Randy Orton Says Wrestlers from WWE NXT “Don’t Know What the F*** They’re Doing” In the Ring

RAW Tag Team Champion Randy Orton appeared on The Pat McAfee Show this week and had some interesting comments on the WWE NXT recruits.

While discussing the respect he has for WWE Hall of Famer Edge, Orton commented don how a lot of modern day wrestlers don’t understand the finer points of selling. Orton believes the NXT talents “don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.”

“There’s an art to what we do, and a lot of guys have lost that art,” Orton said. “Now instead of selling a punch, because you need to sell a punch, now I’m protecting myself because I don’t want to get my fucking jaw broken. That’s unfortunate, but the art to professional wrestling, like when Vince was on [the Pat McAfee Show] he talked about your number one priority above all being protecting your opponent, that’s not taught necessarily in NXT.

“I know that because I’ve been in the ring with guys that came from NXT and they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing. It’s unfortunate but I think that is just kind of how things are changing.”

Orton noted earlier in the interview how he had to change his in-ring style to keep his career going.

“I got injured very early in my career several times, boom, boom, boom,” Orton said. “I had to figure out if I’m going to do this for a long time, if I’m gonna have any kind of longevity, I got to figure out how to do that. That’s what I’ve done.

“I’ve toned back the physicality to the point where I know what I’m capable of, I know what my body’s capable of, but I also know what I need to do out there in order to get a reaction and I don’t need to break my back. Back in the day with 220 shows a year, you can’t physically survive decades in this industry if you’re killing yourself every night.”

Orton and partner Riddle are scheduled to defend their titles in a Triple Threat against Alpha Academy and The Street Profits at WrestleMania 38 this Sunday.

(H/T to WrestlingInc for the quotes).