Appearing on TBS's "Lopez Tonight" show for a rare TV interview, WWE wrestler Randy Orton presented a completely different side of his personality than his customary "viper" TV character.
During his guest appearance tonight, Orton acknowledged he was a "hated villain" for six years on WWE TV and recently turned babyface. "I'm not used to this," he said. The reactions from the studio audience captured the WWE audience turning him babyface - males cheering their "Stone Cold" Steve Austin of this generation and women cheering him with his cool demeanor and relatable character.
Considering Orton's rare TV interview appearances, most WWE fans wouldn't have recognized Orton out-of-character in a sharp suit, smiling for the crowd, and having outbursts of laughter sharing stories on his WWE career and family life.
At the beginning of the interview segment, Orton strolled onto the set slapping hands with the studio audience while flashing his CEO-quality suit. Orton commanded the stage and received a strong babyface pop before beginning the back-and-forth interview discussion.
Comedian George Lopez, the host of the show and noted wrestling fan, introduced Orton as the youngest WWE champion at 24-years-old and said Orton will be challenging Sheamus for the WWE Title at Summerslam.
Orton and Lopez saved the discussion on Sheamus for late in the interview giving the final hard sell for Summerslam on Sunday. Orton talked up Sheamus as being a "big ol' boy" who is new to the business. He got a pop from the studio audience for doing a brief wrestler promo, with a grin, saying: "That doesn't mean I'm afraid of him."
During the back-and-forth, Orton talked about growing up in the business being a third-generation wrestler. He talked about his family being part of the WWWF, then WWF, and now he's in WWE.
They showed a picture of Orton's dad, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, posing. Orton also name-dropped Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Roddy Piper, and Paul Orndorff as wrestlers who used to come by his dad's house. This was followed by a picture of Andre holding a two-and-a-half-year-old Orton, which humanized Orton to continue making him relatable to the females in the crowd.
Orton then talked about his wife and small daughter watching him on Raw every Monday night if he's on the show early-enough. He shared a story that he's fourth in line behind Big Show, Sheamus, and John Cena with his daughter.
Orton said his daughter calls Cena "naked baby," even though Cena wears jean shorts and he wears the closest thing to a diaper, referring to him wrestling in athletic wrestling gear.
"John Cena, she calls naked baby, she calls herself naked baby, why can't I be naked baby?!" Orton said with a smile.
Orton and Lopez wrapped up the discussion, with Lopez giving a final plug for Summerslam in Los Angeles or on PPV on Sunday.
Prior to Orton's segment, R-Truth continued the "WWE Karaoke Week" contest. Truth ditched his customary WWE TV rap in favor of a rough version of Three Doors Down's "Kryptonite" song. He took a page from Dolph Ziggler's playbook on last night's show flashing his mid-section to the audience to get a pop.
David Otunga is next in the Karaoke contest tomorrow, then U.S. champion The Miz rounds out the field on Thursday. The contest voting is available on LopezTonight.com.
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