Darren Young Talks Randy Orton Supporting Him After He Came Out: "Randy Is A Cool Dude"

By Jason Ounpraseuth

NJPW Strong star Fred Rosser returned to The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast where he opened up about how Randy Orton supported him after he came out. He told Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman about how supportive Orton was and still is of him as well as his goals in NJPW after revealing that AEW turned him down twice.

"Once I came out publicly to the world in 2013, I never said two words to a lot of the main guys, but once I came out, he was one of the guys that passed me in the hallway the day after I came out, and he gave me a hug," Rosser revealed. "He said, 'Hey man, if you have any issue, you let me know, and I'll take care of anyone in the locker room.' Him and CM Punk were top guys that said those exact words and Randy, from then on, was my heart.

"Any time I visit backstage with WWE, I see him passing. I was like, 'Hey Randy, you mind if I get a money shot doing the Block The Hate?' And he was so into it. There were no cameras around, and he was like, 'Yeah, man, let's get it right.' And then we finally took the picture, and I tweeted it. He messaged me saying, 'Oh man, you're making me blush.' Randy is a cool dude, and I had posted something recently on my social media because I get tired of fans asking me, 'Oh, why don't you try AEW?' Well, I tried AEW, not once but twice, and they said nope.

"And that wasn't really my goal. My goal was New Japan Pro Wrestling. I've got a lot of work to do, and he liked the tweet. Randy knows what's up. He don't like a lot of people's stuff. He likes the real ones, and that meant the world to me."

Hausman noted that Orton has seemingly grown as a person over the years, and Rosser said that Orton will not be afraid to "let you have it" if you disrespect him or his family. Rosser also talked about how he and his family remain fans of his.

"One, he's older. He's got a beautiful family, but also, he's not a punk," Rosser stated. "I'm very passive aggressive. If you back me up against the wall, I'm going to come at you. Randy, if you say the wrong thing to him, if you're disrespectful, just plain disrespectful to him, he's going to let you have it. Right off the bat, there's going to be no hesitation, and I don't think that'll change at all, but Randy, again, he's older.

"He's got a beautiful family but don't disrespect him. That's for sure. Don't disrespect him. His wife Kim messaged me on one of my posts on Instagram saying great job. So that meant the world to me, and it's funny because I always feel like Randy's wife probably loves the gays. She's probably on her phone and saying, 'oh, look at what Fred or Darren is doing,' and Randy will see. 'Oh man, that's pretty cool.' His wife loves me. His whole family loves me. That's the kind of personality I have."

Rosser has kept himself busy during the pandemic, and he credited his family for allowing him to pursue opportunities like with NJPW. He also joked that he sometimes uses CTE as an excuse when trying to remember something, but he made clear that he does not suffer from CTE.

"Yeah, just to knock on wood, I'm just truly blessed. The support of my family, first and foremost, is very important to me, and my family blessed me to do New Japan because we have a full house here with the pandemic," Rosser said. "So I don't want to bring any type of illness back home. That's the last thing I want to do. So having my family bless me with the New Japan Pro Wrestling experience, and before that, I did my first ever musical earlier this year.

"It's been a great year for me, and I've done some little stuff in between, some little roles here out in LA that I posted on my social media. I can't tell you about it off my head because I just do them, and then move on to the next one. I've done interviews where they said, 'Oh Darren Young says that he has CTE and stuff like that.' I say, I always use that as an excuse. Even if I'm on a date or something, and someone is like, 'I told you that.' I said, 'Oh, CTE. CTE. A lot of concussions. I cry wolf, but I don't suffer from any CTE. Let me just make that clear."

Rosser agreed that CTE issues mostly affect the generation before him, but he noted that wrestling is dangerous and that's what everyone signed up for. He said that things like CBD and THC are a big benefit for him.

"Yeah, definitely the previous generation. This is what you signed up for," Rosser noted. "This isn't ballet as JR, Jim Ross, used to say. 'This ain't ballet!' So injuries come with the territory. You just have to take care of your body, but I don't suffer — I'm sure I've had my fair share of concussions. I don't remember, but it comes with the territory, and that's what you signed up for you. And you just have to take care of yourself, but for me, supplementing with CBD, THC, that's really benefited me over the years with WWE and now."

You can watch Fred as part of Theality TV via Broadway on Demand. All episodes are FREE to watch until the end of December.

Rosser's full interview aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.

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