A member of the WWE roster is eternally grateful for Randy Orton’s involvement in their unexpected Royal Rumble appearance.
Following their victory in the Mixed Match Challenge tournament the previous year, R-Truth and Carmella each won the number 30 spot in their respective Royal Rumble matches. While Carmella did get to enter the match, Truth was attacked by a WWE star no one expected to enter the men’s match, Nia Jax.
After laying out Truth, Jax made her way to the ring and was an official entrant in the match. With the rest of the entrants shocked, Jax had a brief flurry of offence which also included eliminating Mustafa Ali from the match. Unfortunately for The Irresistible Force, her time in the Men’s Rumble would end after being hit with a Superkick from Dolph Ziggler, a 619 from Rey Mysterio and an RKO from The Apex Predator.
While appearing on Stay Busy with Armon Sadler, Jax first recalled finding out that she would be making history by only being the 4th woman to enter the match:
“I was in the men’s Rumble in 2019, and I was told when doors were opening that it was happening. I didn’t get to go through it with the guys. Doors were opening, fans were coming in, we couldn’t rehearse anything. ‘Hey, you’re in the men’s Rumble as well.’ That night, the women’s Rumble was in the beginning. When I was done with that and I went to the back, the guys were sitting in a room just waiting for me to come in, it was such a cool moment because you have Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Dolph Ziggler, Andrade, [Mustafa] Ali. Those guys were so kind and giving.
I was nervous, they could tell I was nervous, they all just kind of calmed me down. ‘Don’t worry. I got you here.’ Ali was so willing and amazing to let me eliminate him. Rey Mysterio, he’s a saint walking on Earth. He’s one of the nicest human beings. That moment was huge for me. I remember telling Randy, ‘I’m so sorry if I mess up the RKO. I’m so sorry.’ I just kept repeating it. He just said, ‘Don’t worry, kid. Turn left, you’ll be fine.’ I continue to look back on that moment thinking, wow, that was a huge moment.”
Continuing, Jax recalled Orton taking a bump for her in the match and how she was eternally grateful for the legend to sell her offence:
“These are big time names that are doing a big favor to me and I still talk to Randy about it every now and then because we talked about me giving him a tackle and him taking a back. I tackled him, and he bumped. My stomach dropped and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I remember saying, ‘I couldn’t believe you bumped for me.’ In the wrestling business, it’s considered a big deal to have somebody like Randy Orton bump for a girl like me. Those are the moments I look back and go, ‘That was so unselfish of them to do for me.’ I’ll never forget that.”
When Will Randy Orton Return To WWE?
The 14-time World Champion has not been seen for months after he was hit with a Piledriver from Kevin Owens on SmackDown. While there have been no indications on WWE TV as to when Randy Orton will return, a recent report gave some more insight.
In other news, Chelsea Green pitched a massive match against a WWE star.
H/t to Fightful.