What’s the story?
Ric Flair, Randy Orton and Bruno Sammartino recently appeared on WWE Network’s Table for 3. Their episode was titled “World Champion Legacy” and featured the three wrestlers talking about various topics including their own lives as well as the professional wrestling business.
During the episode, Flair spoke about him not being ready for his first title, Orton celebrating his first World title win with a Rolex watch and also about the time when WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race pulled a gun on Cowboy Bob Orton, Randy’s father.
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In case you didn’t know...
“Table for 3” is an original show on the WWE Network. It features current and former WWE Superstars and personalities who get together to talk about various professional wrestling related topics and have discussions with each other about the same.
24 episodes of the show have been released on the WWE Network so far.
The heart of the matter
Ric Flair reminisced about the time when Randy Orton had won his first ever world championship. Orton had won the World Heavyweight Championship from Chris Benoit at SummerSlam 2014 and became the youngest person to have held the title.
Flair said that Orton had gone out and purchased a Diamond Rolex watch to celebrate his victory and “couldn’t wait” to show it to Flair. Flair said that the newer Superstars don’t have the same kind of passion towards the titles.
Also read: 5 things Randy Orton needs to change in the WWE
Flair then talked about winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career, when he had defeated Dusty Rhodes in 1981 for the title. Flair said that he wasn’t “ready to be the champion” at the time, despite him believing initially that he was.
Flair said that part of being a champion was the ability to be able to carry other wrestlers through matches, which he didn’t have at the time.
An incident was then recalled by Flair where WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race had once pulled a gun on Randy Orton’s father “Cowboy” Bob Orton. As per Flair, Race was trying to send Hulk Hogan a message at the time.
Flair was quoted as saying:
"Harley believed he was the world champion. He wanted to fight every night, every night." Flair said, "so the WWE came to Kansas City and I'm over there wrestling ['Bruiser'] Brody. Harley comes to the locker room with a 9mm in his pocket."
Flair also mentioned that Harley Race once accompanied him to Japan as a bodyguard to make sure that he wasn’t “stretched” (hurt with an actual wrestling move on purpose) there.
What’s next?
The “Table for 3” episode titled “World Champion Legacy” featuring Randy Orton, Ric Flair and Bruno Sammartino is available on the WWE Network. The full episode features a lot more stories, anecdotes and other interesting discussions between the three legends of the business.
As far as Randy Orton is concerned, he is rumoured to be facing Jinder Mahal in a Punjabi Prison match at WWE’s Battleground 2017 pay-per-view on 23rd July 2017.
Author’s take
Ric Flair is a living legend who was at the top of the business during some of the best times for Professional Wrestling in North America. His stories and his experiences are always a delight to listen to.
I agree with Flair on the newer Superstars not being very passionate about winning world titles and I hope that it’s something that they place more importance over in the coming times.
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