WWE star and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis has revealed that he wasn’t going to get a lot of notice about a possible return to the ring.
Aldis is set to face Guther at SummerSlam after both men have been involved in multiple altercations over the past few weeks. Things reached a boiling point at Saturday Night’s Main Event in New York City when Aldis drilled Gunther with the WWE Title belt. As a result, Gunther was yet again denied another opportunity at the WWE Championship.
While the British wrestler has an impressive record with previous reigns as TNA and NWA World Champion, he hasn’t competed in more than three years. Despite this, Aldis was warned that he would be informed last minute about the match.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Aldis noted that while a WWE return match felt possible, it still came as a shock. The former World Champion also added that the two people who advised him to stay ready were Randy Orton and his wife, Mickie James:
“Yeah, might be [a possibility], but that doesn’t mean that this one didn’t come as a total shock, because it did. You know what’s funny? There were two people when there were other moments where it looked like that might be on the cards. Two people that said to me, ‘You have to stay somewhat ready because they’re not gonna give you three months’ notice. You’re gonna get like a couple weeks.’ One was Mickie [James], and one was Randy [Orton].”
“You Need To Stay Ready”: Randy Orton To Nick Aldis On WWE Return Match
Continuing, Aldis recalled speaking with Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41, where Aldis was also rumoured to be Orton’s mystery opponent. Aldis stated that he didn’t lobby for a match, but Orton advised him the match would come out of nowhere:
“Because last year at WrestleMania, a lot of people felt like maybe that was a possibility. Was never discussed with me, you know, and even Randy even kind of leaned toward it on TV. But like I said, I try to make a point to stay out of it in that respect. I didn’t lobby for anything. But I remember Randy talking to me at WrestleMania and kind of saying, you know, you need to stay ready, because it’s gonna happen, and they’re gonna do it like that. It’s gonna come out of nowhere.”
At WrestleMania 41, Joe Hendry was Orton’s mystery opponent. Addressing the possibility it could have been him, Aldis stated that even though an Orton match would have been great, the Gunther match feels more personal:
“Yeah, it could have been. I mean, could have been anyone. It was a great spot for Joe Hendry. I thought it was a really entertaining segment. It was a great piece of business for WrestleMania. But had they decided, hey, it’s there, that would have been great. But I will say, this has real meat on the bone. With Randy, that would have been cool, but it would have been very much like a sort of, oh, hey, let’s have a wrestling match kind of thing. It would have been nice, but it would have felt very sort of, you know. This has some genuine emotion.”
Featured image: WWE
