Randy Orton Says He Topped 300 Pounds After Back Surgery

Randy Orton might be back in top form now, but the WWE legend admits his road to recovery came with a few unhealthy detours—and some serious holiday snacking.

Speaking on What’s Your Story? with Steph McMahon, Orton opened up about how his weight skyrocketed past 300 pounds while recovering from spinal fusion surgery.

After learning he’d be sidelined for a while, The Viper admits his diet completely fell apart.

“I went from like, kind of 240 to 250-ish. I mean, I did take it to the extreme. Over the winter, I had some time off, and I was a little over 300 pounds. Like, ‘Oh, this guy gets a spinal fusion and he gains 80 pounds,’ smart.”

Orton blamed it on what he jokingly called his “sugar tooth from hell,” and didn’t shy away from confessing just how deep he got into holiday treats.

“I went through like, a Nutella phase. And that’s one of the reasons I was just over 300 over Christmas. Is because, like, the big tub of popcorn that has, like, the different… chocolate and caramel… I killed a couple of those, and it’s like, I’ll start fucking with a tin of fucking some shit over Christmas. Servings are 84 servings. Killed this thing in two nights.”

But once he got clearance to train again, Orton got serious about fixing the damage. With the help of a new trainer, he overhauled his diet and hit the gym hard.

“My diet changed. I gained a lot of weight while I was out, and it was bad weight, and then I stayed the same weight, but then, like, changed the fat, kind of, into muscle, or my muscle percentage was higher.”

The Apex Predator focused heavily on strengthening his posterior chain to protect his spine, leading to the leaner, stronger Orton fans see on Friday Night SmackDown today.

Now, with Drew McIntyre back in the picture, Orton’s looking to settle unfinished business in a major singles match at Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12.