“RKO outta nowhere!” Georges St-Pierre recently uploaded a video on his social media practicing WWE legend Randy Orton’s signature move, joining the ongoing wave of memes. In the clip, the former UFC champion drilled the move several times before finally getting it right. Well, ‘Rush’s’ persistent attempts to imitate the move didn’t go unnoticed.

Taking to X, the former 10-time WWE champion praised St-Pierre for perfectly imitating his finishing move and admitted that he was flattered.

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery #GSPouttanowhere,” Orton wrote. 

The WWE legend giving a shoutout to a former UFC champion isn’t surprising, as both promotions currently operate under the same umbrella in TKO. However, the motive behind Georges St-Pierre drilling Orton’s move appears to be different. It would be safe to say that the former two-division champion’s homage to the pro-wrestling star stems from his genuine admiration and lifelong fandom of WWE.

The Canadian is a lifelong pro-wrestling fan who grew up watching WWE during its early days. In fact, he told Danny Jones in March that he wanted to become a professional wrestler when MMA wasn’t as popular, but eventually abandoned those plans because of his comparatively small stature next to 200-pound pro wrestlers. He also revealed his admiration for superstars such as Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart.

“Shawn Michaels, man. Bret Hart, you know? These guys were my favorite,” GSP said on Danny Jones’ podcast. “I love Shawn Michaels because he was the perfect villain at one point. You know, he was the guy everybody loved to hate, and he was very good to sell opponents’ shots, to make his opponent look good. Which is very important. To be a good wrestler you need to make your partner look good, that’s like an exchange.”

However, Randy Orton and other WWE stars aren’t the only ones who have earned St-Pierre’s praise. ‘Rush’ has also openly admired Canadian WWE star Sami Zayn. Before Zayn’s Elimination Chamber match against Roman Reigns in 2023, GSP even predicted that he could pull off an upset. But Reigns ended up defeating Zayn to retain the undisputed title. 

While GSP established himself as a renowned WWE fan, ‘The Viper’ is certainly no stranger to UFC fights.

Back in 2024, Randy Orton became one of the star guests at a UFC Fight Night event in St. Louis, Missouri, which is also his hometown. The 46-year-old had a magical moment with welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley, who jumped the cage and hugged Orton after defeating Nursulton Ruziboev in the co-main event.

As we can see, both sides have openly shared their admiration for each other’s sport. Still, Georges St-Pierre is far from the first MMA fighter to try Randy Orton’s signature move. Before him, another fighter stole the spotlight by using the WWE star’s iconic finishing move.

Before St-Pierre, a rising MMA star used Randy Orton’s move after a victory

Randy Orton’s “RKO outta nowhere” meme didn’t restrict itself to UFC legends and star fighters. The meme has also found its way into a niche promotion, where a fighter celebrated his victory by using the signature move that became a sensation on the internet.

Houston-based fighter Sebastian Oyervidez, who currently boasts an impressive 5-0 undefeated record, has also shown that he’s a fan of ‘The Viper’. Last year in March, Sebastian fought Ryan Mondala at Fury FC 103 and delivered an impressive arm-triangle submission victory in just 51 seconds of the opening round.

At first, Sebastian celebrated by doing a flip in the center of the Octagon. Soon after, he surprised everyone by landing a shocking RKO on his coach, who had just entered the cage. Well, the entire scenario was obviously done in good fun, and nobody got hurt. Still, the MMA fighter’s quick-witted celebration using a WWE legend’s finishing move made the commentators chuckle and quickly went viral.

That said, despite the boundaries between MMA and WWE, athletes from both realms have continued to draw inspiration from each other. And with the latest interaction between GSP and Orton, that connection appears to be stronger than ever.