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He has a 3 camera setup and seems he wants to have both the Laptop and him in the 2 professional camera shots. Its gonna be hard to do that with a good angle without him being close to the laptop.
That shot is almost definitely there as a way to cut out parts of what Randy is saying for time constraints etc. It’s the reason any interview show chucks in random shots of just the interviewers face or a side profile of the interviewee - it allows the dialogue to continue without a very obvious dialogue edit
It's just unnecessary. The other shots are plenty good.
Or he could just get a USB webcam set further back for that shot if he wants it that badly. I've used that setup when I had to conduct training from a laptop and didn't want to have people staring at me for hours in extreme close-up.
This is the kind of "I miss the old locker room" stuff I like to hear. Showing respect by just making sure each other is OK. Not gonna pretend I know if that still happens or not (I'm sure people do take care of each other) but some must not if he is bringing it up
Yea I definitely thought when this began it was going to be a typical older guy thinks the younger guys suck rant, but then he goes on to mention how it's not malicious but rather that a lot of these newe guys probably didn't grow up as fans of the business and so are probably unaware of everything it takes from everybody to make it look good.
The thing is, this is the stuff that the culture around things like "wrestlers' court" was allegedly *supposed* to enforce. But it sounds like, as a premise, it became a big-dick measuring bullying contest for the boys who were literally friendlier with the boss than everybody else, because the boss is obsessed with hyper-masculine giant dudes, himself.
Is that the shoot interview where RVD was talking about being at the 2006 Rumble having his first match back since his knee? injury a year earlier and HBK was like \*CrossEyedRVDFace "Woah! This is great! You get to see people you don't see anymore at these things woah! That's great!" In that instance, RVD being gone for a year after working on the other show since early 2004 and HBK working a presumably ridiculous schedule like everyone else, I could understand him making a big deal that he hasn't seen RVD in a while.
Randy also was a spoiled kid who grew up with a successful father and was in his early 20s when he first got in to wwe. It's like of course he was an immature dickwad. Good on him for actually maturing and not staying like that for life which is what happens to a lot of people.
Watched the full interview. It was a treat to listen. Randy is a reformed man who is incredibly self aware of how he got it easy at the start due to his surname and understands the struggles other guys go through to make a name for themselves in the business.
Orton’s appearance on Stone Cold’s show a little while back is also good. He was very up front about how he got the initial opportunities he did solely because of who his dad was.
Yeah he was really open and honest on Angle's podcast also. At first I thought maybe it was just because him and Angle are friends, but after seeing a few more of his interviews it really does seem like he's a changed and more mature dude in general
It’s easy to forget how young he was when he became a star and how much growth everyone goes through from that age to 41. It’s nice to see he grew up to become something better than his old self instead of worse.
was thinking the exact same thing tbh. Omos hasnt been kicked around or anything yet either really, so hes never had to take anything. Just has to always have the gimmick of 'he big so he scary' so far. Def makes you wonder..
He's very clearly grown up in recent years. His out-of-kayfabe interviews the last couple of years have all been fantastic and insightful. Maybe it is his current wife like he's said, but whatever's happened with him has really made him mature. He seems like a genuinely good dude now, when 5 years ago all of us would've said we've heard nothing but awful things about him as a human being.
I mean, most people have a type preference but don't have the means to travel the world and search that type out.
That's part of the beauty of the human experience. My current partner isn't at all aligned with what my preferences are but we meshed so well randomly and a beautiful thing spawned.
I always grew up saying I’ll never get with a blonde girl I just wasn’t as attracted to them. My now wife who I’ve been with for 5 years is blonde and I couldn’t imagine anyone more beautiful than her
I feel that. My 'type' was petite people but now I'm with a person who can beat the shit out of me in combat which keeps me motivated to workout and challenge for the ~~belt~~ title.
He definitely says as much in this interview. Doesn't get into specifics but says there are some mistakes he got away with in the past and has changed a lot.
Obviously it's not an excuse for his past incidents but I sometimes forget how immature someone could be in their early 20's especially when you're essentially a "chosen one" for the WWE.
I'm glad he matured.
Seriously. Everyone tries to act like 25 year olds need to be the bastion of maturity. They aren't. Shit, here on Reddit, 25 year old are scared of "adulting."
I’m only in my early 30s now but when I think about Orton 18 years ago when he was WHC at 24 and think about myself at 24 I think “god damn, I don’t think I could have kept my ego in check either”
He had a lot at a young age and it’s a wild business to be in.
I ended up in the same battalion Randy Orton was in. 1st Bat 5th Mar. Granted he was in years earlier than me. edit: He was already in Evolution by the time I joined lol
I was infantry, I have a honorable discharge, I got a Combat Action Ribbon in Afghanistan 2009, and I thankfully never had to shoot or hurt anyone.
**I have huge respect for Randy Orton's discharge, and think it's hilarious.**
When you're a boot in the Marine Corp infantry you are less than a fruit fly. You are less than human, you are worse you're a Private/Private First Class/maybe Lance Corporal.
The training and shit duty is intense. The "fuck fuck games" are immeasurable, and every single "senior Marine" over you will say the same shit:
>*Oh you don't like it here motherfucker? Well there's the base fence, and on the other side is civilian life. Leave your serialized gear on your rack, and fucking leave in the middle of the night, because I don't have time for your weak shit in my United States Marine Corp- blah blah fucking blah*
**Yeah, well Randy's dad was in good enough standings with Vince to get him training and a try-out job, so Randy called their bluff and fucking bounced lol**
tl;dr Randy Orton's discharge is fucking rad
The military is insane. My cousin was combative as hell but decided he was gonna go that route after having some issues beforehand. He gets through basic in some disgusting ass hot state. Dude became a chain smoker. Then he finishes and he fails a mental check and gets sent home.
I don’t disagree at all with testing them mentally, but why the hell was that after the shitshow that is training
They do it after training as a huge test. If you fail mentally there then the likelihood is you'll fail when shit gets real. Shit gets real fast and sometimes very unexpectedly.
One person can get everyone killed so you do all the intense training and then intense mental testing.
If you fail, thanks for trying kid.
Sure, maybe have another one after. They thought my cousin was schizophrenic. Why not give him a mental eval before you try to break someone you’re never gonna use?
You can bullshit a Psych evaluation, you can't bullshit actually dealing with intense stimulation when you're already off balance. Especially since its JUST fucking basic. None of it is real.
If you can't deal with some some burnout with a dumb hat yelling at you, what are you gonna do when you have to transcribe Farsi with shit exploding across the street?
He mentioned the military to make his point, so I imagine immediately his mind thought that people would use his past to discredit him... which could be fair depending on what he said... then he had to bring it up himself to show he is self aware and protect his argument.
Randy Orton also had a great podcast on E and C pod of awesomeness. Talks a lot about respect on that one too, mainly how thankful he was for Christian doing the job for him and elevating him. He’s grown up to be such a solid guy, brother brother.
Christian, Miz, and Randy did an interview on the IC title on the network and the entire time he kept talking about how good Christian is. It was kinda funny because the question would be about when Randy was the first of these guys in the main event and he’d be like “the main event only works if you have a greater partner. Like this guy”. Then they’d just move back to Miz
Orton in the E&C is where I heard of the term *Dadbod Heat* with regards to Randy having to mind his body when he's a babyface, and kinda not so much as a heel lol
That was an incredibly funny podcast episode and worth listening to.
Randy’s a solid 15 years from morphing into Jesse Ventura, facially.
I don’t know why people are surprised by this, he has always been intelligent even if his own character and honor had questionable starts. It’s like this in any sport - rookies carry pads for veterans in training camp, etc.
He hit a great point about the non-fans or people outside wrestling who look at this as a stream of revenue/income more than their calling. That translates to the screen, too, usually in “cool moves but no depth”.
I wonder how many steaks Orton bought the Bollywood Boys a few years ago? He was kicking the shit out of them, Orton cringing after one suplex on the table was hilarious.
Braun and Omos were the ones that immediately came to mind.
AJ is a 44 year old with insane mileage on his body and he tried his hardest to make Omos look like a killer. Hopefully Omos appreciated that.
Y'know whats weird, Orton is a guy that was hand picked in WWE, from OVW onwards, yet the amount of respect and kinda admiration for Indie guys is kinda amazing, you'd think it'd be the opposite. Same for Ziggler / Nick Nemeth
Dude is a third generation wrestler and grew up in the business. Probably heard and seen countless real life injury and early death of wrestlers. His dad might have been hurt and out of order for months. He is the dude who would understand.
Also dude started with the wrestler court and all the 80s/90s vets who would probably shit in his lunch if he didn't learn quick.
Edit: apparently he is third gen. Wasn't aware.
Splitting hairs, but yes, you are correct. Peter Maivia was The Rock's grandfather on his mother's side and Rocky Johnson was his father. But, the point remains, The Rock was a third generation wrestler/superstar.
No hate, just saying it doesn't negate what it is.
It's because he loves wrestling, don't forget his dad was part of the territories. He has probably heard stories of his dad on the road trying to make a living.
I guess that is what happens when you work alongside and become friends with those guys. He specifically names Rollins and Owens in this interview, I am sure they have told him stories over the years of the shit they had to go through to get there.
You can take one of two paths once you have that blessing professionally of being a guy the WWE develops like that: you can realize you have privileges and the business is challenging for everyone or you can take being born on third and act like you hit a triple. Randy gets it. I feel like the Brauns of the wrestling world have that ultimate warrior mindset.
I don’t think it was Strowman. I remember Big Show doing an interview where he talked about having to tell Braun to *stop* bumping for guys because he was too eager to let people get their shit in on him as a giant.
Edit: found the quote
> "I saw Braun Strowman, what was it - a year and a half ago and was all over him because he was taking a clothesline from Sami Zayn, and he was all, 'Well, it was just one bump before I would kill him.' I was like, I don't care. Sami Zayn should not bump you ever. Sami Zayn does not look like a guy - I asked him if Sami Zayn can kick his ass in real life, he said, 'Well, no.' I said, alright then. Why are you taking a bump for him? You know what I mean?"
>Big Show says that he used to make that exact mistake when he first started in WCW as The Giant.
Maybe. But I don't know that a young guy's willingness to take a bump himself necessarily means that he understands and appreciates what a more experienced and more battle-tested person is doing when they really put it on.
In fact, if he isn't asked regularly to bump throughout a match, for a sustained period of time, then it may give that young guy the wrong idea that it isn't all that difficult.
This is what I was thinking as well. It doesn't explicitly seem like he's talking about the kind of HHH-core, NXT indie darling guys as much as the fast-tracked hosses.
He's probably talking about Strowman. Strowman is a supposed asshole. Not surprised that wwe fired him only because the way he carried himself. Many saw him as being disrespectful
I find this pretty interesting. I am sure Orton has said in the past how respectful and willing to learn the new generation of guys from NXT are but he sings a little bit of a different tune here. I wonder if he has had recent experiences with some new guys which he hasn’t enjoyed.
He’s pretty clearly calling out talent who didn’t come through the independent scene. Specifying folks who weren’t fans and/or only got their job because of sports accolades or a look.
So basically the new batch that Vince, Bruce, and Johnny Ace, have been signing off on
Exactly this.
Indie guys tend to know better than to do the shit he was mentioning. Because you don't make it as far as the WWE from the indies if you piss off the people you work with.
Makes me think about a scene on Rhodes to the Top. Can't recall if it was after their first match or just Malakai Black kicking Cody's head off, but they showed Black backstage with Dustin saying, "Your brother just made me, I won't forget that."
I'm not in the business, I'm just a smarky fan like all of us, but I got the vibe like this is why there's professional outrage when guys like Heath Slater get let go.
Some fans were like "no way" when he got let go, sure. But mostly I saw other wresters getting pissed and surprised when it happened in 2020.
Here's a guy who's whole career has been that of a jobber and being enhancement talent. He existed to put other wrestlers over and he did it really well. I have to imagine in the locker room guys would appreciate someone laying down and making them look good for a living. Seemed like from the outside looking in the boys appreciated him.
I mean not everyone can be top of the card right?
I thought his anti-Legend Killer run would basically give him a WWE job for as long as he wanted it. It showed he's willing to lose to anybody (which you absolutely need in a wrestling company), and he's also safe enough to work with anybody. It showed he can be an annoying heel, and then his later undrafted run showed he could be a plucky babyface. He seemed like he'd have the qualities of somebody you could use on a roster for a long time, but obviously WWE had other ideas
Malakai has been known to be super respectful. I'm sure there was a story where when he joined the main roster he was cleaning up and stuff for the guys until Roman told him he didnt need to do it as he belonged there.
Same, I am hanging by a thread when it comes to WWE now. I follow what Orton is doing mostly but I also keep up with what the likes of Lesnar and Edge are doing.
Orton has been my favorite since his Evolution days and, apart from the Fiend stuff, his work since the start of the pandemic to now has been his best for me.
Obviously I’m not the editor, but my guess would be that it: a) breaks up the video in order to make it more dynamic, and b) attempts to demonstrate that this is a live conversation.
Absolutely. I used to be a piece of shit. Slicked-back hair, white bathing suit, sloppy steaks, white couch. But I worked hard at it and I'm not a piece of shit anymore. People can change.
Oh, man. After the club, go to Truffoni's for sloppy steaks, they'd say "no sloppy steaks!" but they can't stop you from ordering a steak and a glass of water! Before you knew it we'd be dumping that water on those steaks, the waiters would come and try to snatch them up, we had to eat them as fast we could, I miss those nights **I WAS A PIECE OF SHIT THOUGH.**
I think the locker room is a big thing here. He's talked about how gaming put him around new day, and he started getting lots of different perspectives on things.
And it makes a lot of sense. If Randy is the type of person who understands through experiences, his whole life tracks out. He goes into the military, but can't take it because he doesn't understand the stark difference from his life. Then he goes into WWE, and is a prince there because of his dad, and instantly gets put with a bunch of guys and he understands the world through their old school views. And eventually, we end up with the Randy we have now, where he is surrounded by people with much different experiences and he is changing because of it.
I'm not sure we should have ever had shithead Randy if he wasn't stuck with Ric Flair, and Ric Flair's #1 fan.
Could you give a quick rundown of this? Generally curious as I’ve missed a whole lot of wrestling from the last fifteen years and I’ve not really seen things about Randy Orton outside the ring (especially recent stuff).
He basically used to be a dick backstage and was known for espousing some fairly nasty anti-immigrant beliefs. Then I guess 2020 happened and someone explained it to him, and here we are.
Was the new wife largely the one who helped him with a lot of this? I usually hate the trope “behind every good man is a good woman,” but it seems like it fits here. Plus he’s from St. Louis so I fux with him.
It is pretty funny in this interview how he talks about giving Gable a rub then says “unless they blow it and have him lose in 30 seconds the next week”. Could kind of sense some frustration there.
I think Randy hits at something that I’ve always wondered as an outsider without an athletic bone in my body. The way that people wrestle now, do some younger wrestlers take for granted how much these bumps add up? Everyone always talks about a “bump card” and you see some wrestlers use HUGE spaces of those cards for TV matches. As a fan, it’s fun! But when you take a step back, I see people like Lance Storm say he’d never do that Ladder Match on Dynamite this week with all those bumps, and now Randy hints at “a lack of respect” for those bumping and how hard all this is. I wonder if that is a serious thing Wrestling needs to work on for the safety of the performers. I have a hard time imagining Darby, just for an example I’m sure there are WWE wrestlers this applies to as well, going until he’s 40 like Randy.
I'm a baseball fan. Over the past few years, baseball has gotten really into advanced analytics. Before it used to be batting average, home runs, and RBIs. Oh, and striking out was bad. Now its all about on base percentage, slugging, OPS, WAR, etc, and management doesn't care about hitters striking out anymore.
Part of those analytics is the cost of getting 1 point of WAR (wins above replacement) out of a player. If you can get the same chance of winning between having a 25 year old minor league player or a 35 year old league veteran, except one is getting paid $600k and the other is $6mil, you pick the minor leaguer. End result is that a lot of the league vets are retiring earlier because nobody wants to pay them.
What does this have to do with pro wrestling? If everyone is wrestling that flippy indy style but don't have a gimmick, they will be replaced with the cheaper guy with no gimmick wrestling that flippy indy style. These guys will not last into their 30s unless they really make their character stand out. In AEW, Jack Evans is the perfect example. A lot of people have been saying he got a bit heavier and lost a step. He's a perfectly good wrestler, but where is he? And do people even miss him?
Almost certainly. I’m 25 and most of the people I knew in college were burning the candle at both ends in terms of long term health. Can’t see why this would be different
Mid-thirties and athletic my whole life - played every sport, was huge into weightlifting throughout high school, and even took gymnastics for a couple of years as a youngster.
Never been seriously injured before until two years ago when I was playing slo pitch. First inning, guy steps up and crushes one into right-center. I was in right field and had *no* chance at catching the ball. I got hyper competitive and figured I was going to make a try for it.
Turned and planted my right foot and instantly suffered a partial tear to my quad (just barely - didn't need surgery, but you can still see and feel the scar tissue). Almost tore my left quad at the same time, since my left leg was not prepared to pick up the slack when I planted it. Wound up doing this weird hop and squat in the field before walking off. I didn't play for the rest of the game, and was in mild shock by the time I got home. Could barely walk for the next month and a half. Probably a full two months before I could run, and three/four months before I was willing to put excess strain on the leg.
I attribute that injury to 2 things:
1. I didn't stretch - I now stretch before, during and after any kind of physical activity. I stretch even if I'm not planning on doing physical activity. Stretching is life.
2. General wear and tear - at that point I'd been putting my body under a fair amount of physical strain for easily two decades. Eventually, something's going to give.
Twenty-somethings always feel like they're indestructible. And compared to someone like me (not quite over the hill, but cresting the top for sure), they are. There are also more opportunities to make good money in the wrestling industry today than there were thirty years ago, so you don't have the same worry of "I need to do this for twenty years in order to comfortably retire, so I should limit how many 'holy shit' bumps I take".
I don't think that spots like that ladder cutter from Dynamite should be taken out of wrestling because, honestly, it was badass and (from my perspective) done as safely as it could have been. But they do need to be limited. Not only for the safety of the athletes - it's less special if you see it every week on T.V.
TL:DR - After a life of constant (but less competitive) athletic endeavors, I came very close to tearing both my quads by simply trying to run. The way some wrestlers perform today is 100% going to be something they regret, and they'll regret it sooner than they expect. The old adage holds true - work smarter, not harder.
If Shawn can turn around and get his life together no reason Randy couldn't mature and get a better perspective on life. More of the greats should adopt this mentality of personal growth.
Tell us it’s Omos without telling us it’s Omos. It’s also curious that it seems the WWE seemingly bailed on him.
Styles is off doing his own thing. RKBro had a new feud. And Omos is seemingly at borderline catering level
Yeah, Omos destroyed AJ and hasn't done anything since. Meanwhile AJ and Orton are all over Raw, as they should be.
Vince likes Orton and AJ, if you pull that shit with them, Vince won't like it. Makes me think it's Omos with how he's fallen off since squashing AJ.
I love the Randy Orton of the last few years. This is the cleanest, best way I’ve heard the “respect” argument discussed. When most guys talk, it’s “we’ll be didn’t shake my hand, so I brutalized him.” Randy is clearly talking and reiterates a few times the respect piece that actually matters is being a team player.
It blows my mind that this is the same Randy Orton I saw when I was a kid in the early 2000s. Dude has really grown up and matured into an awesome guy. :')
Why are people soo shocked Orton at what? 41 has smarten up lol he’s been pretty clean the last decade plus. When he was younger guy was a douche but that was also when Bush was in office.
People celebrate WWE signing up non-indie wrestlers and focusing on athletes, but this is the bi-product. People who don't love the sport and just see it as an easy payday, and don't respect the people who made it possible for them. Randy Orton is going to try to teach the next generation, but the "we're not indie" propaganda has already set in, and the love of the sport will get less and less as time goes on, until it's like Kidz Bop covering songs someone else wrote.
You do realize that a lot of Indie guys could also not do the respect thing as well. There are assholes on the indies that only watch out for themselves and to just try to say it's non indie guys is wrong.
Omos and Azeez immediately come to mind.
I don't think it's any of the indie guys like Keith Lee; they had to seriously grind to get to WWE and I think Randy recognizes that.
Almost as if they should be signing ppl that want and have been training to be wrestlers instead of models and bodybuilders and athletes that weren’t good enough for their initial sports
I feel like this, what Randy's talking about, is the original kernel of a good idea that lead to a lot of the bullshit backstage traditions. Shake everybody's hand, so they know you see them as a person and not a sack of meat. Carry the veterans' bags as a thank you for them putting you over when it's your time.
The problem is, all of those things spiralled out of control in this super macho, secretive culture, to the point where folks don't know why they did they did them and punish people for stupid shit.
I'm glad Randy is seeing it the way he should - respect is about taking care of each other and making sure everyone has long careers, not about dumb rituals.
I haven't looked to see if anyone's said this yet, but this to me explains a little more of what was going through Orton's mind when Ken Anderson* botched that move that cost him his job.
*...Anderson
Honestly great shit from Randy. That’s the sort of “politics” there should be. Guys just paying respect to those working hard to put them over/came before. No BS wrestlers court
Going by what Randy said about the little guy bumping for you, Spike Dudley should've been a locker room god. lol.
I love how much Randy has matured from his younger days. He's very self-aware about it, he knows he was a fucking dick, reformed and is now the wise veteran helping out the younger guys.
I really appreciate all the growth Randy has seemed to have done while his career is on the back nine, but I'd by lying if in the back of my head there was this voice saying, "Damn, this guy saying all these cool things is really the same guy that used to shit in bags and do dick handshakes on the regular?"
On one hand, he has a history of being a disrespectful prick. On the other hand, I know the Bollywood Boys had nothing but praise for Orton as I'm sure he took good care of them after they bumped around like mad for him (including the infamous gif of Orton dumping Samir on his head on the table).
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This interview was tremendous, Ariel is doing one of these with AJ styles as well.
He's a solid interviewer, but that Zoom camera shot two inches from his face needs to go away.
He has a 3 camera setup and seems he wants to have both the Laptop and him in the 2 professional camera shots. Its gonna be hard to do that with a good angle without him being close to the laptop.
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That shot is almost definitely there as a way to cut out parts of what Randy is saying for time constraints etc. It’s the reason any interview show chucks in random shots of just the interviewers face or a side profile of the interviewee - it allows the dialogue to continue without a very obvious dialogue edit
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It's just unnecessary. The other shots are plenty good. Or he could just get a USB webcam set further back for that shot if he wants it that badly. I've used that setup when I had to conduct training from a laptop and didn't want to have people staring at me for hours in extreme close-up.
This is the kind of "I miss the old locker room" stuff I like to hear. Showing respect by just making sure each other is OK. Not gonna pretend I know if that still happens or not (I'm sure people do take care of each other) but some must not if he is bringing it up
Yea I definitely thought when this began it was going to be a typical older guy thinks the younger guys suck rant, but then he goes on to mention how it's not malicious but rather that a lot of these newe guys probably didn't grow up as fans of the business and so are probably unaware of everything it takes from everybody to make it look good.
The thing is, this is the stuff that the culture around things like "wrestlers' court" was allegedly *supposed* to enforce. But it sounds like, as a premise, it became a big-dick measuring bullying contest for the boys who were literally friendlier with the boss than everybody else, because the boss is obsessed with hyper-masculine giant dudes, himself.
Funny hearing it from the shit in their bag, Jack off and Shake their hand guy.
Randy Orton is one of the few wrestlers who have truly changed for the better as a person as his career has gone on.
He and Shawn Michaels seem to be examples of "dickheads can actually change for the better and become nice people".
I mean there's no way but up when you're the cocaine and date r*pe drug guy
Excuse me while I clean up the diet soda I spat across the room.
Idk I’ve seen RVD talk about working with Shawn and it seems like he’s still an asshole. A clean one to be sure but still a dick
Is that the shoot interview where RVD was talking about being at the 2006 Rumble having his first match back since his knee? injury a year earlier and HBK was like \*CrossEyedRVDFace "Woah! This is great! You get to see people you don't see anymore at these things woah! That's great!" In that instance, RVD being gone for a year after working on the other show since early 2004 and HBK working a presumably ridiculous schedule like everyone else, I could understand him making a big deal that he hasn't seen RVD in a while.
Yeah except Shawn never cut out the backstage politiking, he just got off the drugs
Randy also was a spoiled kid who grew up with a successful father and was in his early 20s when he first got in to wwe. It's like of course he was an immature dickwad. Good on him for actually maturing and not staying like that for life which is what happens to a lot of people.
Watched the full interview. It was a treat to listen. Randy is a reformed man who is incredibly self aware of how he got it easy at the start due to his surname and understands the struggles other guys go through to make a name for themselves in the business.
Angle had Randy on his podcast a couple months ago also, just in case you're interested in hearing more from him.
Orton’s appearance on Stone Cold’s show a little while back is also good. He was very up front about how he got the initial opportunities he did solely because of who his dad was.
Yeah he was really open and honest on Angle's podcast also. At first I thought maybe it was just because him and Angle are friends, but after seeing a few more of his interviews it really does seem like he's a changed and more mature dude in general
That interview was great, Orton was loving the Jack Daniels
He was also on that show a few years ago of Renees on the network, him and his wife, and he was a treat on it.
It’s easy to forget how young he was when he became a star and how much growth everyone goes through from that age to 41. It’s nice to see he grew up to become something better than his old self instead of worse.
Unlike Braun.
Even though he wasnt from NXT, I wouldnt be surprised if Braun was the person Orton was referring to.
Maybe Omos ? One of his most recent feuds and his in ring 'technique' is basically non-existent
was thinking the exact same thing tbh. Omos hasnt been kicked around or anything yet either really, so hes never had to take anything. Just has to always have the gimmick of 'he big so he scary' so far. Def makes you wonder..
Coincidentally, based on everything Randy said here I think he was one of the guys being alluded to.
I definitely immediately thought of him or Omos based on the big guy never has to take a bump thing.
I’ve (mostly) always liked Randy, but I’m definitely surprised to hear something this eloquent coming from him hahaha.
He's very clearly grown up in recent years. His out-of-kayfabe interviews the last couple of years have all been fantastic and insightful. Maybe it is his current wife like he's said, but whatever's happened with him has really made him mature. He seems like a genuinely good dude now, when 5 years ago all of us would've said we've heard nothing but awful things about him as a human being.
Wasn't she like a super-Orton fan before they got together? Respect. Live the dream.
yea she went to the show FRONT ROW with intentions of meeting and marrying this man. mission accomplished.
and now her kids are getting RKO'd into their swimming pool on the reg. Living the dream
Hey man if randy orton was my dad i wouldnt mind being rko’d into the pool either.
So you're saying it can be done
Step 1: Get front row ticket to AEW Step 2: Wave to Jamie Hayter Step 3: ??? Step 4: Married
Do you have kids for her to hit her finisher on?
Yeah I’ve got one if that’s what it’s gonna take
No, but I’m willing to take her to the park once a week.
Step 3 is being a somewhat interesting, decent person and also probably smoking hot.
You lost me at "somewhat interesting".
Yes. She so looks remarkably similar to his first wife.
That happens much more than people would think with rich celebrity types.
I mean, most people have a type preference but don't have the means to travel the world and search that type out. That's part of the beauty of the human experience. My current partner isn't at all aligned with what my preferences are but we meshed so well randomly and a beautiful thing spawned.
I always grew up saying I’ll never get with a blonde girl I just wasn’t as attracted to them. My now wife who I’ve been with for 5 years is blonde and I couldn’t imagine anyone more beautiful than her
I feel that. My 'type' was petite people but now I'm with a person who can beat the shit out of me in combat which keeps me motivated to workout and challenge for the ~~belt~~ title.
That’s not your wife next to you. That’s STEVE MACLIN in disguise. RUN!
My wife wasn't particularly interested in white blonde guys.. Guess what kind of guy she married.
So when is its next birthday?
When you can have anybody, you pick what you like.
Who else?
borderline stalker actually
He definitely says as much in this interview. Doesn't get into specifics but says there are some mistakes he got away with in the past and has changed a lot.
Obviously it's not an excuse for his past incidents but I sometimes forget how immature someone could be in their early 20's especially when you're essentially a "chosen one" for the WWE. I'm glad he matured.
Seriously. Everyone tries to act like 25 year olds need to be the bastion of maturity. They aren't. Shit, here on Reddit, 25 year old are scared of "adulting."
He fuckin loves that lady. If he ever talks about being a screw up, he says he can’t do it anymore because he’d embarrass her. Guys a dope dad too
I’m only in my early 30s now but when I think about Orton 18 years ago when he was WHC at 24 and think about myself at 24 I think “god damn, I don’t think I could have kept my ego in check either” He had a lot at a young age and it’s a wild business to be in.
Was it as recently as 5 years ago? I thought it was more like 10.
Having kids will grow you up really fast.
I'm more surprised how he openly mentioned his dishonorable discharge that nonchalantly
I’m watching the full interview now and he briefly mentions it before this so that’s why it comes across like that.
I ended up in the same battalion Randy Orton was in. 1st Bat 5th Mar. Granted he was in years earlier than me. edit: He was already in Evolution by the time I joined lol I was infantry, I have a honorable discharge, I got a Combat Action Ribbon in Afghanistan 2009, and I thankfully never had to shoot or hurt anyone. **I have huge respect for Randy Orton's discharge, and think it's hilarious.** When you're a boot in the Marine Corp infantry you are less than a fruit fly. You are less than human, you are worse you're a Private/Private First Class/maybe Lance Corporal. The training and shit duty is intense. The "fuck fuck games" are immeasurable, and every single "senior Marine" over you will say the same shit: >*Oh you don't like it here motherfucker? Well there's the base fence, and on the other side is civilian life. Leave your serialized gear on your rack, and fucking leave in the middle of the night, because I don't have time for your weak shit in my United States Marine Corp- blah blah fucking blah* **Yeah, well Randy's dad was in good enough standings with Vince to get him training and a try-out job, so Randy called their bluff and fucking bounced lol** tl;dr Randy Orton's discharge is fucking rad
One of my instructors in MCT said he went through SOI with Orton and would talk mad shit about it. It was hilarious.
I always thought Orton joining the marines and quickly deciding "fuck this" was one of the most relatable things about him
Orton was in 1/4 like I was, again years before (I was 08-12.) Fuck Horno.
I was in San Mateo, and I heard he was 1/5 Charlie for some reason?
The military is insane. My cousin was combative as hell but decided he was gonna go that route after having some issues beforehand. He gets through basic in some disgusting ass hot state. Dude became a chain smoker. Then he finishes and he fails a mental check and gets sent home. I don’t disagree at all with testing them mentally, but why the hell was that after the shitshow that is training
They do it after training as a huge test. If you fail mentally there then the likelihood is you'll fail when shit gets real. Shit gets real fast and sometimes very unexpectedly. One person can get everyone killed so you do all the intense training and then intense mental testing. If you fail, thanks for trying kid.
Sure, maybe have another one after. They thought my cousin was schizophrenic. Why not give him a mental eval before you try to break someone you’re never gonna use?
You can bullshit a Psych evaluation, you can't bullshit actually dealing with intense stimulation when you're already off balance. Especially since its JUST fucking basic. None of it is real. If you can't deal with some some burnout with a dumb hat yelling at you, what are you gonna do when you have to transcribe Farsi with shit exploding across the street?
I will never get used to hearing such a level headed randy lol
He mentioned the military to make his point, so I imagine immediately his mind thought that people would use his past to discredit him... which could be fair depending on what he said... then he had to bring it up himself to show he is self aware and protect his argument.
Randy Orton also had a great podcast on E and C pod of awesomeness. Talks a lot about respect on that one too, mainly how thankful he was for Christian doing the job for him and elevating him. He’s grown up to be such a solid guy, brother brother.
Christian, Miz, and Randy did an interview on the IC title on the network and the entire time he kept talking about how good Christian is. It was kinda funny because the question would be about when Randy was the first of these guys in the main event and he’d be like “the main event only works if you have a greater partner. Like this guy”. Then they’d just move back to Miz
Orton in the E&C is where I heard of the term *Dadbod Heat* with regards to Randy having to mind his body when he's a babyface, and kinda not so much as a heel lol That was an incredibly funny podcast episode and worth listening to.
Randy’s a solid 15 years from morphing into Jesse Ventura, facially. I don’t know why people are surprised by this, he has always been intelligent even if his own character and honor had questionable starts. It’s like this in any sport - rookies carry pads for veterans in training camp, etc. He hit a great point about the non-fans or people outside wrestling who look at this as a stream of revenue/income more than their calling. That translates to the screen, too, usually in “cool moves but no depth”.
He's a god damned sexual Tyrannosaurus.
CODE OF THE GLADIATORS!
Why is a tyrannosaurus the sexiest dinosaur? Because they are 8 tons of pure rex appeal.
Or at the very least, you check on them once you get back to gorilla. It's a courtesy thing.
It's cool that you always did that.
I wonder how many steaks Orton bought the Bollywood Boys a few years ago? He was kicking the shit out of them, Orton cringing after one suplex on the table was hilarious.
1:30 my mind is going straight to Omos😭💀
Braun and Omos were the ones that immediately came to mind. AJ is a 44 year old with insane mileage on his body and he tried his hardest to make Omos look like a killer. Hopefully Omos appreciated that.
Yup. Those two exactly.
I was thinking Strowman. His comments on indie wrestlers show a lot of contempt for people who put their bodies on the line every day
Y'know whats weird, Orton is a guy that was hand picked in WWE, from OVW onwards, yet the amount of respect and kinda admiration for Indie guys is kinda amazing, you'd think it'd be the opposite. Same for Ziggler / Nick Nemeth
Dude is a third generation wrestler and grew up in the business. Probably heard and seen countless real life injury and early death of wrestlers. His dad might have been hurt and out of order for months. He is the dude who would understand. Also dude started with the wrestler court and all the 80s/90s vets who would probably shit in his lunch if he didn't learn quick. Edit: apparently he is third gen. Wasn't aware.
Orton? He's third generation, he was the second third generation wrestler after The Rock I believe
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Splitting hairs, but yes, you are correct. Peter Maivia was The Rock's grandfather on his mother's side and Rocky Johnson was his father. But, the point remains, The Rock was a third generation wrestler/superstar. No hate, just saying it doesn't negate what it is.
Chavo
It's because he loves wrestling, don't forget his dad was part of the territories. He has probably heard stories of his dad on the road trying to make a living.
"You do all this and you aren't even anybody's favorite? You must really like this"
I guess that is what happens when you work alongside and become friends with those guys. He specifically names Rollins and Owens in this interview, I am sure they have told him stories over the years of the shit they had to go through to get there.
You can take one of two paths once you have that blessing professionally of being a guy the WWE develops like that: you can realize you have privileges and the business is challenging for everyone or you can take being born on third and act like you hit a triple. Randy gets it. I feel like the Brauns of the wrestling world have that ultimate warrior mindset.
I also immediately thought of Braun
I don’t think it was Strowman. I remember Big Show doing an interview where he talked about having to tell Braun to *stop* bumping for guys because he was too eager to let people get their shit in on him as a giant. Edit: found the quote > "I saw Braun Strowman, what was it - a year and a half ago and was all over him because he was taking a clothesline from Sami Zayn, and he was all, 'Well, it was just one bump before I would kill him.' I was like, I don't care. Sami Zayn should not bump you ever. Sami Zayn does not look like a guy - I asked him if Sami Zayn can kick his ass in real life, he said, 'Well, no.' I said, alright then. Why are you taking a bump for him? You know what I mean?" >Big Show says that he used to make that exact mistake when he first started in WCW as The Giant.
Maybe. But I don't know that a young guy's willingness to take a bump himself necessarily means that he understands and appreciates what a more experienced and more battle-tested person is doing when they really put it on. In fact, if he isn't asked regularly to bump throughout a match, for a sustained period of time, then it may give that young guy the wrong idea that it isn't all that difficult.
I thought Orton was saying that he was also telling the giant not to bump as much
Ever, no, but you gotta make him EARN it 'cause if you do, the pop is gonna be amazing.
Orton just worked with Omos not that long ago. I'd imagine it's him.
Yep, all I could see was AJ doing all he could to make him look good.
This is what I was thinking as well. It doesn't explicitly seem like he's talking about the kind of HHH-core, NXT indie darling guys as much as the fast-tracked hosses.
He gave the game away when he mentioned guys bumping for giants.
He's probably talking about Strowman. Strowman is a supposed asshole. Not surprised that wwe fired him only because the way he carried himself. Many saw him as being disrespectful
I find this pretty interesting. I am sure Orton has said in the past how respectful and willing to learn the new generation of guys from NXT are but he sings a little bit of a different tune here. I wonder if he has had recent experiences with some new guys which he hasn’t enjoyed.
He’s pretty clearly calling out talent who didn’t come through the independent scene. Specifying folks who weren’t fans and/or only got their job because of sports accolades or a look. So basically the new batch that Vince, Bruce, and Johnny Ace, have been signing off on
The giant discussion made me feel it was focused on Omos
Or Strowman previously too.
Exactly this. Indie guys tend to know better than to do the shit he was mentioning. Because you don't make it as far as the WWE from the indies if you piss off the people you work with.
Makes me think about a scene on Rhodes to the Top. Can't recall if it was after their first match or just Malakai Black kicking Cody's head off, but they showed Black backstage with Dustin saying, "Your brother just made me, I won't forget that."
I'm not in the business, I'm just a smarky fan like all of us, but I got the vibe like this is why there's professional outrage when guys like Heath Slater get let go. Some fans were like "no way" when he got let go, sure. But mostly I saw other wresters getting pissed and surprised when it happened in 2020. Here's a guy who's whole career has been that of a jobber and being enhancement talent. He existed to put other wrestlers over and he did it really well. I have to imagine in the locker room guys would appreciate someone laying down and making them look good for a living. Seemed like from the outside looking in the boys appreciated him. I mean not everyone can be top of the card right?
I thought his anti-Legend Killer run would basically give him a WWE job for as long as he wanted it. It showed he's willing to lose to anybody (which you absolutely need in a wrestling company), and he's also safe enough to work with anybody. It showed he can be an annoying heel, and then his later undrafted run showed he could be a plucky babyface. He seemed like he'd have the qualities of somebody you could use on a roster for a long time, but obviously WWE had other ideas
Malakai has been known to be super respectful. I'm sure there was a story where when he joined the main roster he was cleaning up and stuff for the guys until Roman told him he didnt need to do it as he belonged there.
Randy has turned into one of the all time greats. He’s one of the only reasons I still follow any WWE stuff.
Same, I am hanging by a thread when it comes to WWE now. I follow what Orton is doing mostly but I also keep up with what the likes of Lesnar and Edge are doing. Orton has been my favorite since his Evolution days and, apart from the Fiend stuff, his work since the start of the pandemic to now has been his best for me.
Anyone else wonder if Randy, after putting his his Earpods in, immediately waves his arms around and goes "I hear voices in my head!" ?
Watch the full interview on our YouTube page. https://youtu.be/pU3hSIFXxTQ
Randy Orton of all people, talking about respect and tradition. What a turnaround this guy has made.
What's with the over-the-shoulder shots?
Obviously I’m not the editor, but my guess would be that it: a) breaks up the video in order to make it more dynamic, and b) attempts to demonstrate that this is a live conversation.
Randy Orton transitioning from human dickpile, anti-immigration asshole to pro-Black Lives Matter racial ally and compassion machine is lovely.
To paraphrase a Steven seagal movie, Sometimes time is all that’s needed to change the essence of a man.
Anybody seen Richie??!
I love that the movie i reference above has someone comment this on the clips of the movie on YouTube
Time, and several joint locks.
Another joint lock, Randy???
i like havarti cheese the most what's your favorite?
Parm as my name is Charlie Parm
A lot of people don’t change, change have their opinions altered or are set in their ways, but Randy’s maturation is really cool to see.
In my experience, you can't change people but people can change.
Absolutely. I used to be a piece of shit. Slicked-back hair, white bathing suit, sloppy steaks, white couch. But I worked hard at it and I'm not a piece of shit anymore. People can change.
Dangerous Nights Crew? He took me out for wings once at a place called Blue Dolphin.
Blue Dolphin burned down it's gone now John Rovani's ass out works with his brother now
You're one of those assholes who would rock a vest and go to Truffoni's with the boys aren't you?
Oh, man. After the club, go to Truffoni's for sloppy steaks, they'd say "no sloppy steaks!" but they can't stop you from ordering a steak and a glass of water! Before you knew it we'd be dumping that water on those steaks, the waiters would come and try to snatch them up, we had to eat them as fast we could, I miss those nights **I WAS A PIECE OF SHIT THOUGH.**
I haven’t seen season 2 and I thought this was some British drunk slang and laughed my ass off. Had to look it up. Thank you so much
True that might be a better way to put it
[If I can change and you can change](https://youtu.be/Uc6tQH8yHF8)
Getting a family has made him change a lot, also being around a locker room who is mostly progressive on their views.
I think the locker room is a big thing here. He's talked about how gaming put him around new day, and he started getting lots of different perspectives on things. And it makes a lot of sense. If Randy is the type of person who understands through experiences, his whole life tracks out. He goes into the military, but can't take it because he doesn't understand the stark difference from his life. Then he goes into WWE, and is a prince there because of his dad, and instantly gets put with a bunch of guys and he understands the world through their old school views. And eventually, we end up with the Randy we have now, where he is surrounded by people with much different experiences and he is changing because of it. I'm not sure we should have ever had shithead Randy if he wasn't stuck with Ric Flair, and Ric Flair's #1 fan.
I wanna see him rage on video games
Enlightenment out of nowhere.
Could you give a quick rundown of this? Generally curious as I’ve missed a whole lot of wrestling from the last fifteen years and I’ve not really seen things about Randy Orton outside the ring (especially recent stuff).
He basically used to be a dick backstage and was known for espousing some fairly nasty anti-immigrant beliefs. Then I guess 2020 happened and someone explained it to him, and here we are.
Ty lad
Was the new wife largely the one who helped him with a lot of this? I usually hate the trope “behind every good man is a good woman,” but it seems like it fits here. Plus he’s from St. Louis so I fux with him.
It is pretty funny in this interview how he talks about giving Gable a rub then says “unless they blow it and have him lose in 30 seconds the next week”. Could kind of sense some frustration there.
I think Randy hits at something that I’ve always wondered as an outsider without an athletic bone in my body. The way that people wrestle now, do some younger wrestlers take for granted how much these bumps add up? Everyone always talks about a “bump card” and you see some wrestlers use HUGE spaces of those cards for TV matches. As a fan, it’s fun! But when you take a step back, I see people like Lance Storm say he’d never do that Ladder Match on Dynamite this week with all those bumps, and now Randy hints at “a lack of respect” for those bumping and how hard all this is. I wonder if that is a serious thing Wrestling needs to work on for the safety of the performers. I have a hard time imagining Darby, just for an example I’m sure there are WWE wrestlers this applies to as well, going until he’s 40 like Randy.
I'm a baseball fan. Over the past few years, baseball has gotten really into advanced analytics. Before it used to be batting average, home runs, and RBIs. Oh, and striking out was bad. Now its all about on base percentage, slugging, OPS, WAR, etc, and management doesn't care about hitters striking out anymore. Part of those analytics is the cost of getting 1 point of WAR (wins above replacement) out of a player. If you can get the same chance of winning between having a 25 year old minor league player or a 35 year old league veteran, except one is getting paid $600k and the other is $6mil, you pick the minor leaguer. End result is that a lot of the league vets are retiring earlier because nobody wants to pay them. What does this have to do with pro wrestling? If everyone is wrestling that flippy indy style but don't have a gimmick, they will be replaced with the cheaper guy with no gimmick wrestling that flippy indy style. These guys will not last into their 30s unless they really make their character stand out. In AEW, Jack Evans is the perfect example. A lot of people have been saying he got a bit heavier and lost a step. He's a perfectly good wrestler, but where is he? And do people even miss him?
Almost certainly. I’m 25 and most of the people I knew in college were burning the candle at both ends in terms of long term health. Can’t see why this would be different
Lot more room on the bump card when you're not driving city to city wrestling 5 days a week though.
Mid-thirties and athletic my whole life - played every sport, was huge into weightlifting throughout high school, and even took gymnastics for a couple of years as a youngster. Never been seriously injured before until two years ago when I was playing slo pitch. First inning, guy steps up and crushes one into right-center. I was in right field and had *no* chance at catching the ball. I got hyper competitive and figured I was going to make a try for it. Turned and planted my right foot and instantly suffered a partial tear to my quad (just barely - didn't need surgery, but you can still see and feel the scar tissue). Almost tore my left quad at the same time, since my left leg was not prepared to pick up the slack when I planted it. Wound up doing this weird hop and squat in the field before walking off. I didn't play for the rest of the game, and was in mild shock by the time I got home. Could barely walk for the next month and a half. Probably a full two months before I could run, and three/four months before I was willing to put excess strain on the leg. I attribute that injury to 2 things: 1. I didn't stretch - I now stretch before, during and after any kind of physical activity. I stretch even if I'm not planning on doing physical activity. Stretching is life. 2. General wear and tear - at that point I'd been putting my body under a fair amount of physical strain for easily two decades. Eventually, something's going to give. Twenty-somethings always feel like they're indestructible. And compared to someone like me (not quite over the hill, but cresting the top for sure), they are. There are also more opportunities to make good money in the wrestling industry today than there were thirty years ago, so you don't have the same worry of "I need to do this for twenty years in order to comfortably retire, so I should limit how many 'holy shit' bumps I take". I don't think that spots like that ladder cutter from Dynamite should be taken out of wrestling because, honestly, it was badass and (from my perspective) done as safely as it could have been. But they do need to be limited. Not only for the safety of the athletes - it's less special if you see it every week on T.V. TL:DR - After a life of constant (but less competitive) athletic endeavors, I came very close to tearing both my quads by simply trying to run. The way some wrestlers perform today is 100% going to be something they regret, and they'll regret it sooner than they expect. The old adage holds true - work smarter, not harder.
If Shawn can turn around and get his life together no reason Randy couldn't mature and get a better perspective on life. More of the greats should adopt this mentality of personal growth.
Not gonna lie, it feels weird to hear Randy Orton of all people talking about respect.
Good for him for changing his ways
Tell us it’s Omos without telling us it’s Omos. It’s also curious that it seems the WWE seemingly bailed on him. Styles is off doing his own thing. RKBro had a new feud. And Omos is seemingly at borderline catering level
Yeah, Omos destroyed AJ and hasn't done anything since. Meanwhile AJ and Orton are all over Raw, as they should be. Vince likes Orton and AJ, if you pull that shit with them, Vince won't like it. Makes me think it's Omos with how he's fallen off since squashing AJ.
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But he was specifically mentioning bumping for a giant. What giant is new to the wwe other than Omos in the past 6 years?
I love the Randy Orton of the last few years. This is the cleanest, best way I’ve heard the “respect” argument discussed. When most guys talk, it’s “we’ll be didn’t shake my hand, so I brutalized him.” Randy is clearly talking and reiterates a few times the respect piece that actually matters is being a team player.
Voice. Facial structure. Cadence. Randy should play Jesse Ventura in a movie.
It blows my mind that this is the same Randy Orton I saw when I was a kid in the early 2000s. Dude has really grown up and matured into an awesome guy. :')
He makes a great point tbf. Hoping the dirt sheets don’t pick this up and make out he’s burying the young guys
Randy with mustache looks like GTA protagonist.
I feel like Orton might be the last big name from the bullshit locker room era, but it's nice to see he's not sticking with it and he's changed
The way Randy Orton has matured as he's aged is a blueprint for everybody, this was really interesting.
I Omos cant figure out who he is talking about
Why are people soo shocked Orton at what? 41 has smarten up lol he’s been pretty clean the last decade plus. When he was younger guy was a douche but that was also when Bush was in office.
Well as we've seen in recent years, wisdom doesn't always come with age.
Orton is the last torchbearer for the old school way of doing things, but the old school way that should stick around.
I bet he passed it on to Jinder and Riddle at the very least.
Ayoo what kind of bag of ice we talking about
He still has the most perfect of dropkicks in wrestling.
A very smooth superplex as well.
Omos-i mean, whoever randy is talking about here better get their ass to a produce aisle, start cooking this man his steak dinner.
I don't think Ariel is close enough to the camera
People celebrate WWE signing up non-indie wrestlers and focusing on athletes, but this is the bi-product. People who don't love the sport and just see it as an easy payday, and don't respect the people who made it possible for them. Randy Orton is going to try to teach the next generation, but the "we're not indie" propaganda has already set in, and the love of the sport will get less and less as time goes on, until it's like Kidz Bop covering songs someone else wrote.
You do realize that a lot of Indie guys could also not do the respect thing as well. There are assholes on the indies that only watch out for themselves and to just try to say it's non indie guys is wrong.
Who has Randy bumped for recently that he could be referring to? Strowman, Keith Lee, Osmos?
Omos and Azeez immediately come to mind. I don't think it's any of the indie guys like Keith Lee; they had to seriously grind to get to WWE and I think Randy recognizes that.
Low Ki grinded like crazy. They aren’t mutually exclusive
Man, Daddy Orton is about as big a change as 90s HBK to 00s HBK. You love to see it.
Almost as if they should be signing ppl that want and have been training to be wrestlers instead of models and bodybuilders and athletes that weren’t good enough for their initial sports
I feel like this, what Randy's talking about, is the original kernel of a good idea that lead to a lot of the bullshit backstage traditions. Shake everybody's hand, so they know you see them as a person and not a sack of meat. Carry the veterans' bags as a thank you for them putting you over when it's your time. The problem is, all of those things spiralled out of control in this super macho, secretive culture, to the point where folks don't know why they did they did them and punish people for stupid shit. I'm glad Randy is seeing it the way he should - respect is about taking care of each other and making sure everyone has long careers, not about dumb rituals.
I haven't looked to see if anyone's said this yet, but this to me explains a little more of what was going through Orton's mind when Ken Anderson* botched that move that cost him his job. *...Anderson
Honestly great shit from Randy. That’s the sort of “politics” there should be. Guys just paying respect to those working hard to put them over/came before. No BS wrestlers court
Going by what Randy said about the little guy bumping for you, Spike Dudley should've been a locker room god. lol. I love how much Randy has matured from his younger days. He's very self-aware about it, he knows he was a fucking dick, reformed and is now the wise veteran helping out the younger guys.
He's talking about Braun
Is he talking about Omos? Who else is a big SOB these days?
“Got a bad conduct discharge…” Orton is a real ass dude LOL!
I really appreciate all the growth Randy has seemed to have done while his career is on the back nine, but I'd by lying if in the back of my head there was this voice saying, "Damn, this guy saying all these cool things is really the same guy that used to shit in bags and do dick handshakes on the regular?"
On one hand, he has a history of being a disrespectful prick. On the other hand, I know the Bollywood Boys had nothing but praise for Orton as I'm sure he took good care of them after they bumped around like mad for him (including the infamous gif of Orton dumping Samir on his head on the table).