It’s not that Randy Orton doesn’t care, but he thinks he’s better now that he’s ‘stopped giving as much of a crap’

The idea that 13 time WWE champ Randy Orton doesn’t leave it all in the ring every time he wrestles is one to which a lot of fans subscribe.

It even came up on a the most recent episode of the Network’s Bring It To The Table. During a discussion of the “... DIVE” online conversation/debate, host Peter Rosenberg said “even Triple H has sort of alluded to” the Viper phoning it in on occassion, and neither JBL nor Corey Graves disagreed.

In an interview with St. Louis’ 105.7 The Point from before Money in the Bank last Sunday (June 18), Orton doesn’t directly address the claim. But in talking about his style and advice he’s received or given to others, he refuted the notion he doesn’t care when he’s out there. It’s just that he’s learned to not force things.

Or, as he says, not give as much of a crap:

I started kind of getting it, so to speak, the light bulb came on when I stopped giving as much of a crap, I guess you can say. I don’t mean in the sense of being lazy or not caring, you know, that’s not true at all. But kind of letting it happen out there and letting it be more organic as opposed to coming up with all these ideas to where it looks more choreographed. Or if you’re banking on a reaction from the crowd in a particular point in a promo or a match and you don’t get that reaction, being prepared to go another route with what you’re doing.

An example of Randy caring - which ties into his criticism of workers who rely too much on flashy spots like diving - pops up when he talks about his kids following wrestling history on WWE Network, and how he uses resources like the streaming service in his work:

Last night I was watching a match with my grandfather from 1958. Just to like remember where it came from, how it was back then. It was a hard, stiff like boxing ring, and they didn’t take all these bumps. They told a story and the fans were on the edge of their seat because of how they were telling the story. And so many things have changed, but you can watch those old tapes via YouTube and the Network and it gives guys like me ideas on how to mix it up and be different than everybody else.

The quotes probably won’t change anyone’s minds regarding their opinion of Orton’s work, but they do provide some insight into how he approaches it.

Thoughts, Cagesiders?