Randy Orton has been doing some over the best promo work of his career over the last couple of years and has seemingly kicked it up a notch during the empty arena era.
Orton's more methodical approach to promos has connected with fans at home and as he explained to Sports Illustrated, he wishes he picked up the art of the promo earlier in his career.
“I’ve changed a lot,” said Orton. “In ’09, I had that good run with Triple H, and earlier in my career as ‘The Legend Killer,’ I was still feeling it out. My answer to everything was to have a very intense look on my face. Clench my jaw, and put it all in the look. I was never a promo guy. The past year, maybe two, I’ve looked at promos completely differently. A promo earlier in my career was something I had to get through so I could have that chance to kill it in the ring. I wish it didn’t take so long for me to figure out, but the promo, that’s where we tell the rest of the story. I look forward to continuing to concentrate on my promos. There was a lot there I was missing earlier in my career, and I don’t want to miss out on it anymore.”
Elsewhere during the interview, Orton once again discussed his in-ring philosophy, believing wrestlers nowadays are doing too much and going too fast in the ring when they should be concentrating more on telling stories.
“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," expressed Orton.
Orton got into a war of words with Tommaso Ciampa in June over in-ring style, which led to Orton expressing his concern for Ciampa and wanting him to make as much money as possible. You can find his past comments by clicking here.
Orton is set to challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam.
