that reflected how much the wrestling money game had changed.
“Instead they were just like, Randy, you know what, you put your five years in, you made a lot of money then, but it’s nothing compared to what we’re doing now and now being 2024.”
That decision came with a serious commitment. Sapp said Orton received another five-year deal that could keep him with WWE through 2029.
“And they gave him a new deal and I think it was another five year deal. So he’s there until 2029 or through 2029.”
The Orton negotiations also showed WWE wasn’t waiting until the eleventh hour with everyone. Sapp said the company was approaching certain talent well ahead of expiration in an attempt to get long-term business handled before things became messy.
“But WWE felt like they, they wanted to negotiate deals in 2024 that could replace their deals at that point or extend them well ahead of time. And a couple of talent had told us in 2024 they were approached about long term exemptions well before their deals were up.”
Ringside News previously covered WWE’s decision not to freeze Randy Orton’s contract over his injury time, with the changing financial landscape playing a major role in the situation. Orton later confirmed his new WWE contract was for five years, putting The Viper in position to remain with the company for years.
WWE could have pulled the injury-time card and forced Orton to keep working under an older deal, but that would have risked creating a completely unnecessary problem with a franchise-level star. Instead, WWE threw out the old math, gave Orton a fresh contract and kept The Viper happy.
Do you think WWE made the smart move by giving Randy Orton a new deal instead of adding injury time to his previous contract? Drop your feedback in the comments and tell us how you would have handled the situation.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
