Bully Ray Explains Why WWE Raw Promo Was The Best Of Randy Orton's Career

Randy Orton's greatest in-ring moments remain up for debate to this day. When it comes to his work on the microphone, however, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray believes one promo clearly stands above the rest.

On "Busted Open Radio," Ray heaped praise for Orton's latest promo, which took aim at his former Legacy mentee Cody Rhodes on the November 2 edition of "WWE Raw."

"The best promo I've ever heard Randy Orton cut in his entire career," Ray said. "Three minutes, short, sweet, to the point. Get in, get on, get off, get out. It made all the sense in the world. I'll be damned if that promo didn't land blow after blow after blow, starting with 'You've been in zero Last Man Standing Matches.' If I didn't know that, now I do, and I'm going 'Whoa!'"

With him and Rhodes slated to clash in a Last Man Standing Match at this weekend's WWE Crown Jewel event, Orton leaned into his opponent's experience, or rather lack thereof, in the special stipulation. Orton himself, meanwhile, has competed in it several times, boasting a record of 2-2-1 in televised iterations.

On a symbolic level, "The Viper" also pointed out that he is the only one from his famous developmental class — which included Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and Dave "The Animal" Bautista — that is still wrestling in WWE. And unlike Rhodes and some of those peers, Orton noted that he never envisioned himself in the Hollywood scene, only that of wrestling.

"After all of that, the thing that I love the most about Randy's promo: 'Everybody else that came before me wants to be a movie star, including you, Cody. I don't want to be a movie star, because I'm a professional wrestler,'" Ray said.

According to Ray, the aforementioned lines, combined with the conviction in which Orton spoke, equaled an all-time personal best promo among the 14-time world champion's WWE career. Admittedly, the bar for this feat wasn't set too high, however, as many of Orton's past speeches escaped Ray's mind.

"I can't think of anything that Randy Orton has said in the past that will be as memorable as that promo," Ray said. "I remember things that Randy has done, like kicking veterans like Dusty Rhodes in the head. I remember Randy being a part of the tag team with [Matt] Riddle. I remember certain things he has done in his career, certain championships he's won, being a part of Evolution, all that stuff. If you ask me, put a gun to my head and say, 'Tell me one of Randy Orton's most memorable promos,' I'd tell you to pull the trigger because I don't have an answer. After last night, I have an answer. Last night was the promo of Randy Orton's career."

Ray went on to point out one more notable detail amongst Orton's words: the use of the term "professional wrestler." Under the Vince McMahon regime, Ray attested that Orton would have replaced it with "sports entertainer." With Paul "Triple H" Levesque now at the helm, though, performers are instead leaning into the "wrestling" aspect of WWE.

The Orton-Rhodes feud ignited along the road to WrestleMania 42, with the former betraying the latter on "WWE SmackDown." Rhodes secured revenge weeks later by defeating his former friend on WWE's grandest stage. Orton evened the score with a victory at Sunday Night's Main Event in September.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.