Randy Orton recently took part in a WWE conference call ahead of the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view, where he spoke to the media about a variety of topics. During the call, Orton was asked about working with Ric Flair, and revealed some very interesting things about the promo they did that ended with Orton punting Flair.
“That segment, that was hard to do,” he said (transcription via Kenny McIntosh of Inside The Ropes). There were so many things I could’ve said that would’ve been nasty and would’ve even made that segment better. It was hard to look him in the eye, no matter how much we wanted it to come across that way, it was hard to be mean to that man after how he’s treated me for the past twenty years especially. But ya know, business is business.”
Orton went on to reveal that Flair was actually never supposed to grab the microphone from him, and that him doing so is more proof of how special he is to the business. “Ric knows that and I know that and I’ll tell you what he was never supposed to grab the microphone from me that night,” he said. “He was just supposed to say a few things under his breath that the handheld camera in the ring may or may not pick up. You were supposed to see our facial expressions and get an idea that he was bringing me back in & eventually we had the hug and I turned on him but when he grabbed the mic I was thinkin ‘Ah, come on Ric you’re not supposed to grab the mic’ but then he went on to cut that promo and it was very touching. The thing is he meant everything he said. That’s why he’s so special to this business, he’s always left his heart out there in the ring and every emotion you get out there from Ric Flair, it’s real and that’s one of the reasons he’s the best.”
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