Who did NXT star Sol Ruca recently call out for a dream match?

During a recent interview with WrestleTalk, NXT star Sol Ruca boldly called out WWE legend Randy Orton. She specifically challenged him to a "battle of the cutters" to determine if her Sol Snatcher is better than his iconic RKO.

What is the difference between the Sol Snatcher and the RKO?

The Sol Snatcher requires running at a turnbuckle and performing a backflip to catch an opponent mid-air, making it a highly difficult and visually spectacular move. In contrast, the RKO can be hit from almost any position and has been a reliably protected finishing move for twenty years.

Why are fans debating the mechanics of Sol Ruca's finishing move?

Fans are arguing over the degree of difficulty between her Sol Snatcher and Randy Orton's RKO. Some believe the Sol Snatcher is superior due to the high-wire act of performing a backflip, while others point out that one slip could lead to a dangerous landing.

Who else did Sol Ruca mention as her dream wrestling opponents?

Besides Randy Orton, Sol Ruca named IYO SKY and Je’Von Evans as her dream opponents. This highlights her willingness to take on high-flying and dynamic competitors in the ring, showing she wants to test her limits with a variety of challenging matchups.

How might WWE booking affect a potential match between Ruca and Orton?

The reality of WWE's booking under Triple H makes this matchup unlikely. There are concerns that he would not place a highly decorated veteran like Randy Orton in a position to be out-maneuvered or out-flipped by an up-and-coming NXT talent, despite the potential for a viral moment.

Sol Ruca wants smoke with Randy Orton and the internet is losing it

The Las Vegas hangover and the Sol Snatcher dream

We are currently 48 hours removed from the absolute chaos that was WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium. My bank account is crying, my voice is gone, and I’m pretty sure I saw a guy in a Cody Rhodes shirt try to fight a fountain at the Bellagio. But while the rest of the world is still processing John Cena's farewell tour or whatever Roman Reigns is doing with the Bloodline, NXT’s Sol Ruca is out here throwing 100mph fastballs in the media. She just sat down with WrestleTalk and decided to name-drop the Final Boss of finishers: Randy Orton.

Ruca didn't just say she liked his work. She went straight for the jugular, framing a potential clash as a battle of the cutters. As Ruca put it, "The RKO, The Sol Snatcher, We’re Gonna See Whose Is Better." That is a massive statement for someone who spent a good chunk of last year on the shelf. The Sol Snatcher is, without hyperbole, the most visually offensive move in the company right now. It looks like someone glitched a CAW in a video game and forgot to tell physics it was supposed to exist. But comparing it to the RKO? That’s like comparing a Pagani Zonda to a Ford F-150. One is a technical marvel of engineering; the other has been reliably hitting people for 20 years without fail.

The internet, as you can imagine, is currently split into three or four different war zones over this. You have the "Intergender is Cinema" crowd, the "Keep NXT in Florida" purists, and the people who just want to see IYO SKY do a moonsault off something dangerous. Ruca also mentioned Iyo and Je’Von Evans as dream opponents, which shows she’s either the bravest person in the Performance Center or she really wants to see how many times she can flip in one 15-minute window.

The physics of the cutter: Orton vs. Ruca

If you head over to the main wrestling subreddits right now, the primary debate isn't even about the match—it's about the mechanics. One vocal group of fans is arguing that the Sol Snatcher is actually the superior move because of the degree of difficulty. Think about it: Randy can hit an RKO if he's falling out of bed or waiting for a bus. Sol has to run at a turnbuckle, do a backflip, and catch a human being mid-air. It's a high-wire act every single time. One slip and she’s landing on her head while her opponent looks confused in the middle of the ring.

Then you have the Randy Orton loyalists who point out that the RKO is the most protected move in the history of the modern era. As one fan pointed out on a popular forum, Randy hasn't taken a bump that wasn't a flat-back in three years, and he’s certainly not catching a 180-pound athlete mid-backflip without both of them ending up in the ICU. There is a legitimate concern that the "dream match" aspect of this would be crushed by the reality of WWE’s booking. Let’s be real: Triple H isn't putting his most decorated active legend in a position to be out-flipped by an NXT upstart, no matter how viral the clip would go on TikTok.

There’s also the Je’Von Evans factor. Sol mentioning him is a subtle nod to the "Young OG" movement happening in Orlando. Evans is basically a human rubber ball, and putting him in the ring with Sol would result in a match where neither person’s feet touch the canvas for more than 3 seconds at a time. The fans who want "workrate" are salivating over this, but the skeptics think it would just be a glorified gymnastics floor routine with a three-count at the end. It's the classic struggle between the "super-indy" style that NXT often flirts with and the "big league" storytelling that Randy Orton represents.

Is IYO SKY the real money match?

While everyone is fixated on the Orton quote because it's flashy, the real heads know that IYO SKY is the actual dream match here. Iyo is currently the gold standard for high-flyers in the women’s division, and she doesn't need a gimmick finisher to prove it. The reaction to this possibility has been almost universally positive, with the consensus being that Iyo could carry Sol to a 5-star classic. Sol is a freak of nature, but she’s still very green when it comes to the "in-between" stuff. She can do the backflip, but can she work a 12-minute heat segment where she has to sell a limb?

One skeptical take that’s gaining traction is that Sol Ruca is currently a "one-hit wonder" in terms of her moveset. We saw this at WrestleMania 41 with some of the younger talent—they have the highlights, but they lack the connective tissue. If she gets in there with Iyo, there is nowhere to hide. Iyo will chop your chest into a different ZIP code and then drop a missile dropkick on your nose. Fans are worried that Sol might be aiming for the moon before she’s even cleared the treetops in the developmental system. It’s one thing to call out Randy Orton on a podcast; it’s another thing to stand across from a woman who has wrestled in every major arena from Tokyo to London.

The contrarians are also pointing out that WWE rarely does intergender matches that aren't comedy-focused or very specific "mixed tag" scenarios. The idea of Randy Orton hitting a legitimate RKO on Sol Ruca in 2026 feels like a pipe dream. WWE is a corporate machine now, and the optics of their 14-time world champion laying out a female superstar are probably a bridge too far for the boardroom. Most fans think this is just Sol being smart with her PR, building a brand by attaching her name to the biggest stars possible while she waits for her main roster call-up, which feels inevitable after the draft.

The missing piece of the Ruca puzzle

Now, I love a good backflip as much as the next guy who has spent too much money on front-row seats, but we have to talk about the elephant in the room. Sol Ruca’s promos are currently about as exciting as a bowl of plain oatmeal. She’s an incredible athlete—maybe the best pure athlete the women's division has ever seen—but she lacks that "killer" instinct on the microphone. When you call out Randy Orton, you aren't just calling out a wrestler; you're calling out a guy who can dismantle your entire career with three sentences and a smirk.

If she wants these dream matches to happen, she needs to find a character that isn't just "I’m a surfer who is really good at gravity." We saw what happened to Ricochet for years—unbelievable talent, but the crowd eventually gets bored of the flips if there’s no heart behind them. The most successful people in the post-Vince era are the ones who have a hook. Sol has the move, but she doesn't have the hook yet. She needs a reason for us to care about her winning, not just a reason for us to keep our phones out for the finish.

Looking ahead to WWE Backlash on May 9, 2026, we’re probably going to see the fallout of these post-Mania interviews. Whether she stays in NXT to dominate the North American Title scene or makes the jump to SmackDown to actually hunt for that IYO SKY match, she’s put a target on her back. Calling out the Legend Killer is a bold strategy. Let's see if it pays off, or if she's just the next person to find out that the RKO truly does come out of nowhere, even when you're 10 feet in the air doing a backflip.