TJP has recalled how WWE’s writers ended his unmasking storyline on 205 Live and gave it to Randy Orton on SmackDown.
In 2018, TJP stole masks from all three members of The Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik, Kalisto, and Lince Dorado) on the cruiserweight show. Later in the year, Orton’s feud with Rey Mysterio largely revolved around The Viper removing his rival’s mask.
Speaking to Jofo In The Ring’s Jeremy Prophet, TJP said his successful storyline prompted WWE’s writers to pitch the same idea for Orton.
“The unmasking thing was a cheap, free idea for us to have this ongoing type of story,” he said. “It cost nothing for that to be my recurring type thing, but since it worked so well the first couple of weeks, some of the crossover writers were like, ‘Hey, Vince [McMahon], we should do this story with Randy Orton,’ because they [writers] know that they [fans] are not always watching the cruiserweight shows. So, when they pitched it for Randy it seemed like a brand new idea. They would never have combined it because they would have had to say, ‘Well, we’ve been doing it on this other show for a few weeks, and this is where we got it from.’”
TJP said WWE did not want to invest money in 205 Live, which is why he was involved in a “cheap, free” unmasking storyline. He previously wanted to face Rich Swann in a Steel Cage match but the idea was rejected due to the cost of setting up the cage.
TJP had kind words for Randy Orton
Randy Orton is widely considered to be one of the best in-ring competitors of his generation. The 41-year-old is a 14-time WWE World Champion and he has headlined WrestleMania on two occasions.
TJP shared the same locker room as Orton but never had the chance to work with him.
“It would have been great, and I love Randy,” he added. “Randy is one of my favorite dudes to be around when we would do the RAW shows and SmackDown, whichever show he was on. I would’ve loved to work with Randy.”
Randy Orton has been involved in a tag team storyline with Riddle on RAW since WrestleMania 37. TJP left WWE in 2019 and he currently works for several companies, including IMPACT Wrestling, MLW, and NJPW.