Taz Discusses Randy Orton's Promo Ripping AJ Styles
On episode 663 of The Taz Show, professional wrestling veteran Taz weighed in on interesting professional wrestling topics including the recent promo segment on SmackDown Live! featuring former world champions Randy Orton and AJ Styles as well as WWE Superstars getting heat for slamming down microphones in the past.
On the subject of the promo segment between Orton and Styles, Taz called Orton's performance "spectacular".
"Randy Orton, if you didn't see this promo that he cut, well, it was a promo segment, I shouldn't say a 'promo' – it was a promo segment by both Randy and AJ in the ring at the same time. I've got to tell you, now, Randy Orton has done some great stuff in WWE. We all know that. All those years and the success he [has] had. There's just zero denying that, but on SmackDown, the premise of the promo was the house. AJ Styles always says, 'this is AJ's house' or 'the house that AJ Styles built'. I can't remember exactly how he says it and Randy Orton cut a promo about this. And then [there was a] face-to-face with AJ, which is leading to the match at WrestleMania, obviously. So let me tell you, the WrestleMania thing, that's not even the big thing that I want to talk about. What I'm here to talk about is the deliver and not just how good, but how great this promo was by Randy Orton it was spectacular, okay?" Taz continued, "it really was spectacular, his passion, his conviction."
According to Taz, Orton's mention of former Impact Wrestling President Dixie Carter during the promo was not all that important in the grand scheme or things, and noted that Styles insinuating that the RKO is a ripoff of WWE Hall Of Famer 'Diamond' Dallas Page's Diamond Cutter got a bigger response from the crowd.
"Everybody is talking about the promo because he mentioned Dixie Carter in the promo about AJ's [Impact Wrestling] days. That's such a speck on a gigantic paint job, which is this promo. It was a zillion times more impactful with or without her being mentioned in this thing. It was tremendous." Taz added, "the people didn't react to that. They didn't react to that much at all. When AJ had a come back and AJ had a lot of good comebacks, by the way. When AJ made fun of Randy Orton pose, but when he said he had a knockoff Diamond Cutter, that's what he calls the RKO, that place popped! So the Diamond Cutter got a big pop, as opposed to Dixie's name, which was interesting."
Taz argued that Orton was great in the segment because he believed all of it.
"Like I said, the conviction, if you go back and watch this promo, how great it was, I feel like I haven't talked a lot about Randy Orton on here in a long time, but I'm just here to tell you, like, my man hit a grand slam and he hit a grand slam because he meant it. That's what I feel, strongly feel that. His promo, the bulk of what he said, when he went through the list of his accolades during each year and paralleled what AJ Styles was doing during that time, okay, he meant all that stuff. And he was taking shots at AJ working the independents and stuff, and shaking hands in bingo halls, I know he's talking about Ring Of Honor with the shaking hands. He mentioned Dixie Carter and him." Taz continued, "I think Randy's end of his promo is more or less real, but it was done perfectly. The barbing back and forth, we've seen it a million times in pro wrestling. And sometimes it's great, but most of the time it's not great. But this was great because there was a real passion amongst both these men."
Also during the podcast, Taz suggested that a lot of WWE Superstars are throwing down microphones now and that there would have been heat for performers who are not so-called 'top guys' slamming mics in the past.
"What's with the slamming of the mics left and right?" Taz asked rhetorically. "Oh my God! When I worked there, do you know how much heat you would get if you were slamming mics? Only the super top guys were allowed to slam mics. Otherwise, you got heat. Like, a lot of heat because those mics were a lot of money and easy to break. I don't know, man, I've been seeing this a lot lately with WWE. I wonder if they got some different type of microphone that's so strong, that [has] got some kind of a coating on it or steel casing, I should say, that protects those things because, man, they are just slamming mics like crazy!"
He's Taz and I'm not. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit The Taz Show with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: The Taz Show