Randy Orton Talks Backstage Altercation Between Brock Lesnar and Chris Jericho At SummerSlam

Randy Orton’s match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam in August was supposed to be the night’s main event, but what happened backstage later that night received just as much, if not more attention.

Controversy clouded the finish of the match, with a concussed Orton sitting in a puddle of his own blood. Once Lesnar returned backstage, “The Beast Incarnate” was confronted by Chris Jericho, who was demanding answers about the health of Orton and whether Lesnar went off-script.

In a newly published interview with Sports Illustrated, Orton explains what really went down between Lesnar and Jericho.

“Basically, what happened is Jericho saw what was going on in the ring and wanted answers as to whether my best interests were in mind as far as my health and safety,” explained Orton. “I had my family there, sitting front row, and Chris knew that, as well. He was just coming up to check on his boy, that’s what it boiled down to, and I think that’s awesome.”

Orton is close enough with Jericho to know that he did not want to start a fight with Lesnar.

“You hear all these things about how they were going to fight, but I don’t think Jericho wanted to fight Brock, I’m just going to throw that out there,” said Orton. “I think he was coming up to just make sure everything was cool. It’s unfortunate that in that small space, with the dozen bodies in there, somehow that leaked and everybody knew about it. That’s very unfortunate. It was blown way out of proportion, and Jericho just wanted to check on one of his fellow boys in the locker room.

“I have a lot of respect for Brock. I was down in OVW with him, and I was there a few months before he came. We all knew he was coming, but when he came, he was humble and a fun guy to be around. He’s still the same way. He’s been through a lot, and he’s really become a name in this business and in MMA.”