Prior to this Sunday’s WrestleMania, Yahoo Sports had a chance to speak with WWE Superstar Randy Orton, who will be headlining the event in Orlando, Florida when he takes on Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship.

Orton, who has been with the company since 2002, has been one of the most popular wrestlers on the WWE roster and has had one of the most decorated careers in the company’s history.

During our conversation, the third-generation star spoke about the differences between this WrestleMania and the previous 12 he has competed in, the Undertaker’s legacy at the event, and the evolution of the WWE throughout his career.

Heading into WrestleMania 33, you have been part of these for more than a decade now, how is this one different?

Randy Orton: This will be my 13th match at a WrestleMania, and I’d say one of the biggest differences for me going into this thing is how it came about. This storyline, being injured last year and coming back, having a little run with [Brock] Lesnar kind of put me back a few steps. I got a nasty concussion, got opened up, I had to get my feet back underneath me so to speak and get back used to the grind. [That opportunity] came with the Wyatt Family and what makes this WrestleMania different is that I’ve had five or six months, since October anyway, to let this story marinate.

At first I could tell peopled weren’t getting with the whole Wyatt Family thing where I became a part of their family because they knew I was going to turn and we knew that they knew that. To be able to pull those strings, make this thing go longer than expected, to win the [Smackdown] Tag Team Championships with Bray [Wyatt], and then next get [Luke Harper] kicked out of the family, get Bray alone, burn down his compound. All of that stuff that we had to do to get this storyline where it is, all of that helps it going into ‘Mania. Where we’re at in the story is the perfect culmination for WrestleMania. I think that’s what makes it different for me. I’ve had other very good angles going into ‘Mania, long storylines too, but this was different than normal from the way we do things, it wasn’t bad versus good. I infiltrated the Wyatt Family, I became close to Bray, I earned his trust and respect and to ultimately stab a knife into his back, turn on him, it was a very original thing that we did.

You mention the Wyatt Family. Being in a stable is something you’ve done at different parts of your career with Evolution and Legacy. Do you prefer when you’re working in a group or solo heading into an event like WrestleMania?

Randy Orton: I always prefer being by myself, but if you look at the teams I’ve been in, Evolution, I don’t even have to say who I was with [HHH, Ric Flair, Batista] then because everybody knows and I was around some great talent. Hunter, for instance, I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for him, in more ways than one. Being around those guys and learning from them that early in the business for me was great.

Rated RKO with Edge was another example of a guy who knows his craft. It was an awesome way for a guy – I was in my mid-20s then – to learn. Then I’m with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase in Legacy. These are both guys whose families were in the business just like me so I had this commonplace with them; we all grew up around the business. Cody’s brother [Dustin Runnels aka Goldust] had this bond the same way my father [“Cowboy” Bob Orton] and his brother [Barry Orton] had their bond in this business. To be able to have those similarities with your team is really good. You can do great things when you’re all on the same page and “get it” so to say.

Bray is third generation, might be through marriage, but he’s got a whole lot of wrestling greats in his family and again, another guy that I can see eye to eye with when it comes to psychology, when it comes to respect for the business and when it comes to not being selfish when it comes to the match and getting everybody over. Bray gets it. I think that being with these groups is great, I prefer being alone, but without these groups I wouldn’t be where I am.

Talking about guys who have had an impact on your career. You wrestled Undertaker at WrestleMania before. What was that like for you? How does he add to the allure of WrestleMania, especially as it seems more and more like it’s a year-by-year question of will he or won’t he?

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