Randy Orton is gearing up for one of the most emotionally significant stretches of his storied WWE career. With his 20th WrestleMania now behind him and a high-stakes hometown showdown at WWE Backlash on the horizon, Orton has offered rare insight into his mindset, motivations, and the behind-the-scenes decision-making that shaped his recent WrestleMania moment.

In a new interview with Billboard, Orton reflected on the creative shift that occurred after Kevin Owens was ruled out of their originally planned WrestleMania encounter due to a neck injury. Facing uncertainty at a milestone moment in his career, Orton took the initiative , not just to ensure he had an opponent, but to make sure the match had lasting significance. That led him to advocate for a fresh face with outside notoriety: TNA World Heavyweight Champion Joe Hendry.

“There was a lot up in the air just a couple of things prior to Mania. Owens had the neck thing and it was starting to bug him. So once they took a closer look at that, the doctors said he was a no-go,” Orton explained. “This one was important to me because it was my 20th, and I’m closer to the end of my career than the beginning. Getting these Manias in, and leaving as much of a legacy behind [as possible], is important.”

Orton revealed that WWE faced a challenge in finding a fitting replacement. With only a few viable options internally and the debut of new talents underway, booking decisions became even more delicate. “It kind of came down to, ‘OK. We need to get Orton an opponent. Who’s it gonna be?’” he recalled. “There was a very short list of guys on our own roster, but we had some new guys coming in , and it was one of those things where I needed to win, but considering we knew where I was going to be going thinking about Backlash, we needed me to look good coming out of Mania.”

That is when Orton suggested Joe Hendry , a pick that initially raised eyebrows.

“It could not be one of our new guys, because when we debut a new talent into the show [we could not] have him start with a loss. So we put our heads together and it was actually my idea [for it to be] Joe Hendry. I kept pushing for it, and a couple people were unsure, but I was able to talk everybody into it. I’m really glad that they went with him. It was perfect. It was different from anything else on the card. It was a legitimate surprise, and we were able to keep it a surprise for the most part.”

Fans certainly reacted with shock when Hendry’s music hit, delivering the exact kind of unpredictable, buzz-worthy WrestleMania moment WWE thrives on. Orton also appreciated the change of pace. “We got that really cool, ‘Holy s–t’ moment… It was great. He was great. It was actually a stress-free fun Mania for me, because I did not have this crazy 30 minutes balls-to-the-walls match with all this high-risk s–t. I had this cool little segment with Joe, and we did not have to do much to have fun out there. So I was really able to enjoy the week and just soak it all up.”

Now, Orton turns his attention to WWE Backlash in his hometown of St. Louis, where he will face John Cena in a rare face-versus-face match. With the dynamics flipped from their past encounters, Orton is unsure how the crowd will respond.

“It’s different, because I’m the good guy, and that’s never been the case before , so I don’t know what to expect,” he said. “I’m very excited to see… They might love John. They might sh*t on me and be booing me.” Despite the hometown advantage, Orton remains realistic. “I’m a homebody… It’s not like everyone is going to love me necessarily. I’m very curious to see how Saturday goes.”