WWE legend on why he ignored Randy Orton backstage

Randy Orton has cemented his status as one of the greatest WWE Superstars of his generation. In a recent interview, Booker T explained why he once refused to answer The Viper's questions backstage before a match.

Orton shared the ring with Booker T several times in the mid-2000s. While the 14-time world champion was relatively new to the main roster, his opponent had already been involved in the industry for over a decade.

In an interview on Demetrious Johnson's MightyCast, Booker T said Orton asked him multiple times to discuss plans for their match before a show. The two-time WWE Hall of Famer ignored the then-rookie's questions to teach him a lesson about pre-match preparation.

"There, again, I knew by doing that he wasn't gonna have anything in his mind other than to try to figure out what he should do because he has nothing to do, so he has to figure out what to do, so then his character came out and he went out and started performing and got through the match," Booker T said. [42:15 – 42:33]

Orton lost via count-out against Booker T in their first televised singles match on the October 20, 2003, episode of WWE RAW. Two months later, The Apex Predator retained the Intercontinental Championship against the same opponent on another RAW episode on December 29, 2003.

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How Randy Orton reacted to Booker T's lesson

According to Booker T, Randy Orton seemed surprised that their match went smoothly despite the two hardly speaking to each other before the show.

Using the Orton story as an example, Booker T added that wrestlers should look at their job as performing art rather than a legitimate in-ring competition:

"We came through the curtain in the back, and then he looks at me and he goes, 'Is it that easy?' and I looked at him and I go, 'Every night,' boom, walks off. That's the lesson. You gotta be able to go out and you gotta be able to perform. It's not wrestling. You gotta be able to go out and make people feel. It's not professional wrestling. It's performing art." [42:33 – 42:54]

Booker T commentates on NXT every Tuesday night. He also runs the Reality of Wrestling promotion and training school in Houston, Texas.

What are your thoughts on Booker T's Randy Orton story? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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Please credit MightyCast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.