The worlds of professional wrestling and video gaming have a long-standing connection, evident through the quirky signs fans display at events and the elaborate outfits worn by wrestling stars. It’s no surprise, then, to discover that WWE’s Randy Orton is an avid gamer who enjoys playing Elden Ring on his tour bus during wrestling events. What’s particularly intriguing is that he once shelled out a significant sum to expedite his character’s progress in the game.
During a recent livestream on The Insiderz, a Twitch channel hosted by former WWE tag team duo Brennan Williams (ma.çé) and Mansoor Al-Shehail (mån.sôör), it was revealed that Orton approached them before a Monday Night Raw episode to express his love for FromSoftware’s challenging action role-playing game, Elden Ring.
Orton, however, wasn’t fond of the game’s early grind, especially the demanding early boss fights. He decided to take a different approach by paying $1,000 to acquire a heap of runes, which serve as both currency and experience points in the game, allowing him to instantly level up his character.
“Yeah, it’s really tough. I paid a guy $1,000 to give me infinite runes so I could level up to 100 right away,” Orton admitted, according to Al-Shehail. Williams chimed in, mentioning that Orton said, “I love that game though. It’s awesome. But no, I couldn’t deal with that hassle, so I just paid a guy to give me a bunch of runes.”
Orton’s ‘pay to win’ strategy to overcome Elden Ring’s challenging early stages isn’t entirely unusual in the gaming world. It’s reminiscent of the days when players would offer skilled arcade gamers quarters to help them defeat formidable bosses. In the context of Elden Ring, this phenomenon is exemplified by Klein Tsuboi, known as Let Me Solo Her, who gained fame for assisting countless players in defeating the formidable optional boss, Malenia. His reputation was so remarkable that Bandai Namco, the game’s publisher, sent him a thank-you note and a real-life sword for his contributions to the gaming community.
Randal Keith Orton, often referred to as the ‘Legend Killer’ and the ‘Apex Predator’ in WWE, opting to pay to bypass a game’s grind aligns both with his wrestling persona and provides a relatable moment for gamers often encouraged to ‘git good’ in challenging titles like Elden Ring.
