Road Dogg says Randy Orton might have a point about NXT talent not being ready for the flagship show in WWE.
During the build-up to WrestleMania 38, Randy Orton appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and spoke about how some new talent have “lost that art” of making pro wrestling believable. Orton said that instead of selling, he’s protecting himself so he doesn’t get his jaw broken, then implied that some of those intangibles aren’t being taught in NXT.
“When Vince [McMahon] was on [the Pat McAfee Show], he talked about your number one priority, above all, being protecting your opponent. That’s not taught, necessarily, in NXT,” Orton said, “and I know that because I’ve been in the ring with guys that came from NXT and they don’t what the f-ck they’re doing. It’s unfortunate, but that is just how things are changing.”
Road Dogg, who at one time served as a coach in NXT, responded to Orton’s comments on his Oh… You Didn’t Know? podcast and explained why he sees Orton’s point, at least to a certain extent.
“I don’t disagree with him at all. Look, for him to say that they don’t know what they’re doing, like OK, I guess you can say that and he’s right, to an extent. But they know what they’re doing, they just don’t do it perfectly yet. They don’t do it as well as you do, Randy. And I don’t expect them to, but protecting your opponent — these young guys get in there and hit each other hard and do stuff, and it’s not just stiff working, it’s huge stunts and flips to the floor, holy mackerel — so you do have to protect yourself and your opponent because at the end of the day it is a work and it is a job and I have to go home to my wife and children and be able to walk and pick up my grandchildren when I’m at my age,” Road Dogg explained. “So I totally understand where Randy is coming from, I think Randy is correct, but where else — sometimes guys go up there really early and they never worked anywhere before. Some guys started during the pandemic and never worked in front of a live crowd, and their character took off so they’re [on the main roster] now.
“I saw Randy, literally, on the show talking to the Street Profits as the match was going on and he was in the ring with them. I thought, man that’s so awesome, Randy’s teaching those kids as he’s having a match with them, it’s on the job training. That’s how you have to do it because it was a different animal down there [in NXT], it was more of a wrestling show and the tempo was faster, the speed was faster and the wrestling was more important,” Road Dogg noted. “On the main roster, it’s about flamboyance and entertainment and because it’s not all 25-year-old dudes in black t-shirts that watch RAW, families watch RAW, so you’ve got to give them these entertainment segments, like the wedding segment that happened the other week. You’ve got to hit them with this more colorful entertainment because that’s what plays to the bigger audience. I know people will disagree with that, but that’s how I see it.”
Read More: Road Dogg Reveals Vince McMahon Rode In A Dumpster Before Mick Foley & Terry Funk
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