The third-ever Punjabi Prison match at Battleground earlier this year is considered one of the most underwhelming PPV Main Events in recent WWE History.
One of the reasons why people found it hard to invest in it is because the structure of the cells block the view of the audience and just recently Randy Orton who was a part of the match took a shot at this defect.
A parody twitter account named WWE Creative Humor recently made a post in which they joked about the mega fight between Mayweather and McGregor not taking place inside Punjabi Prison:
— WWE Creative Humor (a sub of TKO Creative Humor) (@WWECreative_ish) August 26, 2017
Randy Orton took notice of this tweet and replying to it the former WWE Champion took a shot at the bamboo structure saying that then nobody would be able to see it:
Then no one would be able to see the fight because the view would be obstructed by the two walls of 'bamboo' -duh https://t.co/5YHv7PbbYT
It’s worth mentioning here that before the Battleground PPV, Jim Ross had also spoken up about this issue in one of his blog posts saying that it has ‘challenging sight lines for TV’ which makes it hard for the audience to emotionally invest in the match.
Randy Orton challenged Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship in a Punjabi Prison match at Battleground last month. He lost the bout after The Great Khali returned during the PPV and helped the Modern Day Maharaja.
Rusev hasn’t accomplished much in WWE since returning from his injury and the Bulgarian Brute has lost both his PPV matches since his return during the July 4rth episode of SmackDown Live.
His first match was against John Cena at Battleground which was still of a decent length but his second PPV match since the return was against Randy Orton which he lost in about 9 seconds.
We noted before how this led to rumours of the former United States Champion being unhappy with the company and asking for his and his wife Lana’s WWE release.
While Lana shot these rumours down, Rusev’s quick loss at SummerSlam still made fans wonder if Officials are unhappy with the WWE Star for some reason.
However, in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer cleared the air about the WWE Star’s status and revealed that his loss was just a way to kick off a lengthy feud between the Rusev and Randy Orton.
According to the Newsletter, the idea is that their first match was a fluke and while both the stars did not appear on SmackDown Live this week, their feud is expected to continue in upcoming weeks.
The reason behind Orton’s victory was due to the belief that the Viper needed a win after his recent lacklustre PPV losses against Bray Wyatt and Jinder Mahal.
Furthermore, it’s being said that the way their SummerSlam match was booked was a decision in Randy’s favour rather than being against Rusev.
Matt Sydal (better known as Evan Bourne in WWE) and former WWE Champ Randy Orton put on one of the craziest spots in WWE history when the pair shared the ring together. Once Sydal attempted to go “Air Bourne,” Orton popped up off the canvas quickly to deliver what is known today as an “RKO Outta Nowhere” and sent the WWE Universe into a frenzy. It was this spot in particular that really kicked off the “RKO Outta Nowhere” movement, and Sydal recently spoke to Sportskeeda to talk about the iconic moment:
“The hardest thing to do in wrestling is that every time you show up, there’s just a ring with three ropes, turnbuckles on each side, it’s extremely hard to do something to surprise and shock the fans” Sydal recalled.
“So, I can’t tell you the mentality behind the stuff, because that’s thousands of hours manifested into one moment, maybe in the shower or driving down the road that the idea comes and the genius strikes and sometimes, it happens moments before you go to the ring.”
“I’m glad I got to do the spot with Randy Orton because we started a sensation called ‘Outta Nowhere’ and people love it when that happens. However, I do hate taking a belly flop on the shooter, it is really painful and yeah, it’s a sore spot but I’m glad people enjoy it. Once the art is made, it’s up to the fans to enjoy the fruits of my labor.”
WWE posted the following about Curt Hawkins incredible milestone of losing 100 matches in a row:
Curt Hawkins puts a unique spin on his 100-match losing streak
There have been many streaks in the history of sports-entertainment. Goldberg’s 173-match undefeated run in WCW, Asuka’s ongoing and record-shattering reign as NXT Women’s Champion and, of course, The Undertaker’s legendary WrestleMania Streak immediately spring to mind. And yet, there’s an altogether different brand of consistency that’s being talked about these days.
Curt Hawkins has lost 100 matches. In a row. His last win occurred on the Nov. 8, 2016, edition of SmackDown LIVE.
Indeed, after being pinned by Jason Jordan last week in the “gold-blooded” Superstar’s Raw debut, the “Captain” of the “Curt Hawkins Star FACTory” stretched his, well, defeated streak to 100 — the longest such stretch in the modern era.
Most Superstars would see triple digits in the “L” column as a sign to probably, maybe, change things up. Hawkins, however, sees things differently.
“One hundred matches, 100 stars made in my ‘Star FACTory,'” Hawkins told WWE.com. “I win every night, whether the stats say it or not. I make stars, It’s what I do.”
Finn Bálor is among those stars “made” by Hawkins, and the first-ever Universal Champion was quick to “congratulate” the Queens, N.Y. native on Instagram.
With 100 straight losses under his belt, who’s the next star to be made in Hawkins’ “Star FACTory”?
“Probably Brock. He’s dodging me,” Hawkins revealed. “I’ve invited him many times on Twitter.”
Randy Orton continues to retweet comments mocking WWE
WWE Creative Humor has apparently become Randy Orton’s favorite Twitter account. As noted earlier, Orton recently retweeted one of their posts that mocked WWE’s gimmick matches:
"I'll fight you. Just no Punjabi Prison Matches or House of Horrors or Flag Matches or any other bullshit matches" – @RandyOrton#SDLive
— WWE Creative Humor (a sub of TKO Creative Humor) (@WWECreative_ish) August 2, 2017
Last night, Orton comments on the following tweet and stated that he found it funny. The tweet poked fun at WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar always seeming to have rumors circulating around him that he is going to leave WWE:
As noted earlier, Matt Hardy claimed that he was “woken” in a RAW Fallout interview with Mike Rome. Hardy has now taken to Twitter to send out some “Woken” wisdom to the masses.
WWE Superstar Bayley suffered a shoulder injury during her match against Nia Jax on RAW Monday night. WWE released a statement last night that stated that Bayley will be evaluated next week. Her match against Alexa Bliss at WWE SummerSlam is up in the air right now. Finn Balor sent out the following tweet and stated that he was thinking of his friend Bayley:
Randy Orton retweets comment bashing WWE’s gimmick matches
Randy Orton faced Jinder Mahal in a Punjabi Prison match for the WWE Championship at WWE Battleground in Philadelphia. The normally loud crowd was essentially silent during the match. This was due to the general lack of interest in the match and the bamboo prison making it difficult for the crowd in attendance to actually see what was going on in the ring. Orton was also a part of a House of Horrors match with Bray Wyatt at WWE Payback earlier this year. That match was also met with a negative reaction from the WWE Universe. Rusev lost John Cena at WWE Battleground in a Flag Match.
WWE Creative Humor is a popular Twitter account that pokes fun at WWE. Below is the comment that Orton retweeted:
"I'll fight you. Just no Punjabi Prison Matches or House of Horrors or Flag Matches or any other bullshit matches" – @RandyOrton#SDLive
— WWE Creative Humor (a sub of TKO Creative Humor) (@WWECreative_ish) August 2, 2017
WWE fans would love to see one last match from former World Heavyweight Champion Christian before he hangs up the boots for good, and they quite possibly could get it. Christian recently took to Twitter to post a picture of a pair of wrestling boots, teasing a potential return by saying that he wonders if they still fit. Former WWE Champion Randy Orton responded to Christian’s Tweet, saying he hopes they do and asked him if he’s down for one more match:
Jinder Mahal took no mercy on Randy Orton last night during their Punjabi Prison match. The WWE Champion took advantage of several kendo sticks placed under the ring, and tore up Orton’s back with them.
WWE posted a photo of the aftermath late last night:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BW6hnXWgdhl/
What’s Next For Randy Orton?
Randy Orton has now lost to Jinder Mahal on 3 straight PPVs. All 3 of his losses were more or less due to outside interference however.
Jinder’s victory, combined by the reappearance of the Great Khali, brings up several possible options for SummerSlam matches.
One possibility is Orton taking on Khali, while Jinder defends his championship against another challenger. Another option however, is Jinder and Khali in a tag-team match against Randy Orton and a partner to be determined.
Jinder Mahal defended the WWE Championship tonight against Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison match at WWE Battleground. Orton had the match won several times but the Singh Brothers kept interfering. Orton was still able overcome the odds and started to climb up the outer-structure of the Punjabi Prison.
The Great Khali then made his WWE return and made his way down the entrance ramp as Orton was halfway up the structure. Khali then grabbed Orton by the throat and Mahal escaped the Punjabi Prison to retain his WWE Championship. After the match, Mahal and The Great Khali celebrated on the entrance ramp.
Randy Orton & John Cena defeat Jinder Mahal & Rusev after WWE TV tapings
Randy Orton and John Cena teamed up tonight after 205 Live went off the air and defeated Jinder Mahal and Rusev. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle on Rusev and then went for an Attitude Adjustment but Jinder Mahal ran into the ring and broke it up. Orton then planted Mahal with an RKO inside the ring and Cena connected with the Attitude Adjustment on Rusev for the victory. Below is a fan video of the finish to tonight’s dark match:
Randy Orton will face Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship in a Punjabi Prison Match this Sunday at WWE Battleground. John Cena will square off against Rusev in a Flag Match at the PPV.
The Usos are confident heading into WWE Battleground
Jimmy Uso defeated Kofi Kingston tonight on SmackDown. Kofi Kingston looked like he had the match won after connecting with a Crossbody off the top rope. Jimmy Uso rolled through and was able to pick up the pinfall victory over Kingston. This Sunday at WWE Battleground, The Usos will defend their SmackDown Tag Team Championships against New Day. The Usos picked up some momentum tonight and are clearly confident heading into the match as you can see in the SmackDown Fallout video below.
Latest episode of “The Fashion Files”
The latest episode of “The Fashion Files” aired Tuesday night during SmackDown. Tyler Breeze was dressed up as Agent Scully as the episode was parodying X-Files. Breezango thought they heard a ghost but it turned out to just be Aiden English singing. They then received a package from a delivery man that turned out to be the head of their beloved toy horse. The package also contained a note that read “Battleground”. Fandango then stated that this will all come to an end this Sunday at WWE Battleground. Check out the latest episode in the video below.
Kurt Angle on CM Punk returning to wrestling in the future
RAW GM Kurt Angle answered a few questions on his Facebook page a couple of days ago. A fan asked Angle about CM Punk’s MMA future and a possible return to professional wrestling. Angle responded with the following:
“I hope he comes back. I think his MMA career is over. He needs to go back to what he does best!”
Randy Orton returning to SmackDown on Tuesday
WWE Superstar Randy Orton has not been seen on SmackDown since July 4th because he was filming the new WWE Studios movie “Changeland”. Orton will make his return to SmackDown this week in the final episode before WWE Battleground. Orton will face Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship in a Punjabi Prison match at the PPV.
Sasha Banks pokes fun at Alexa Bliss on Instagram
WWE posted a photo of Alexa Bliss on their Instagram account earlier today that stated that “#LittleMissBliss always has something up her sleeve”. Sasha Banks left this comment on the photo, “Yeah Paige’s jacket pfpfpfp”.
Randy Orton will be absent from SmackDown tonight as he’s in Thailand filming a new movie. Orton will be filming scenes for Changeland, with Breckin Meyer and Seth Green. Green is also writing and directing the film.
Orton isn’t advertised to appear at any WWE events until next week’s SmackDown on July 18th, which is the go-home show for WWE’s Battleground pay-per-view. Orton faces WWE Champion Jinder Mahal in a Punjabi Prison match at the PPV on the 23rd, then will resume his regular WWE schedule.
Orton posted the following updates on Instagram from Thailand today:
WWE.com announced a new match for Smackdown Live! tonight from San Antonio. Tye Dillinger will take on WWE champion, Jinder Mahal, in a non-title match.
Last week on Smackdown, it was Jinder’s Battleground opponent, Randy Orton, who was in singles action against Aiden English.
Preview of Dillinger vs. Mahal
WWE.com posted the following regarding tonight’s match between Jinder Mahal and Tye Dillinger:
“As one of the final three competitors in last week’s special Fourth of July Battle Royal, Tye Dillinger was so impressive that he has now been granted arguably the biggest opportunity of his career tonight – a non-title contest against WWE Champion Jinder Mahal.
However, while The Perfect 10 has proven that he can handle the numbers game, will he keep The Singh Brothers at bay long enough to score an important victory over The Modern-Day Maharaja? Will Mahal be too preoccupied with his upcoming Punjabi Prison Match against Randy Orton at WWE Battleground to repel the up-and-coming challenger? Don’t miss a moment of the action as Dillinger takes on Team Blue’s top champion.”
– Ahead of his appearance at tonight’s (Fri. July 7, 2017) Dinsmore’s Midwest All Pro Map Mania event, former WCW President and WWE Monday Night RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff reunited with his storyline nephew Nick Dinsmore (Eugene) from their time in WWE. Check out the picture here:
— "Eugene" Nick Dinsmore (@UGeneDinsmore) July 7, 2017
– Former WWE Champion Randy Orton took to Twitter and retweeted the following jab at Universal Champion Brock Lesnar’s schedule:
WWE 2K18 is so realistic that you can only play as Brock Lesnar five times a year #Merch
— WWE Creative Humor (a sub of TKO Creative Humor) (@WWECreative_ish) July 6, 2017
– You can find the full card for tonight’s RAW exclusive live event from Madison Square Garden here below. The show will feature two matches from SmackDown Live, and it should also be noted that Cedric Alexander will be replacing Austin Aries in the Cruiserweight Championship match against Neville:
* Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
* Dean Ambrose vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz
* The Hardys vs. RAW Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus
* AJ Styles vs. WWE United States Champion Kevin Owens
* Cedric Alexander vs. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville
* Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe
* Dolph Ziggler vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
* Karl Anderson vs. Finn Balor
* R-Truth vs. Goldust
* RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax & Alicia Fox vs. Bayley, Sasha Banks & Mickie James
Randy Orton is steadily approaching his Punjabi Prison match for the WWE Championship against current title holder Jinder Mahal at the WWE Battleground pay-per-view (PPV) later this month (Sun. July 23, 2017), but he won’t be around much for the build-up as he is set to take some time off.
Per a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Orton will not be appearing on WWE TV until the Battleground go-home SmackDown Live show on Tuesday, July 18th. “The Viper” is reportedly co-starring in the movie Changeland alongside former Monday Night RAW guest host Seth Green and Breckin Meyer.
Earlier this year, former WWE Champion Randy Orton angered a lot of independent wrestling fans and talents with his comments regarding the current indie product. Orton retweeted a critique sent out by Rip Rodgers on Twitter and everything spiraled out of control from there. The post mainly scolded indie wrestlers for their excessive use of dives and super-kicks during matches.
Recently, Orton was interviewed in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri on Hot 104.1 to promote the WWE Championship match he had with Jinder Mahal at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view (PPV). Orton commented on the ‘dive’ situation and clarified that he doesn’t have any problems wrestling guys that do dives, as he had no problem putting a guy like AJ Styles over in WWE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL7bUOG9B38
“I’m putting over AJ [Styles] strong, right? AJ, he has dives. A lot of guys that I work with do dives. I’ve been dived on a lot. I don’t have a problem with dives out of the ring, but when a lot of these guys, who don’t have anything to fall back on, and they’re not making any money doing it, they’re going around town wrestling on these independent shows — which is awesome, by the way. A lot of our guys, like AJ, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins wouldn’t be here without the indie scene. But they’re smart. A lot of these guys are going to go out there and they’re going to break their neck at 23 years old, doing stuff they shouldn’t be doing”
“It’s a display of athleticism, no doubt, but … I’m not going to watch gymnastics. I want to go watch a story, a fight between a good guy and a bad guy. How many flips they do each, I’m not keeping a tally … But do you know who had my back on it? Guys like AJ. Guys that do dives and know what they’re doing … Kurt Angle texted me after that. He didn’t do dives. If he did, he would put it where it should have went … he wouldn’t have done it just to do it … If that’s where our business is going, to where it’s just a preconceived, choreographed match with a bunch of acrobatics — back flips, front flips, gainers off the top rope, shooting star presses, moonsaults to the floor — then I don’t want to be a part of it. But I’ll tell you what: I don’t think that’s where it’s going.”
SmackDown Live star Randy Orton will co-star in “Changeland” with Seth Green and Breckin Meyer, according to a report at Deadline.com.. This is the first feature film written and directed by Green, a longtime WWE fan and former RAW guest star.
Changeland focuses on “Green’s always hesitant character undergoing a personal crisis as he meets up in Thailand with his self-assured best friend, played by Meyer.”
Also signed on for Changeland are Clare Grant, Brenda Song, Macaulay Culkin, Rose Williams and Kedar Williams-Stirling.
No word yet on when the movie will be released, but production began this week in Thailand.
WWE Champion Jinder Mahal recently did an interview with Sportskeeda to promote his upcoming title defense against Randy Orton at the Monday In The Bank (MITB) pay-per-view (PPV) this weekend (Sun. June 18, 2017). You can check out what he had to say here:
The Rock being his dream opponent:
“I think The Rock would be my perfect pick just because he’s such a huge Superstar and growing up he was one of my favourites, you know he was my idol. Just everything – from the way he spoke to his fashion sense to his style in the ring – you know he was a very fierce competitor. He was very strong and was always in tremendous shape and great on the microphone, very entertaining. So that would be my dream opponent of all time, to work a programme with the Rock. You know I think it’s still possible and can happen one day. He likes to come back to the WWE every once in a while. I think it’s a real chance that the opportunity can come to fruition.”
What he thinks about The Undertaker’s apparent retirement:
“I believe there is another chapter left but that’s the thing about the WWE, that’s the thing with Undertaker, he’s so mysterious, he’s so unpredictable, you don’t know what that chapter’s going to be.You know he can pop up anytime, he can pop on RAW or on SmackDown. He can pop up at WrestleMania, you just never know, but I believe that he still has something left. But that’s just my opinion. Even if he’s done, he’ll go down as one of the greatest of all time.”
Who he thinks will win the first ever female MITB Ladder Match:
“I think it’s a great opportunity for the women. You know WWE is very progressive and the women’s division is moving forward. They have a match just like the WWE male Superstars are having and it’s tremendous. It shows equality, which I know WWE is very proud about. It’s a chance to showcase the Women’s division because I do believe they are tremendous, tremendous athletes. They hold their own against any of the matches that the men are having. As far as winning, I’m going to say, Carmella. We haven’t seen a lot of her, she’s unpredictable and is kind of the dark horse. I would like to see her win.”
You can read Mahal’s full interview with Sportskeeda by clicking this link here.
WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair was recently a part of the WWE Network exclusive show Table For 3, alongside Randy Orton and Bruno Sammartino, to talk about his time in the industry. You can check out some of the highlights here:
Partying with Randy Orton and Batista during their days in Evolution:
“I used to be able to get him. Now, he’s all calmed down, when I was hanging out with him and Batista, I had more fun. Hunter was always kind of… he had his own thing, but [Orton] and Dave [Batista] had a whole different gig going on. Two young, handsome guys. I’d just take Batista to the bar and he’d take his shirt off for all the chicks!” Flair added, “I was living my life vicariously through these two guys!”
Wanting Orton to retire soon so he can get his third Hall Of Fame ring:
“Well, here’s the deal. I want you to retire as soon as you can. God knows you’ve got enough money, okay? So I can get my third [WWE Hall Of Fame] ring when they induct Evolution, okay?”
The WWE made a big mistake during former WWE Champion Bray Wyatt’s entrance on Monday Night RAW last night (Mon. June 12, 2017).
Before making his way to the ring, “The Eater Of World” cut a promo on the jumbotron prior to uttering the words “I’m here,” and blowing out the light in his lamp to cue his music. His entrance video, however, still featured images of now-former WWE Champion Randy Orton from when he was a member of The Wyatt Family during Bray’s time on SmackDown Live. Check it out:
Wyatt and Orton had quite the feud on SmackDown Live after “The Legend Killer” betrayed Wyatt and the Wyatt Family, going on to defeat “The New Face Of Fear” at WrestleMania 33 for the WWE Title. Orton, however, eventually dropped the strap to Jiner Mahal at Backlash earlier this year.
Randy Orton had the holiday weekend off from WWE live events, and used it to spend some time with his kids by the family pool. Evidently, the Orton family has a very strict “No…Diving” policy, which is punishable by an RKO-Outta-Nowhere.
Orton posted the following to social media earlier:
Orton will get his WWE championship rematch against Jinder Mahal at “Money in the Bank” on June 18th. The show will be held in Orton’s hometown of St. Louis.
Originally it had been planned for Orton to defend the WWE championship against a returning Rusev on the show, but plans changed when the decision was made to put the title on Jinder. What is next for Rusev now remains unknown, but should be cleared up shortly after his return.
Eric Bischoff recently took time during his Bischoff on Wrestling podcast is discuss the …dive controversy surrounding Randy Orton. He had this to say:
“Drawing more money, what does that mean anymore? Again, I like Randy a lot and I have a ton of respect for him so I do not mean this to be any kind of a shot at Randy. But Randy has the luxury of having a very successful career with for what is in all intents and purposes — it wasn’t intentional but [WWE’s] a monopoly.”
“Yes, WWE makes a lot of money and as a result so does Randy. Randy hasn’t had to change his style because he has the privilege of working for a company that is able to pay Randy a lot of money. And he doesn’t have to go out and make his living on the independent circuit. Randy doesn’t have to go out and create new fans. All Randy has to do is stay on the treadmill.”
“[Randy] has that luxury, that privilege of getting [his] seven figures and having a check show up in the mail once a month for things [he] don’t even remember doing, and getting merchandise money because [he has] this machine behind [him] that prints that money. And a lot of people don’t, the vast majority of people don’t. It’s a little bit like the music industry where 2% of the people make 98% of the money. Well, I don’t think that 2% of the people who are making 98% of the money should necessarily look down their nose at the other 98% who are trying to craft a living.”
Credit to Still Real To Us for the transcription.
What do you make of Bischoff’s comments? Let us know in the comments.
In case you missed it, Randy Orton caused a bit of a scene over the weekend on Twitter. Rip Rogers, head trainer for Ohio Valley Wrestling, posted a picture on Twitter of a message he received. The message was critical of independent wrestling and it’s reliance on high spots. Orton retweeted the message and simply added “…dive”.
WWE Cruiserweight Superstar Drew Gulak posted a photo shortly after SmackDown went off the air. The photo was with Randy Orton and poked fun at the controversy over the tweet.
Erick Rowan Will Face Luke Harper At Backlash This Sunday
Erick Rowan joined SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon and Renee Young on this week’s episode of Talking Smack. Rowan wanted a match against Luke Harper. Rowan referred to Harper as “Lucas” and psychotically laughed at the mask he brought with him to Talking Smack. Shane McMahon then made the match official and Erick Rowan will face off against Luke Harper at Backlash.
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown Live take place from Manchester, NH and is the ‘go-home’ show ahead of WWE Backlash this Sunday. WWE is advertising two matches for the show:
AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal
This match pits the two male singles title challengers at Backlash against one another. Jinder takes on Randy Orton for the WWE championship on Sunday, while AJ Styles challenges Kevin Owens for the US title.
Randy Orton vs. Baron Corbin
As of this writing, Baron Corbin is not booked for a match at Backlash.
Updated Backlash Card
Ahead of tonight’s SmackDown, WWE has confirmed five matches for Sunday’s Backlash PPV:
WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Breezango
US Champion Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles
Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch & Naomi vs. Carmella, Natalya and Tamina Snuka
As we previously reported, WWE Champion Randy Orton and former WWE Superstar Bully Ray got into a Twitter exchange over Orton’s recent criticism of the professional wrestling indie scene. Ray took to a recent episode of Busted Open Radio to comment on the incident, and you can check out the highlights below:
Orton’s response to his #Dive photo on Twitter:
“The part about Randy Tweeting me is where things get wonky and I don’t understand. Because here’s the deal, that diatribe that you just read, somebody texted that to me about two days ago and I hadn’t read it. I did not read it on Rip Rodgers Twitter or Randy Orton’s Twitter or wherever it came from because I don’t follow either one of them. When I read that I thought it was funny, and I saw the last word and it said ‘dive.’ I was like ‘Oh I have that picture of me diving.’ I was kind of laughing saying to myself ‘I look like the Hindenburg falling.’
“I was making fun of myself, so the post that I put up there of ‘dive’ was kind of a tongue in cheek joke at myself because here I am the veteran and I’m doing a dive. I had no idea about anybody else’s stuff, but I guess it was coincidental. This had nothing to do with Rip Rodgers. As a matter of fact, if you go back a month ago you can see that me and Rip Rodgers, we actually have some really good back-and-forth on Twitter, where we basically agree almost one hundred percent of the time when it comes to wrestling and wrestling psychology, and that old school mantra. Rip Rodgers even went as far to Tweet me ‘Are you sure you’re not my son?’ That’ show much me and him are on the same page.
“So I would not even be talking about Rip Rodgers or taking a shot at him. If I was talking about him I would hit the little ‘@’ symbol so Rick knew I was talking about him. Now, Randy gets in on it. If I was referring to Randy, which I would not be doing at all, I would’ve added Randy. Because I’m a man and I will tell you if I am talking about you or taking a shot at you. So my Tweet had nothing to do with those people. But I did feel the need to fire back and I did. I’m sure you have that Tweet ready to go.”
Ray on his response back to Orton on Twitter:
“And the reason why I said Randy Orton is wrong again, is because me and Randy actually have a very long history. People may or may not know the story, and I’ll try to give you the cliff notes version of what happened – About 15 years ago there was a live event between me and D-Von and Randy Orton and Batista. It was just one of those matches that just did not go the right way. It was a snake bitten match. I wound up hurting my back, Randy wound up hurting his leg and his shoulder, Dave wound up hurting his tricep – it was just one of those bad nights. Those guys held a little bit of a grudge from that night, and it went on for a long long long time. Well fast forward 10 years later, I was back in the WWE.
“Me and Randy saw each other and within an instant, we shook hands, we hugged, sat down, talked about it, and within five minutes we had exchanged apologies. Randy said ‘Bubba I’m sorry, I was young, I was immature, I should’ve never been saying those things I said about you.’ I said ‘Randy, I’m sorry too. I was a bit of a hot head back then, I’m sorry if I yelled at you for anything.’ We totally buried the hatchet. My last year in WWE with Randy couldn’t have been any better. We exchanged funny stories, we talked, we talked about doing the super 3-D together, it was a great time. He was one of the last people I said goodbye to at WWE. We both expressed to each other how happy we were that we were able to bury the hatchet. I still consider him one of the best workers in the world, okay? So I have zero clue why he needed to take that shot at me. But you know what? It’s all fine and good because me and Randy’s paths will cross again.”
The apology Orton sent out soon after:
“Now, he mentioned ‘old timer’ in there right? So he’s probably addressing me as the old timer right? Well, he talks about the money and the 13 titles and everything like that – yeah man, I got to agree with you. Because as far as the money’s concerned, I’ve made a boatload of it Randy, just like you. So counting that money and looking at your bank statement is freaking awesome. As far as your 13 titles are concerned, man, I’m on the same page as you, because I have 24 of them. So I’m on board with you Randy, I totally get it, brother!”
If this is jealousy related due to fans being more interested in what’s happening outside WWE:
“I don’t know if jealousy is the right word. I really don’t know what the right word is. Here’s what I know, I’ve experienced both ends of the spectrum and everything in between. I’ve wrestled in front of seven people in the Polish-American club in Piscataway, and 100 thousand people at WrestleMania, I’ve done the Tokyo Dome, Madison Square Garden, I’ve main evented all over the world, I’ve been in ECW, I’ve been in Ring of Honor, TNA, Hustle, Old Japan, New Japan, you name it. I’ve seen all the different promotions, I’ve seen all the different styles, and I appreciate all them for what they’re worth. I understand when it comes to wrestling psychology, I understand what the perfect wrestling psychology is.
“But I also know that there are different genres and that most people like this new style of wrestling. People enjoy it. Just like people enjoy movies like Fast And Furious. You buy a ticket to go see Fast And Furious, just because you want to see everybody crash and burn. You’re not paying because you want to invest in the story. Some people want to invest in Sports Entertainment, and some people want to invest in an entertaining sport. And everything in between. And I think that’s what you’re getting in the world of pro wrestling right now, and I can’t understand why people are upset by 10 dives and 20 super-kicks because half of the roster right now in the WWE got their start doing that style.”
Randy Orton has been causing a stir on Twitter recently, stemming from a shot he took at Independent wrestlers and wrestling fans. While Orton is currently the focal point of the controversy, it was actually started by Rip Rogers, current head trainer at Ohio Valley Wrestling.
Things got rolling when Orton responded to the following tweet sent out by Rip Rogers:
Rogers’ sentiment seems to have struck a chord with Orton. Speculation is that Orton is not the only wrestler to come up through the WWE system who is not in favour of an independent wrestling scene which they feel is too focussed on high spots. Miz has expressed similar sentiment, albeit while performing on “Talking Smack”.
Matt Hardy just recently chimed in on his feelings in-regards to high-spot focussed independent wrestling:
If you EVAH feel that urge again, Dogg of the Road.. I can now assist you. I've almost cured Nero.. And he was EXTREMELY sick. pic.twitter.com/IGQWWfKrBF
