Well known wrestling journalist and author of the book â€"Wrestling Babylonââ¬Â, Irv Muchnick claimed today in a blog post on his web site that well-placed sources within WWE have told him that Randy Orton recently attempted suicide.
Below is an excerpt from his web site:
A rumor is swirling that World Wrestling Entertainment star Randy Orton attempted suicide within the last year. Very well-placed wrestling sources tell me that the rumor is true. In the wake of the June murder-suicide of Chris Benoit and the scandal involving scads of WWE performers who ordered steroids and human growth hormone from the Internet gray-market dealer Signature Pharmacy, this is serious stuff.
Itââ¬â¢s already clear that WWEââ¬â¢s response to the Signature revelations ââ¬â generated by the district attorney in Albany, New York, and reported by Sports Illustrated and others ââ¬â is a joke. Some vague number of the miscreant wrestlers, not named, were ââ¬Å"suspended,ââ¬Â but the suspension appears to have consisted of simply being downgraded for a few weeks in TV storylines.
From the same evidence, Randy Orton was not touched at all. That is more than a little strange. Ortonââ¬â¢s Signature Pharmacy order marked, at the very least, his second ââ¬Å"strikeââ¬Â under WWEââ¬â¢s so-called wellness policy, which would have called for a 60-day (rather than a 30-day) suspension.
The suicide whispers mark the problem as more than a game of ââ¬Å"gotchaââ¬Â or even taste (Orton acquired the gimmick ââ¬Å"Legend Killerââ¬Â after WWE blithely turned Eddie Guerreroââ¬â¢s 2005 death into just another ââ¬Å"angleââ¬Â). Itââ¬â¢s a matter of life and death.
Orton, 27, is a third-generation wrestler. He is engaged to marry Samantha Speno, a part-time gymnastics teacher, this fall. Last year Randy and Samantha moved into a country-club estate in High Ridge, Missouri (suburban St. Louis), complete with a gym, a hot tub, and four decks.
Over to you, WWE.
Irvin Muchnick
WWE Friday Night SmackDown
December 19, 2025 at
Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Hashtag: #smackdown
WWE Monday Night RAW
December 19, 2025 at
Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Hashtag: #raw