Randy Orton On How Brodie Lee Inspired Him By Leaving WWE
Through a new Instagram post, Randy Orton has penned down a heartfelt tribute to the late Brodie Lee, explaining why the former Luke Harper was "an inspiration" to him because he had "the balls to take a leap of faith" and chase his dreams in the pro wrestling business.
Orton spoke of the time when Lee told him "he wanted to do more" in the WWE and was proud of his friend when he left for AEW.
"I remember him saying that he wanted to do more, and knew that he was capable of doing more," recalled Orton. "He was. Seeing him have the balls to take that leap of faith and seeing him make the decision was an inspiration to me.
"I was always very proud of him and out of my peripheral vision I watched him as a fellow 20 year vet and saw many things that impressed me. Not just his work inside the ring, but how he treated others in the back," added Orton.
While explaining why Lee's "character IS unmatched," Orton delved into why Lee always had the respect of the WWE locker room.
"I've been in a wwe lockeroom more than half of my existence, and there is an unwritten code. Respect is at the top. You all have heard about how much we all respected Luke, about how much we all enjoyed his presence.
"It is a fact. I'm telling ya, on the back of a bus, traveling and away from family for weeks in a row, he was one of the ones I'd make sure to secure a seat on that bus next to."
Orton also spoke of how his wife and Lee's wife, Amanda, grew close over the years, which he said was rare in the wrestling business.
"His wife was close to my wife, and she considers Amanda one of her dear friends when it comes to the word 'friend' in this biz," said Orton. "You see, many times there are acquaintances, or co workers, or fellow talent, but with Kim and Amanda, I felt as if they had that female intuition thing going on and were meant to be friends."
You can read Orton's full tribute below: