Ciampa’s Latest RKO Prank Backfires, Hits Kyle Fletcher Instead

Tommaso Ciampa’s long-running quest to finally land a Randy Orton-style RKO on the legend himself hit another snag — literally. During a stop in St. Louis, Missouri, Ciampa thought he’d spotted his chance to sneak up on Orton and deliver the move, but the video he later posted revealed he’d gotten his target completely wrong. Instead of Orton, Ciampa’s ambush landed on fellow AEW star Kyle Fletcher.

The mix-up is the newest chapter in a bit Ciampa has kept alive for years — an ongoing, half-serious obsession with cutting off Orton and nailing him with his own signature finisher. It’s the kind of recurring gag that’s become a staple of Ciampa’s public persona, mixing genuine admiration for Orton’s legendary status with a comedic insistence on one-upping him at his own move. Fans have followed the saga across arenas and backstage run-ins for what feels like forever at this point, with Ciampa rarely getting anywhere close to pulling it off.

This latest attempt, though, adds a new wrinkle: instead of whiffing entirely or getting caught by Orton before he could strike, Ciampa apparently had his signals crossed enough to go after the wrong guy altogether, with Fletcher serving as the unlucky stand-in. Given that Fletcher has become one of the most talked-about rising stars in AEW over the past year through his association with the Don Callis Family, the idea of him getting blindsided by Ciampa’s running bit is a funny bit of cross-pollination between one of the promotion’s established veterans and one of its breakout names.

Moments like this matter more than they might seem on the surface. Pro wrestling thrives on exactly this kind of lighthearted, self-aware content — bits that humanize performers, build rapport with fans on social media, and keep storylines (even joke ones) simmering between televised segments. Ciampa’s Orton fixation has essentially become its own micro-story, one that doesn’t need a title or a feud to sustain interest; it just needs Ciampa showing up with a camera and bad aim.

It also underscores how thoroughly embedded the RKO has become in wrestling culture outside of Orton’s own matches. The move’s meme status — “RKO outta nowhere” — has turned it into a recurring punchline across the industry for over a decade, and Ciampa leaning into that mythology, chasing the move’s creator while repeatedly falling short, is a clever way of keeping the joke fresh without it ever feeling stale.

Whether Ciampa ever actually connects with Orton remains to be seen, but for now, Fletcher can at least say he knows what it’s like to be in the crosshairs of wrestling’s most persistent RKO hunter. Expect the bit to continue — and expect Ciampa to keep documenting every failed attempt along the way.