From the best of friends at last year's WrestleMania attempting to take down Logan Paul while riding on a golf cart, to now officially WrestleMania 41 opponents, Kevin Owens and Randy Orton have been through a lot over the last year. On Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown" fromBologna, Italy, Orton challenged his former friend to a match on "The Grandest Stage of Them All" after months of drama.
Orton opened the show but was quickly interrupted by Owens before he could speak. Owens said that they could forgive each other, after Owens took out Orton with a package piledriver and put him on the shelf back in November. He told Orton his dream was for them to reunite and challenge for the tag team titles at WrestleMania, but Orton had other plans and challenged Owens instead. Orton told him that the "voices in his head" were telling him to kick Owens' head off at WrestleMania 41.
The pair have been feuding since Orton supported Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes teaming with Roman Reigns to take on the Bloodline at Bad Blood, something Owens was not happy about. Orton attempted to calm Owens' aggression against Rhodes, and the former friends ended up coming to blows that was supposed to lead to a match at Crown Jewel in November, but the bout never got underway.
On the following "SmackDown," Owens hit Orton with the banned piledriver and sent him out of the arena on a stretcher.Orton made his surprise return at Elimination Chamber and took out Owens following a brutal unsanctioned match against Sami Zayn.
