Randy Orton's shocking admission is sure to have fans talking. "The Legend Killer" recently appeared on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast, discussing many topics such as whether he wants to tie or break John Cena and Ric Flair's record of 16 world championships. Another subject was the bad reputation Orton had early on in his career.

When Orton was asked whether the rumors of him being a jerk were true, he answered:

"Yea. 100 percent. That was like my armor. I was an a**hole I think because I wanted people to respect me maybe? I don't know. I just know that I grew out of that phase and I thank God that I did. I see like footage that I didn't know the camera was rolling at that autograph signing and there's an interaction with a fan and it's picked up. Now they're doing this doc on A&E that they're just kind of finishing up and I've seen some of this footage from 10-15 years ago and I'm like, 'Oh my God, that's horrible.' That's just kind of who I was. It wasn't coming from a place of confidence. I think it was coming from a place, it was my armor. I was an a**hole and maybe I would get respect that way."

The stories of Orton's misbehavior are many and in today's environment, it's likely he would have been released from the WWE. If not, the WWE could have exposed itself to potential lawsuits. Orton went on to explain why he thinks he behaved the way he did:

"Maybe it was a little bit of fear and I took it as respect and either way I was fine with it. Luckily I was given a second, third, fourth chance from Vince McMahon coming up when I would get in trouble or I would have to get sent away for a couple of months or I would have to get fined a second or third time. I just [am] blessed. I am so blessed. I had the right guys in there to kind of yank my ass straight to make sure I was walking a straight line."

Thankfully for the WWE, Orton, and his fans, Orton appears to have straightened himself out and he now finds himself mentoring younger wrestlers. Orton explained how Triple H and Shawn Michaels played key roles in him getting his head on straight.

A More Family-Friendly WWE

Orton had plenty of praise for Triple H, not only as a wrestler but as a person: 

"He's very smart with the business. If you have any questions with wrestling, you go to him and you're gonna get a good answer...as far as a human being, I went to his wedding. I've kind of seen him evolve. He has three girls and his oldest girl is just a few years older than mine so we have that in common.

Orton, who spent time working alongside Triple H, Ric Flair, and Batista in the faction Evolution, praised Triple H's efforts to make the WWE into a more family-friendly atmosphere. Randy remarked on why he thinks Triple H understands the importance of giving wrestlers more time to spend with their family.

I think  recently for him because he had the health scare and everything, I think he realizes how important family time is and that's one thing that has changed. Back in the day you were missing birthdays, you were missing anniversaries and you were missing holidays. There was really no either way about it [and] you weren't going to ask for [time] off. Now there's leniency there. Now, he'll make sure that you can get home for the birth of your baby or he'll make sure that you can get home for that birthday because he understands now how important that is. I think company-wide that's been a change for the better."

H/T Wrestling News

Randy Orton has certainly come a long way from his early years in the WWE. If Orton's comments are true, not only has he evolved but so has the WWE, apparently creating a better work environment for wrestlers.

What do you think about Randy Orton's shocking admission? 

Photo Credit: WWE