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411’s Broken Skull Sessions Report: Randy Orton On Mick Foley Making Him, Evolution, His Rivalry with John Cena

March 22, 2021 | Posted by Robert Leighty Jr.
Broken Skull Sessions Randy Orton, John Cena Image Credit: WWE

411’s Broken Skull Sessions Report: Randy Orton

-Fastlane was a rather strong show capped off by a wonderful Main Event as Reigns and Bryan delivered. This has to be leading to a Triple Threat, right? Now to the newest episode of Broken Skull Sessions as Steve Austin sits down with Randy Orton. Let’s get to it!

-Air Date: 03.21.21
-Run Time: 1:44:00

-Austin welcomes us to the show as today his guest is 14 time World Champion, Randy Orton. Orton says he is honored to be here and mentions he and Steve have never really cut it up with each other. Austin asks why is that and Orton says he has heard that Austin may not have liked him. Austin asks when Randy came up to the company and he says April 2002 and Austin was out by March 2003. Orton says they kind of missed each other, but he did take a Stunner once and Austin mentions we will get to that. Austin breaks out the beer and they toast each other. Randy is a fan of Steve’s beer.

-Randy says he is in a happy place and that he wants his wife and kids to be in a good place. They are all good and he feels he is firing on all cylinders. Austin tells Randy he has always been a fan of his in ring work and was also a fan of his fathers. What Austin has noticed is that the promos have now caught up to the ring work for Orton and he asks Orton if this is the best version of himself. Orton agrees and mentions that he is close to passing Kane for most televised matches in WWE history. He has made it a point to work on on his promos as when he mentioned earlier that Austin didn’t like him it was because he heard Austin crush his verbal skills. He then realized Austin was right because his promos were the shits. He also heard the same from Michael Hayes and while it kind of irritated him, he realized a year ago how important promos were. He admits he has always gotten by with just his natural talent and while that worked in ring, it didn’t for his promos. He realizes now why he wasn’t in so many segments other than in the ring and he was okay with that. Now he knows that promo is just as important and he learned that from some of the acting he did. It was the program with Edge last year where the light bulb went off about promos.

-Austin talks about Legend’s Night on RAW a few months back and he felt Orton stole the show with his match with Hardy and with his promo work with some of the legends. They show footage of Orton doing a backstage promo with Mark Henry who is on a scooter due to a bad leg. Austin marks out over how much of a dick Orton is being to Henry and Orton agrees with him. “How fast does that thing go anyway?” Orton tells Henry he owes him a lot of receipts because of their past, but he will give Henry a pass if he leaves right now because it is Legend’s Night. Orton agrees with Austin that Mark is giving back to the business with that promo and it is a circle of life thing in wrestling. Orton thanks Mark for that moment.

-Austin continues with the promos as he feels Orton talking now instead of just hearing him. He isn’t just spitting out rhetoric and they both agree that it is more about the delivery than the words. Austin agrees with Orton that it is also about the cadence, pauses, and body language.

-Austin switches talk to Orton’s life growing up as he comes from a wrestling family. Orton says he hasn’t spoke about this on camera but he wasn’t a wrestling fan growing up. He started to enjoy it when he got into high school, but as a kid it was just the thing his dad did as a job. His mom didn’t have him watch the matches and he just knew dad was gone for a month at a time. He became a fan in high school and his friends asked if he was going to get into wrestling. He realized he didn’t want to go to college and while he played sports he wasn’t good enough to go anywhere. They flash some photos of Orton on the high school wrestling team in high school. Young Randall!

-Orton went to The Marines and he was cool with boot camp and enjoyed things. He went to the school if infantry and things changed when he went to the fleet. It was a restart of boot camp and admits that wasn’t for him. He went AWOL for 83 days and thought he would just get his discharge, but they told him he signed a contract with Uncle Sam and would be taking his gun out to the field. Orton sat down and refused to go and that is where the dishonorable discharge came from as he disobeyed a direct order.

-Orton went back home and then approached his dad about getting into the business. Bob told Randy he was black balled from New York and he didn’t think Randy could do it. Bob relented and made the call and everyone loved Bob and asked about his son who was now 6’3”. Orton went to Stamford and worked with Dr Tom and after just a few moves they instantly signed him. Randy admits he was basically given the spot because of his father.

-Six months later Randy showed up in OVW and hey, down there at the same time happens to be Brock Lesnar, Shelton Benjamin, Batista, and John Cena. As has been stated several thousand times, that is an insane amount of young talent. The early days on the road he and Brock traveled and laughed they were getting paid to do this. Orton jokes that is something you wouldn’t hear Brock say today.

-They discuss having the foundation and thinking you have everything figured out until you shit the bed one day. Orton gets the call to the main roster and Austin asks about what he got from HHH and Ric Flair. Orton says it was a bunch of little things that helped him find his niche. He learned to slow things down and making rest holds more than just a rest hold. He talks about how the cameras are tigt on you and you had to make things snug. He also learned how to carry himself outside the ring from the two them. He talks about Flair being a blast and Austin calls him the GOAT. Orton feels there are several guys that can lay claim to that, but Flair is one of them.

-They show footage from a Taker/Orton SmackDown match during his rookie year. Orton says he was 22 at the time and Austin says he only started in the business at 24. Austin marks out over how much offense Taker is letting Orton get in during the match. You can always tell Austin is fan of the business because of how excited he gets watching. Orton says he hasn’t seen the match in a long time and it is a nice trip down memory lane. Orton admits he was lucky and blessed to have that match so early in his career. This was before getting with HHH and Flair. Taker gave him so much offense and Vince bitched Taker out about it. Taker told Vince he was in a position to help get a younger guy over and it would all come back around. Orton says that all his offense was cut out though because SmackDown was taped on Tuesday and he understood it.

-Austin tells the story of Brian Pillman coming up to him to inform him they were in a tag team. He wasn’t for it, but asks Orton about his thoughts on joining Evolution. Orton says he was working in the ring and selling for someone and he saw HHH out of the corner of his eye, so he started selling more to get his attention. HHH took notice and he and Flair picked Orton for the group as he had the look and they liked he had wrestling roots. Orton calls Ric his road dad and that he has broken down in front of him. Flair has been his therapy during many car rides. The legacy he wants to leave around is longevity.

-Austin asks about learning from Flair and Orton says it was a little of Flair just offering advice and him asking for it. He learned a lot about the business from HHH and a lot from Flair about life outside the ring. He says Flair had his stuff that he did better than anyone and the character stuff that only he could do. As for HHH they are all lucky he is around at all the shows as he always has an ear. The brotherhood they formed 20 years ago is still there and he is fortunate to have it.

-Austin asks about Bob and if he would throw in some guidance. Randy says that he mainly stayed out unless he asked for his thoughts. He does admit that anytime he would complain, Bob would tell him to shut his mouth as he was lucky to be there and doing what he does. Bob will be 70 next year and Randy says that he takes care of his mom and dad. He knows guys like Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens worked so much harder than he did to get the spot they are in and he feels he should at least take care of his dad, who helped pave the way.

-Back to Evolution as Steve asks if Batista and Orton got heat for being in the group. Orton remembers having to meet HHH at catering and he wasn’t there yet. The boys asked him to sit with them and he had to pass as he was sitting with HHH and then the looks came from everyone. Austin laughs because he knows that feeling as you question why this guy is getting pushed, but when you are that guy you take what you are given. Austin says nobody is going to Vince to say they don’t want this push or spot.
-Next discussion of the RKO and Orton says he is fortunate to work with so many guys that come up with ways to take the move. He gives all the credit to them as he isn’t creative enough to ask a guy to do a 720 and then take the RKO. He was hurting his shoulder with his old finisher and Johnny Ace told him to start using the Ace Crusher/Diamond Cutter. He does say that the Ace Crusher and Diamond Cutter came first. He threw the idea of calling it RKO to Vince as his full name is Randall Keith Orton and Vince said he liked it.

-Stunner vs RKO: They cue up footage of each move and first is Punk taking a springboard into a RKO at Mania XXVII. Austin then hits the fantastic double stunner on Scott Hall at Mania X-8 Hardy eats an RKO off a counter to the Twist of Fate. Angle takes a great Stunner. Rollins curb stomps into the RKO at Mania 31 (still amazing). Rock eats two stunners and as always sells them better than anyone ever. Evan Bourne goes for a Shooting Star Press and eats the RKO in quote possibly the most famous RKO ever. That one always shows up on twitter and memes. Last we see Austin hitting Orton with a Stunner at Survivor Series and Orton takes a great bump off it.

-They go back to the Evan Bourne one and Orton credits Bourne for coming up with the idea. He also gives Bourne all the credit as he just had to lay there and get up in time to catch him.

-Austin breaks out a bottle of Jack Daniels and they take a shot. Austin admits this bottle started with Taker and Orton loved the interview they did together.

-The Legend Killer gimmick is discussed and Orton doesn’t remember where the idea came from, but he credits Mick Foley for making him. He spit in Mick Foley’s face and also got to spit in Harley Race’s face. He says the fact so many let him do that was because they all respected his father. He admits though he was afraid Harley would take a swing and knock him out. Yeah, I would worry about that as well.

-WrestleMania XX: Evolution vs The Rock and Sock Collection leads to Backlash with Cactus Jack vs Orton in a Hardcore Match. This is the match that made Randy Orton and is still awesome! They show highlights while Austin and Orton discuss things. Austin feels this match changed the way people viewed Orton. Well, Mick did the same for Shawn and HHH as well. Orton says the tacks sucked and it was the ones in the hands, fingers and elbows that hurt the most. Austin says that Mick tried to get him to use the tacks in a match once and he felt they were not needed. Orton says he needed them and says he kept some of the tacks as he tries to keep as much stuff as he can. Austin points out that Mick always had a last weak attempt at kicking out and people that don’t do that anymore. Orton could tell there was a buzz about the match and he needed a match like that.

-We jump to Orton winning the World Title at 24 and as you would guess we are getting footage from that match. Orton remembers sitting in the locker room with the Title and everyone in the back was gone. Austin says that you can say what you want about wrestling, but that moment when you win the Title is a shoot. Orton admits he was not ready at all to hold that Title. Austin says he had the same thought when he won the TV Title the first time as you have to learn how to defend a title. Orton was surrounded by the right people and they got him ready, but at the same time he wasn’t ready and within 30 days the Title was gone.

-They discuss the failed baby face turn and Austin questions what they were doing and Orton isn’t sure what they made the change. He felt he needed to change everything and they discuss needing to smile more. Orton is disgusted and says everyone hates when they are told to smile more and show their teeth. “Please love me, I am smiling more.” Awesome! Austin says down the line, Orton has another great baby face run in him because of the good will he has built with the fans and it won’t be all about smiling.

-Batista ends up getting Orton’s run and Taker gets a Mania program with The Undertaker. Orton says that this period was the start of his self destruction that ran through 2007. He wishes he could do that run over with him because of his issues. The Saturday before the show he had a rehearsal scheduled with Taker and he no showed because he was up all night. He left Taker, Steamboat, Johnny Ace, and his father all hanging. He doesn’t like talking about it as it still eats at him. He then got to induct his father later that night into the Hall of Fame and all he gave him was a 2 minute speech. His dad deserved more than that and that also eats at him.

-We jump ahead a year as Orton gets suspended for 60 days just after Mania 22. Orton says that it was a dark time and during the suspension he did more stupid things. It wasn’t until a year later when he was working with Edge and Cena that he came through the fog.

-Rated RKO: Austin wants to know if Orton is even enjoying the ride at this point. Orton says this was where he started seeing the light and he puts over Edge being a big brother to him.

-In the summer of 2008 Orton has a broken clavicle and didn’t fall back into his vices which showed him how tough he could be. He was healing and then got into a wreck on his motorcycle when someone cut him off. He broke the clavicle again and then immediately sold all his bikes to stop any chance of that happening again.

-They discuss injuries and Orton has a training regiment now that keeps him in shape to work around nagging injuries. He is never going to put on 20 lbs of muscle again and says he has never been a body guy. Austin laugh as he says Randy has had a great body, but he knows where he is coming from. They agree that you are always your worst critic and at this point he doesn’t need the body as much as he needs to make sure his shoulder stays in place. For him it is all about longevity now. This is his home and what he wants to do. Since he is not a body guy they have another shot and this one is to the body guys that can’t work.

-Austin switches to discussion about Christian and well this is awkward timing now. Orton puts Christian over huge as he has done things with him that he has never done with anyone else. He gives a ton of credit to Christian for their feud in 2011. Orton was playing off Christian’s heel character, but kept his shades of gray. They show footage from their forgotten classic at SummerSlam 2011 and again, Austin talking about matches as they happen is great!

-They discuss the idea of thinking too much while being in the ring and it should be more reactive. They agree that you should trust your instincts. Orton wants to take a second to appreciate the abs he has in the photo from the SummerSlam match and that leads to another shot poured by Orton this time. This toast is to his abs and to Christian. Yep! Austin then tells the story again of how Christian is the one who helped him come up with the “What” gimmick.

-Next Austin wants to discuss John Cena and Austin thinks they wrestled each other too many times. Cena is the one that got Orton to realize listening to the crowd is everything. They had magic with each other and he talks about the ease they had working with each other. He calls Cena one of the smartest men he has ever worked.

-TLC: Cena vs Orton Unification Match. Austin lays footage of Orton grabbing the titles and wants to know about the pause Orton had before grabbing the Titles. Orton says that he knows when the red light is on and he knew he had all day. The face time is more important that anything else you can be doing. He was in control 110% and he was just playing with the fans to make them think Cena might be getting up. He learned from Vince on Day 1 that your face is your money.

-They discuss the art of timing and not making the mistake of rushing. The mistake comes when guys don’t get a reaction so they try to cram more in and in reality the best thing to do is slow things. There is a difference between slowing the pace and just moving slower.

-We fast forward to 2020 and Edge’s return at Royal Rumble. Austin says he was watching the show at home and he thinks Edge was shitting his pants from the reaction. Orton says that Edge was nearly in tears from the response because it had been 9 years since his last match. Austin throws to Orton cutting a promo about injuring Edge to his wife, Beth Phoenix. Man, this was just over a year ago, but it seems like a lifetime considering everything the world has been through. Orton says that before he went out to the ring, he had one minute with Vince and told him a story of meeting Edge when he was 19. Vince told him to go out and do his story and Orton was able to sink his teeth into it. Orton knew he needed to put more heart into what he was saying on the mic and it started with this feud. When he came back from the promo, Vince took off his headset, shook Randy’s hand and told him that was his Oscar moment. Austin goes back to when he said he didn’t like Orton’s promos and then he goes out and delivers something next level like what they just saw. Orton admits he should have listened to guys like Steve years ago.

-WrestleMania 36: Austin brings up the pandemic and how much he hated the promo he did in front the empty building. He wants to know how that Mania match experience was. Orton says for so many reasons it didn’t feel like WrestleMania, but they got lucky as they had a road map. They got to brawl all over the building and he feels bad for the guys who had to stay inside the ring with silence. Then they do the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever and Vince tells them he wants to pipe in crowd noise and both are against it. They then realized it was a blessing as it gives you something to feedback off of even if it’s not authentic.

-Now they discuss The World’s Greatest Wrestling Match and Orton says it is one of his favorite matches. It was a weird situation with the pandemic and he knows he can’t have the Greatest Wrestling Match ever, but they did the best they could considering the shackles of the environment. He enjoyed it because they had NXT and PC people in the crowd and it felt like they were teaching class. Austin says that no matter the crowd, circumstances, of whatever it is all about the in ring work.

-Drew McIntyre: Orton says originally he had no interest of being in the ring with Drew, but he grew on him. They have gotten to know each other well and Orton knows Drew has a good heart and loves the business. He admits it took them a few months to get there and now Drew is good in his book. Austin brings up that Drew was picked as The Chosen One and then had to rebuild himself outside the WWE. Austin throws to a promo that Orton delivered during their feud. It was from RAW where Orton admits he should have been fired countless times, but it was Drew who was fired because Orton is more valuable and he is the real chosen one.

-Hell in a Cell: They show hi-lights from the match and Orton calls Drew a student of the game. Orton wins his 14th World Title and he says that is everything to him. He admits he has had some short reigns and a few that went 5-6 months. He wants a title reign like he has seen AJ Styles get, but he also knows the real number is 16 where Cena and Flair are. He thinks there is a story there and perhaps it is Flair as the special ref while he and Cena face each other for 17. Orton says it is real to him when it comes to winning a World Title and it may mean more to him now than it did two decades ago.

-Orton goes back to how he is about to have the most televised matches in the WWE, but he thinks about the schedule his dad every month. He thinks he is still in his prime and knows he has a lot to give back to the business. He says that in Gorilla after losing the Title back to Drew, they had a moment where Drew thanked him and told him he did more for him that anyone that night. Randy is still having fun in the business and now that he is older, he knows this is who he is. He knows he has had help his entire way through his career and that’s why he wants to give back. He knows it won’t hurt him to help guys.

-Austin wants to know what is left for Randy to accomplish. He reiterates that he is blessed and lucky but he can’t ever not see himself involved in the WWE. He doesn’t think he will be a producer though. He wants fans back though and says it has been hard. He wants to come full circle and take a bunch of bumps for a 22 year old no name and have Vince bitch at him and then shoot back that making stars is what they are supposed to be doing.

-Final question is if Randy would do anything different during his career. Orton says that no matter how many mistakes he made he doesn’t know if he would be here if he had done something different. He does have some advice for the younger guys and that is to find that confidence and trust your instincts. They have one final round of Jack as they finish the bottle that Steve started with Taker.

-This was good, but I was expecting more because we don’t get a lot from Randy. The time flew by and it was engaging, but it just seemed to breeze through things and more time was spent on stuff from the pandemic era. Still, these shows are a joy to watch for me as I could listen to guys talk about wrestling all day. There was enough here from Randy to give this a thumbs up and Steve watching wrestling while talking about it will always be great. Thanks for reading!