|
WWE: When it's in your blood...
Randy Orton is the youngest ever WWE Champion.
|
There are few bigger names in the domain of World Wrestling Entertainment than Orton.
The third generation from the famous bloodline is Randy - RKO - and he dropped into Sky Sports to answer skysports.com readers questions ahead of last week's Sky Box Office event Vengeance.
Here is what he had to say to you
Hi, you're known as the 'Legend Killer'. Who is the next legend that you would like to 'kill'? Thanks, Jack, Glasgow.
RANDY: I wish I could pick and choose. If I was able to, I would definitely pick Hulk Hogan. I grew up around him, my father wrestled him and he was a part of my life growing up.
Hey Randy how you doing? I just wanted to know out of all of the young wrestlers in WWE right now who would you most like to face?
Michael Thompson, South Norwood.
RANDY: Definitely John Cena. John and I came up together. He has been more successful than me right now; he has been champion for longer than I was, even though I was the youngest champion, he has held that title for close to a year now. I would like to knock him down off his pedestal and prove to everyone that I am the young talent to take it to the future.
Hey Randy, a few years ago you were part of Evolution and worked with Triple H, Batista and Ric Flair, now that you've left, the others have gone on to win gold. You haven't really had much success, in fact some would say your career has gone downhill since than. Would you ever attempt to rejoin with Triple H to confirm your place as a true legend in the making? Tim, Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
RANDY: Triple H and Ric Flair took me under their wings when I first started and I gained a lot of knowledge from them in and out of the ring. But in terms of joining with them again, I think they would do nothing but hold me back. Lately I have been facing guys like The Undertaker, who is 13-0 at Wrestlemania, he defeated me but that was a big challenge to take on, these guys are unbeatable. As far as Triple H is concerned or Ric Flair, I think they have had it. Their careers are pretty much over. Wrestling is in my blood and I am not even in my prime yet, I have enough going for me right now without them.
Sir Legend Killer, what superstars do you get on most with backstage?
Ken Stevenson, Glasgow.
RANDY: Rey Mysterio is a very close friend of mine. A few of the wrestlers that have been let go, like Maven is a good buddy of mine. I get a long with everybody. Me and Cena are close; I get along pretty well with Umaga, the big Samoan fella. A lot of us started out together about five or six years ago, like Shelton, Charlie Haas. All of the guys who are my age, the up-and-comers, we have a bond.
Hey Randy. I'm sorry to hear about your injury problem. Anyway, I was wondering what your dream Wrestlemania match would be and was also wondering who are, in your opinion, the next big stars in the WWE, apart from yourself of course? David Hobbs, UK.
RANDY: I'd say a dream match for me at Wrestlemania would have to be Hulk Hogan. As for the next big star, Cena has already proved he is a breakout star, so I would have to go with Bobby Lashley. He is a big, big black dude who is unbelievably strong yet agile for his size. He reminds me a lot of Brock Lesnar, just his skin is a little darker.
You've got ready for matches many times before but when it comes to big pay per view matches, such as your match at Vengeance, what is running through your head before you go out and perform on a big stage? And do you get nervous before working with people as good and big as Kurt Angle in the ring?
Anon.
RANDY: A lot of guys in the business who have been around a while say that if you are not nervous, a least a few butterflies in your stomach before you go out, then you shouldn't be doing it. Like a baseball player going out to bat or a footballer before the national anthems at the World Cup, at the top of your game and at the professional level, you are going to have some sort of nervous energy.
If you are confident and good at what you are doing, you turn that nervous energy into adrenaline and use it to perform better. I don't think I will ever not be nervous, and for the bigger matches, I am just as nervous as I would be for the small-town, not on TV, events in front of a couple of hundred people.
You've been on the Raw and Smackdown brands and now you've worked in front of the ECW crowd. What are the major differences between the brands and which one is your favourite? Lisa, Richmond.
RANDY: I like working in front of the WWE crowd because I like to have 20 or 30 minute matches where I can go out there and tell a story that has a big pay-off, a big climax at the end. WWE Fans respect that.
ECW fans want the bell to ring and someone to bleed right away. They want chairs, barbed wire, tables, ladders and all that crazy stuff straight away and that doesn't usually make for a good story. It is just a bunch of brutality - which is fun to watch - but once you have seen a guy get hit with a chair ten times, it loses its interest.
If you make it build, then once you have been waiting for it, and they have teased you then there is a pay-off at the end. ECW fans don't understand that. Working in front of the ECW crowd is exciting though because they are some of the most extreme fans in the world.
My question for Randy Orton is: How proud did you feel when you became the youngest WWE champion in history? When do you think you will be back on top of the mountain?
Darren Heath, Crewe.
RANDY: A lot of guys don't like to admit to crying, and it took me until after I had walked through the curtain into the Gorilla position - named after the late, great Gorilla Monson who used to be right behind the curtain in charge of everything - with Chris Benoit with the Championship belt around my shoulder that it hit me.
All of the guys, all of the agents and all of the old school wrestlers that knew my Dad, who I had grown up around, were all applauding me and giving me hugs. I was the last one to leave the building that night and the ring was torn down before the time I left.
I remember being in the locker room all by myself and I couldn't get the tears out of my eyes. I used Stephanie McMahon's phone to call my Dad, and told him that I had done it for him and my Grandfather. It was very emotional and when I finally had it in my hands, and it was reality, it was unbelievable, the most amazing feeling ever.
Hey Randy, did you feel as though you had extra pressure on you and were constantly being watched because you are a third generation wrestler?
Jay, Cambridge.
RANDY: I never really felt the pressure, although there were expectations, because I seemed to pick things up really quickly. I try to be humble but when I first started, I knew nothing and was down in a developmental system, like the minors. They teach you all the basics, and I was down there for a year and a half, but some guys have been down there for six years since I moved on and still haven't come through.
I learnt things quickly and always proved everyone right that said that I should learn quickly. I never had a problem with people saying that I should be further along than I was. They were saying, 'he is third generation and he takes after his Dad and his Grandpa' and I always got kudos and a pat on the back for how I performed.
|