Black Widow
06-13-2009, 10:06 PM
By Courtney Devores
Special to the Observer
Posted: Saturday, Jun. 13, 2009
When WWE wrestler Randy Orton hits the ring Monday night at Time Warner Cable Arena, it's likely the building will erupt in boos. After all, just two weeks ago, the 29-year-old champion battered our hometown hero Ric Flair.
“I punted him in the skull back in '07, and he received another one Monday,” Orton says, in character, a few days later. (Still, he is grateful for what the 60-year-old, 16-time world champion has done for him. “He was one of my mentors when I started. If it wasn't for him and Triple H and my father [former wrestler Cowboy Bob Orton], I wouldn't be where I am now.”)
Orton's had a busy June. Last Sunday, he lost the championship to Batista at the “Extreme Rules” event. On Monday, Orton gets a shot at another title belt during WWE's Monday Night RAW event at Time Warner Cable Arena. The marquee event of the star-filled card is Orton's WWE championship match against Triple H, Big Show, and John Cena.
Orton belongs to a WWE stable of multi-generation wrestlers that also includes Cody Rhodes (son of Dusty Rhodes) and Ted DiBiase Jr. (son of Million Dollar Man). For his part, he says nepotism has nothing to do with his success.
“When I started, I didn't know how to throw a dropkick. Now I've got one of the best,” Orton says. “(Wrestling) came quick to me.”
Despite a successful career, he says he has no desire to wrestle forever.
“The business has given me a lot,” he says. “I've seen the world. I have a nice house with a pool out back and a gym in the pool house. If you watched (the movie) ‘The Wrestler,' you know it doesn't always turn out like that.
“I don't want to put myself in a position where financially I need to perform when I'm 60 or 50 or even in my mid-40s. There will be a time when I'm a dad of two or three and I just want to be at home with my family.” (Orton's daughter turns 1 in July.)
Although he doesn't see himself leaving wrestling anytime soon, Orton wouldn't mind eventually following in the footsteps of that other third-generation wrestler formerly known as The Rock – who now stars in hit family films under his given name, Dwayne Johnson.
“I think that I'd thrive if I could be a bad guy,” says Orton. “Or I'd love to play a superhero. It would be cool to have powers.”
The Charlotte Observer
Special to the Observer
Posted: Saturday, Jun. 13, 2009
When WWE wrestler Randy Orton hits the ring Monday night at Time Warner Cable Arena, it's likely the building will erupt in boos. After all, just two weeks ago, the 29-year-old champion battered our hometown hero Ric Flair.
“I punted him in the skull back in '07, and he received another one Monday,” Orton says, in character, a few days later. (Still, he is grateful for what the 60-year-old, 16-time world champion has done for him. “He was one of my mentors when I started. If it wasn't for him and Triple H and my father [former wrestler Cowboy Bob Orton], I wouldn't be where I am now.”)
Orton's had a busy June. Last Sunday, he lost the championship to Batista at the “Extreme Rules” event. On Monday, Orton gets a shot at another title belt during WWE's Monday Night RAW event at Time Warner Cable Arena. The marquee event of the star-filled card is Orton's WWE championship match against Triple H, Big Show, and John Cena.
Orton belongs to a WWE stable of multi-generation wrestlers that also includes Cody Rhodes (son of Dusty Rhodes) and Ted DiBiase Jr. (son of Million Dollar Man). For his part, he says nepotism has nothing to do with his success.
“When I started, I didn't know how to throw a dropkick. Now I've got one of the best,” Orton says. “(Wrestling) came quick to me.”
Despite a successful career, he says he has no desire to wrestle forever.
“The business has given me a lot,” he says. “I've seen the world. I have a nice house with a pool out back and a gym in the pool house. If you watched (the movie) ‘The Wrestler,' you know it doesn't always turn out like that.
“I don't want to put myself in a position where financially I need to perform when I'm 60 or 50 or even in my mid-40s. There will be a time when I'm a dad of two or three and I just want to be at home with my family.” (Orton's daughter turns 1 in July.)
Although he doesn't see himself leaving wrestling anytime soon, Orton wouldn't mind eventually following in the footsteps of that other third-generation wrestler formerly known as The Rock – who now stars in hit family films under his given name, Dwayne Johnson.
“I think that I'd thrive if I could be a bad guy,” says Orton. “Or I'd love to play a superhero. It would be cool to have powers.”
The Charlotte Observer