WWE’s Randy Orton recently got people talking after making comments about working with stars from NXT on Raw, saying they don’t know what they’re doing in the ring when they come up to the main roster. Road Dogg recently addressed those comments on this week’s Oh…You Didn’t Know, and he offers a rather nuanced take on Orton’s comments, understanding where he’s coming from but also spotlighting the differences between what NXT focused on and what Raw and SD primarily do.
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“I don’t disagree with him at all. For him to say they don’t know what they’re doing, 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 and I don’t expect them to,” Road Dogg said.
“But protecting your opponent, look, these guys get in there and hit each other hard. Now it’s not just stiff working. It’s huge stunts and flips to the floor. So you do have to protect yourself and you have to protect your opponent because at the end of the day, it is a work, it is a job, and I have to go home to my wife and children and be able to pick up my grandchildren at my age,” he said.
He agrees with Orton’s overall point but also points out that part of doing this job is learning as you’re doing it, and some of these stars coming from NXT still don’t have that much overall experience. “So I totally understand where Randy is coming from. I think Randy is correct, but sometimes guys go up there really early and never worked anywhere before. Some guys started during the pandemic and never worked in front of a live crowd,” Road Dogg said.
“I saw Randy literally on the show talking to The Street Profits as the match was going on when he was in the ring with them. I thought, ‘Man, that is so awesome. Randy is teaching these kids as he’s having a match with them.’ It’s on the job training. That’s how you have to do it,” Road Dogg said. “It was a different animal down there (NXT). It was a wrestling show, and so the tempo was faster, the speed was faster, and the wrestling was more important”
“On the main roster, it’s about flamboyance and entertainment because it’s not all 25-year old dudes in black T-shirts that watch RAW. Families watch RAW so you have to give them these entertainment segments like the wedding segment that happened the other week. You have 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,” Road Dogg said.
What did you think of what Road Dogg had to say about NXT talents coming to Raw and SmackDown? Let us know in the comments!
H/T Wrestling News
