The Sports Ambassador: An Interview with 'the Viper'

Thanks to Ruth.K at March of Dimes Canada (http://www.marchofdimes.ca, an organization that supports independence, personal empowerment, and community participation for people with disabilities) along with Bret ‘the Hitman’ Hart (see my other blog entry on my meeting with him here-thehockeyambassador.blogspot.ca/2013/12/my-bret-hart-experience.html), I got to meet another wrestling hero of mine and icon in the business- Randy Orton. I’m a pretty lucky guy. But please know that I am also very appreciative- so thank you very much Ruth & Brett, your efforts truly mean a lot. And thank you to Randy, for taking the time to meet me.

For those who don’t know, Randy Orton is a multi-time World Heavyweight & WWE champion. In fact, at age 24, Orton became the youngest person ever to hold the World Heavyweight Championship. He is also a 3rd generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Bob Orton Sr., his father ‘Cowboy’ Bob Orton, his uncle Barry O, all competed in the professional wrestling business. Orton has acquired several monikers during his 12-plus-year career with the WWE, they include, “the Viper”, “the Apex Predator”, and "the Legend Killer", which he garnered during a storyline where he began disrespecting Hall of Famers and physically attacking wrestling veterans. Randy Orton has headlined many WWE pay-per-view events, including Wrestlemania XXV and Wrestlemania XXX. He is already a legend in the business, and I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to meet him. Orton usually plays the heel, meaning he’s the bad-guy and generally not liked by fans, but true to form, he like many other WWE athletes, was extremely friendly in person.

When I arrived at The Canadian Tire Center, where the event was taking place, the first thing I did was head over to the merchandise stand attempting to purchase a Randy Orton t-shirt. Unfortunately, they were all sold out. Right then, I received a call from Angela, who works for the WWE in Public Relations. She asked us to meet her at Gate 3. Once at gate 3, I was rushed away downstairs. Waiting for no longer than 2 minutes, I heard the door open behind me and I knew it had to be 'the Legend Killer' himself, 'The Viper', Randy Orton. I could barely control my excitement as Randy came over and introduced himself. I told him that his t-shirt was sold out, and he responded by pulling out a bag of goodies which included a 'Randy Orton' t-shirt, wrist guards and a WWE photo-book for me, which he then proceeded to autograph. Then we posed for some pictures, and he asked if I was a John Cena fan to which I eagerly replied, “NO!”. With a smile, Randy said, “I like you even better now”. We had a good laugh, and the photographer continued to take pictures. I even got the chance to ask Randy if he would mind answering a few questions. He obliged, and happily answered my questions, the first being:

What did you think of Wrestlemania 30? If it wasn’t your favorite Wrestlemania then what was?

Randy said that he enjoyed it very much, but would have liked to walk away with the gold around his own waist that night... Randy had been in the main event, competing in a triple-threat-match versus Dave Batista, and Daniel Bryan, in which the crowd favourite Bryan was victorious. Wrestlemania 25 was actually Orton's favorite, he said, despite loosing in that title match as well, during the main event against TripleH.

The next question was:

Will WWE fans ever see the Championship belt back around your waist? He smiled, and said, “Hopefully! I am in a fatal four-way match later this month at the Battleground Pay-per-view against John Cena, Roman Reigns and Kane. Hopefully me and Kane can work together to get the belt back.”

When I asked Randy if there are any more movies in his future he told me that he would like to continue acting, and that WWE studios are making a sequel to the movie The Condemned, which he hopes to star in.

The final question I had for Randy before he had to go and get ready for the night's event really seemed to surprise him. I asked him if he would ever referee again like he did with his uncle Barry Orton back in the year 2000? Randy was impressed by the research that i must have done to know that information, and told me that it was a great question. His response was that he can’t see himself refereeing again unless it was for the WWE as a special guest referee.

I thanked Randy for his time and gave him some homemade brownies - hopefully he enjoyed them. Then I gave him a high 5 and he disappeared back through the door from which he came. I went back upstairs to my seat and enjoyed one great show to follow. In the end, it will be a night that I will always remember - an experience to last a lifetime. Thank you again Ruth K, Bret Hart, Randy Orton, and the whole WWE organization for giving me the chance to live my dream.