Randy Orton Fires Shots at NXT Stars: “You Need To Sell!”

Randy Orton has been dominating on the main roster for more than a decade and now The Viper seems to have had his own issues with a number of up and coming NXT superstars.

Recently, there was an argument between Orton and a number of developmental stars when The Apex Predator made a comment about the way many wrestlers on the brand have to slap their legs when delivering moves.

There was also a back and forth between Tomasso Ciampa and Orton a few weeks ago which has led to many fans believing that the two men will collide on the main roster in the near future.

Interestingly, Orton pulled no punches in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, where he talked about the way NXT matches are put together and how the many superstars are addicted to the “fight forever” chant from the NXT crowd.

“I’m not saying that my opinion is the only way to go. It’s worked for me, but it might not work for them. Any advice that I give guys might not work for them.”

“When you have A-Z memorized, it becomes a choreographed, physical, brutal, violent dance. It can be smooth, and it can look rough, and things can look hard-hitting, but when it comes down to it, slowing down and letting people see what you’re feeling–like someone getting dropkicked in the knee earlier in the match, and then 10 minutes later, you know why he’s limping across the ring.”

“Selling, selling, selling. All those guys sell, but they need to turn up the selling meter and take a page out of some of these old-school guys’ books. You need to sell.”

“I can’t stand when I see 10 false finishes in a row, where a guy takes a powerbomb and then he’s up and then he’s delivering a knee, and then the other guy ducks, and then it’s boom, boom, boom, boom. It’s too much. But because these guys are capable of doing it, because the fans are going to chant ‘Fight For-Ev-Er!’ and all that crap, they’re going to keep doing it because they think that’s what they’ve got to do to get that reaction.”

“But sometimes the fans don’t need to make noise to be reacting. Sometimes they’re sitting and they’re watching with their mouths open, not saying a word, and they’re invested and paying attention. They want to see what you’re going to do or say next.”

“That’s the disconnect between a lot of the main roster guys and the younger guys in NXT. They’re just hungry, they’re addicted to that chant from the crowd. They want the roof to come off the top of that building every single spot that they do. There’s no build to that.”

“You’ve got to build to that. There’s a crescendo. You’ve got to start slower and then pick up the pace, then settle back down. It’s like a director of a symphony. It’s an art. We do it so much, and guys get injured so much, there’s a smarter way to do business. That’s my main concern.”