Randy Orton finally opens up on Tommaso Ciampa, reveals why the WWE NXT roster worries him (Exclusive)
Randy Orton does not do too many interviews and so, I was absolutely thrilled to catch up with him in a global teleconference set up by WWE. You can catch Randy Orton, when he goes up against Edge in what is being touted as the 'Greatest Wrestling Match Ever', only on SONY TEN 1 and SONY TEN 3 if you live in India.
You may catch my entire conversation with Randy Orton right here:
Interview with Randy Orton
Of late, Twitter has been ablaze with heated exchanges between NXT star Tommaso Ciampa and 'The Viper' Randy Orton and I had a chance to ask him about the same during our interaction. So, the way I phrased my question to Randy Orton was- Would he go to NXT much as Charlotte Flair did? As one would expect, Randy Orton had a lot to say about it:
As I was saying earlier, whatever Vince gives me to do, whatever my job is, in that particular situation, I’m going to do it. And, if it’s working with Tommaso Ciampa, then I’d be all for it because I think he’s very talented. And I think that there’s a few things that I could help him with. Mainly to help him get a little more out of his career. I know that he’s been plagued with injuries but I also know that he loves and respects this business. The NXT guys worry me because I see them do such highly physical things during their matches. It’s almost like they do so many impressive, so many physically impressive things. But those things are dangerous and they wear and tear on your career.
Randy Orton also revealed when he plans to retire, during the course of the interview. This is what The Apex Predator had to say:
I’ve been doing this twenty years and I’ll do this another decade. I just turned 40 and my plan would be to keep going till my 50th birthday. And I think I would be able to do that. I’d be able to support my family for thirty years of wrestling under Vince McMahon because of the way I tell stories in the ring. The facial expressions, the little transitional things that you do on the fly or you ad lib, so to speak during the match. Those are the things that people remember. I watched the match the other day and I’m not going to name names but a lot of the NXT guys work like this. And it’s just trainwreck after trainwreck after trainwreck and it’s all very impressive. But when it’s all said and done and the match is over, I couldn’t remember anything that happened.
Randy Orton actually expressed his admiration for Ciampa and because the latter has suffered many injuries through his career, he wants the leader of the NXT locker room to slow down. This is what Randy Orton thinks Tommaso Ciampa needs to do, to prolong his career.
You don’t get to invest into these matches because they are just boom, boom, boom, boom. One thing after another. And although it is highly physically impressive, and it’s something that…I wouldn’t be able to do that style. A lot of the things these guys do, I’m not capable of doing. But they are going to have very short careers. And what I worry about Tommaso Ciampa, in particular, is with all these big injuries he’s had, and we’ve all had injuries, we all work hurt, we all wake up stiff after a good fight. But he needs to tell stories and slow it down and not think that the fans want to see him kill himself.
In conclusion, Randy Orton added that he has the best interests of the NXT roster at heart. And Randy Orton would be thrilled to go down to NXT and share his knowledge with the stars to help them extend their careers.
A lot of these guys have kids. They are married. They have car payments and mortgages. And you know, when it comes down to it, this is a business. We all love what we do, but we need to make money doing it. You can’t destroy your body and not make any money doing it and work at McDonald’s because you never went to college and destroyed your neck in the ring. There has to be a purpose and the main purpose is getting paid. We love what we do, but you need to get paid for what you do. And to make it up to the main roster, to do these big shows and travel the world, the pay’s better. That’s my biggest concern for those guys in NXT. And I would love to go down there and share my knowledge with them.
Do you agree with Randy Orton and his views? Chime in, in the comments below ahead of the 'Greatest Wrestling Match' ever.