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Shawn Michaels is viewed by many as one of the greatest in-ring performers in WWE history. While Eric Bischoff thinks The Heartbreak Kid is worthy of praise, he believes SmackDown star Randy Orton has surpassed Michaels' level.
Orton lost the King of the Ring final against Gunther in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Bischoff, WCW's President when the company battled WWE in the 1990s, usually watches wrestling shows from a business perspective. However, the Gunther vs. Orton match made him a fan again.
On his 83 Weeks podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer explained how good he thinks Orton is:
"I know Shawn Michaels gets this accolade a lot and deserves it," Bischoff said. "Every time he gets it, he deserves it. But I would be hard-pressed if I had to take a lie detector test, I would be hard-pressed not to tell the truth, and I think Randy Orton is the best performer in the last 30 years. And, in my opinion, subjective as it may be, not even close." [35:26 – 35:50]
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Orton joined WWE in 2000 and moved to the main roster in 2002. He has won 14 world titles since then, meaning he only needs two more reigns to match John Cena and Ric Flair's record of 16.
Eric Bischoff advises wrestlers to watch Randy Orton's WWE matches
Gunther picked up a pinfall win in the King of the Ring final despite Randy Orton having one shoulder off the mat. The referee failed to notice and counted to three, prompting Triple H to hint at a possible rematch.
Eric Bischoff enjoyed the match from start to finish and thinks wrestlers of all levels should study Orton's performance:
"Please, please, please, if you're a young wrestler out there, even if you're an established wrestler out there, even if you work for WWE, certainly if you work for AEW, by God, go back and watch that match about a hundred times a day and just focus on Randy and focus on the way he sells. Randy Orton made Gunther and he kept himself completely viable in the loss." [35:53 – 36:20]
Orton recently told Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter about the art of selling offense from his opponents during matches.
What are your thoughts on Eric Bischoff's comments? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
Please credit 83 Weeks and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
