Randy Orton is one of the biggest WWE Superstars of his generation and will surely go down as one of the best ever in the sports entertainment business. The 41-year-old professional wrestler’s legacy will deepen on Sunday, as he’s set to break an incredible WWE record. As he revealed on Twitter, once he steps into the ring alongside tag team partner Riddle to face the Usos in a champions vs. champions match, he will become the wrestler with the most WWE PPV event appearances.
“I’ve never been one to keep records or stats throughout my career,” Orton tweeted on Friday. “Early on, it was laughable to consider in my profession you had ‘wins’ and ‘losses’. You certainly wouldn’t talk about it, with the boys much less fans. But I’m fortunate to have some fans (and friends) that have done just that, kept my stats. Not just wins and losses, but damn near everything you could think of! It came to my attention that tomorrow at Survivor Series I’ll set a new record for most PPV matches by anyone in WWE history.”
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He added, “The following night on RAW coincidentally, if I have a match, I’ll have had more matches on RAW then anyone in history. I saw this online, checked it, and it is true… kind of hard to believe, as it feels like I only started down in OVW yesterday. I just wanna take a minute…in light of these ‘stats’, and let everyone out there that’s ever supported me in any way know that I am thankful. I also know with all of my heart that I couldn’t have done it without you. Now on to my 15th Survivor Series…man time flies don’t it?”
The Internet Wrestling Database confirms the PPV stat, with Orton currently tied with Kane at 176 appearances. (Kane’s number seemingly includes wrestler Glenn Jacobs’ work as Isaac Yankem DDS and the fake Diesel, making Orton’s achievement even more impressive.) He’s already eclipsed totals of Undertaker (174), Triple H (173), John Cena (163), Chris Jericho (144) and Paul Wight a.k.a Big Show (142).
The RAW stat may not be quite right, as IWD lists Kane as having 436 matches to Orton’s 431. However, if you take out Jacobs’ work under non-Kane characters, Orton would be ahead. Regardless, he’s in front of Jericho (420), Triple H (377), Cena (373), Wight (331) and Sheamus (326). And the current Raw Tag Team Champion will more than likely break that 436 in the coming weeks.
