Randy Orton dumps all over NXT: ‘They don’t know what the f*** they’re doing’

Randy Orton is no stranger to criticizing NXT and faster-paced wrestling styles. He was at it again today as a guest on The Pat McAfee Show. While he explained how much he enjoys working with Edge, Orton took a big ol’ dump all over NXT for failing to teach wrestlers the proper way to work in the ring:

“[Edge] helped turn it around for me because he had that old school mentality, and he knew how to work. And he wasn’t taught that when the red light’s on, cream the shit out of the guy. Because there’s an art to what we do, and a lot of guys have lost that art. And now instead of selling a punch, because you need to sell a punch, now I’m protecting myself ‘cause I don’t want to get my fucking jaw broken...when Vince [McMahon] was on he talked about your number one priority, above all, being protecting your opponent. That’s not taught necessarily in NXT. And I know that because I’ve been in the ring with guys that came from NXT, and they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing. And it’s unfortunate.”

“...I can trust [Edge]. I can give this guy my body in this ring and tell this story. And I don’t have to, in the back of my head, worry about him only being concerned with looking cool in that ring and hitting the fuck out of me and taking my head off. Because he knows...I know how to work. And when he hits me, I’m gonna sell. I’m gonna react and I’m gonna make it bigger. He doesn’t have to hurt me.”

“Longevity-wise, there’s a reason why I’ve been doing it for 20 years and I’ll do it for another 10...they’re not gonna be able to because they’re gonna be all fucked up. And so I’m trying to preach that longevity.”

It would be more helpful if Randy was more specific on who has hurt him in the ring. And while I understand why he won’t do that, what we’re left with here is a wide-sweeping indictment of the original NXT system under Triple H’s leadership. Many wrestling fans would say the NXT TakeOver shows featured the very best wrestling they’ve seen in the USA over the last 10 years. It can’t possibly be true that most wrestlers who came from NXT to the WWE main roster were dangerous workers, not interested in protecting their opponent in the ring, and only focused on looking cool. It sucks that Randy had this negative experience, but his attack is way too broad.

For those readers who aren’t interested in touching that topic with a 10 foot pole, have no fear. I have my finger on the pulse of the Cageside community, so I’ll end this post on a more light-hearted note.

Here is the exchange that Orton and McAfee had about the proper abbreviation for the Peacock streaming service:

McAfee: “The amount of absurd shit that’s gonna happen over there, Saturday and Sunday during WrestleMania, only available on The ‘Cock, Peacock, is absurd.”

Orton: “The ‘Cock? Did you call it The ‘Cock?”

McAfee: “Peacock.”

Orton: “Peacock. Okay. The ‘Cock for short? Is that like a nickname for the...”

McAfee: “Well I don’t know if we created it, but it seems like that’s what Peacock would be short...[you won’t] call it The Pea.”

Orton: “...I just think it’s pretty cool. I’m gonna start calling it The ‘Cock too.”

McAfee: “Well I will say in WWE world, I’m not sure if it’s necessarily as well received as in my world here. Because I have said that on air before and they’ve gone, ‘Peacock is the name...’ Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry, sorry, sorry. Peacock, yeah yeah...”

Let us know what you think of Orton’s perspective on NXT and/or The ‘Cock in the comments below, Cagesiders.