Paul Orndorff interview SLAMS Flair, Hart, Warrior

[rge2010]

Wow, a few harsh words here from Mr Wonderful! Warrior (no surprise) in firing line but shocked about the words he has to say about Ric Flair and Bret Hart!!!

1993 and Bret Hart was a nobody from Canada? That is utter nonsense. Bret was probably the second most popular superstar in WWF at the time! Orndorff seems pretty bitter that he never reached the levels Flair and Hart did if you ask me.
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WWE Hall of Famer Paul Orndorff appeared on Inside The Ropes on Thursday night and slammed Bret Hart, Ric Flair and Ultimate Warrior (audio available here) . Highlights are are as follows:

Facing Ric Flair in 1982 for NWA World Championship: “He was just another body. Some are better than others. I believed in making it look real. I was probably hard to work with because I wanted it to make real and I knew how to wrestle.”

Experience of working at the first WrestleMania in the main event: “It was special. There were so many people. It was the largest crowd to ever watch it. And then the pay per view of it was just ungodly. This was my opportunity to be really noticed and be seen. My paycheck….it was huge. I made more money in that 30 minutes than I did in a whole year with the NWA. People expected it and they were gonna get it from me.”

Working with Mr. T in the main event of WrestleMania: “I wasn’t crazy about it. I was very protective WrestleMania 1of the business. I was taught that. You take care of it. You don’t give out all your trade secrets. But then again you look at somebody like Ric Flair and you can say how can you hide something when they look like that? So I guess I started to give in a little bit.”

Transition in WWF from wrestling to entertainment in mid 80’s: “It depends on your personality. I protected it. To me that wasn’t protecting it. As you can see right now, because they didn’t protect it, where it is now, there’s only two shows now. Look how many there was, there was one in every state, now look where it is.”

On Vince McMahon using guys like Ultimate Warrior, more about the body: “I thought it was the worst move they could’ve made. Vince did it on purpose. He did it so he could be the only one.”

On Ultimate Warrior: “He never paid his dues. You gotta pay your dues, go and learn your trade that’ll make it better when you are on that big stage. It’s called experience and nobody has any now, because there’s nowhere to go to get it.”

Right decision on giving belt to smaller stars like Randy Savage and Bret Hart?: “No. Absolutely not. It’s like putting the belt on someone who wants to be a wrestler. It didn’t work. It downgraded, made the belt worthless. When Terry Funk, Harley Race had world titles, it meant more.”

Opinion on long rumur that Hogan wouldn’t drop the belt to Bret Hart in 1993…: “I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t have either. Bret Hart was a nobody from Canada and Hogan was the greatest star in wrestling. I don’t blame him. He did the right thing.”

Quick Fire Thoughts

Ultimate Warrior: “I gotta go to the bathroom………………..NEXT!”

Vince McMahon: “One of a kind.”

Hulk Hogan: “Great.”

Bret Hart: “I don’t care much for Canadians.”

Randy Savage: “OK.”

Ric Flair: “A Joke.”

 

[Dmbfantomas]

It must be soooooo fucking cool to be completely irrelevant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKC8d_KWk6s

He was a part of that. Orndorff couldn't talk, couldn't wrestle, and if he dies it will be nothing close to a tragedy.

What a fucking jamook.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Orndorff could wrestle - that 1982 match vs Flair had a lot of great technical wrestling in it, not the usual 10 minutes of power moves and a finish that Orndorf became known for in WWE (though in his defense Vince booked almost everyone like that after Hogan hit, Hulk was his signature star and he had to be protected, he couldnt have half the roster out performing him every night).

As an interview I never thought Orndorff was that bad, not that great either. He was OK, Barry Whyndam & Ricky Steamboat were OK, not great on the mic, although they compensated by wrestling absolute must see classic matches. Hogan was OK in the ring (at least when paired with someone else who could perform, matches were he had to do more than his usual get beat down, Hulk up, three moves and pin), but Hogan was about as over as anybody has ever been as a character and on the mic in the 80s. Flair, great at both, Savage, very good at both, later guys like HBK & Austin were great at both, Hart was good on the mic (better than average, better than Orndorff) and very good to great in the ring.

Bottom line, Orndorff was a good talent who had a good career, he was not a HOF'er, I can think of a dozen guys outside your "SuperStar" level of Hogan, Flair, Austin, et all who were more entertaining than him.

Ive never read anywhere where Orndorff was mistreated by Savage, Flair or Hart. Some of these backstage fueds are so stupid, some like (like Savage/Hogan) get very personal. Never heard anyone say an unkind word about Orndorff. Flair did say in his autobiography that Orndorff and Rick Rude were upset they were passed over in favor of Flair for a big WCW Title run after Sid Justice was fired. Personally I would have been more upset at being passed over in favor of worthless Sid, at least Flair was a major main event star with a huge connection to the WCW fan base and national recognition, plus he would actually show up and wrestle on a regular basis (unlike Sid) and job when asked (unlike Sid).

The nasty stuff Orndorff said about Hart is even more perplexing. You dont like Canadiens ?? That's just stupid, and sounds racist too boot. His opinion on the Hogan-Hart drama from 93 is his opinion, take it for what it's worth but when he says WWE screwed up promoting guys like Savage & Hart as champion, that they were not as worthy as great NWA champs of the past like Race & Terry Funk, that's sounds almost nonsensical. Savage was clearly the most over superstar on the roster when Hulk wanted time off in 88, plus he was the 2nd biggest good guy behind Hogan (Vince loved pushing long term title runs on good guys back then). He was a natural choice to be the next champ. I dont even remember where Orndorff was in 88, he was so far out of the main event picture then he was almost irrelevant. By 1990 he was in WCW. Maybe that was wasted booking on Vince's part but it's a fact, he was not nearly as big a part of the WWE scene in 88 as Savage was. Even if they screwed up not having an all out Savage-Orndorff feud, Savage was the most logical choice to be champ in Hogan's absence.

Hart was a different story. He paid his dues, slowly worked his way up the ladder, always delivered in the ring, willing to work an exhausting schedule on the road. Yes, there were some factors that helped him (The Federal Steroid Investigation meant Hogan & Piper among others had to leave, Savage's divorce and subsequent request for time off the road meant his 2nd title run had to end, Flair was injured by Warrior, and wether it was over money, drug tests, steroid worries, general lack of ability, or some combination thereof Vince fired Warrior) but given the circumstances Hart, a very popular superstar, almost a decade on the roster, was a good choice to be the next long term champ. Orndorff was in WCW at this time while Sting & Vader dominanted the title scene so he really has no room to complain about Hart, Orndorff wasnt even in the company. That would be like Flair complaining he didnt get a WWE Title Run in 1996, he wasnt wrestling there, it's nonsensical.

Maybe Orndorff is bitter that these guys had better careers than him. Maybe he wants attention. Honestly, there are guys who had much better reason to be bitter than Orndorff. Hart's injuries ended his career just outside is prime when he was in his early 40s. We've seen what guys like Triple H, HBK, and Flair could do in the 40s, Hart had years of top level wrestling ahead of him and it was gone. Arn Anderson suffered a similair fate in 1996 and retired in 97 when it became clear even after re hab he would never get back in the ring and perform like he used to. How much time HBK miss with back injuries, nearly four full years in his absolute heyday as a character and in ring performer, Austin certainly had plenty of matches left in him when neck injuries forced him out for good, same with Edge. Orndorff (whose career did end in the mid 90s due to injury) was not as big as any of those guys with the possible exception of Anderson and that is debatable.

Bottom line, his opinions seem tired and designed just to get attention. Maybe Orndorff should have learned from Flair how to entertain a crowd all those times he wrestled him. He may also want to visit Canada at some point, Canadiens actually can be quite friendly, and the country as a whole has some beautiful locales.

 

[Lowdown]

Seems to me that Orndorff is being bitter. Everyone knows of the issue he has with Hogan, which looks to be all he's been famous for over the last 10 years or so. Exactly how many other wrestlers have an issue with Warrior? Ric Flair a joke? Flair might not have been the all around greatest wrestler of all time, but he was surely one of the best charismatic performers. Orndorff appears to be drinking what Shane Douglas has been drinking. What gets me is his view of Bret Hart. A guy who somewhat carried the WWF along with Shawn Michaels for the majority of the 90's. He actually stated that Bret wasn't a big deal in Canada; a well-known star from a renowned family not a big deal in his native land. So I suppose the reaction of the Montreal Screwjob has been a continuous work from the fans for the last 15 years. I knew Orndorff had some issues, but this is beyond ludicrous.

 

[HBsam31]

He seems bitter to me as well. I don't get why. He was a great wrestler. he didn't reach Hogan heights, but not many have. He was also right there with him in the main event of the first Wrestlemania. I have mentioned this in another thread, and I talk about it with people in my day to day life as well. Why is it professional athletes, most notably wrestlers but athletes in any sport really, do not know when to step away. Step away from their sport, media, or the limelight in general. I myself am a chef. I have been for 13 years now, and if I woke up tomorrow financially able I would stop being a chef. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but at the end of the day my wife and child bring me much more joy that being a chef. Is it these guys have nothing else? I know sometimes they need money. Is the spotlight that important that they turn around and make fools of themselves to get it. No matter what job you have work for yourself, work for your family, work to make a comfortable living, but most of all work to create a situation where you can step away, and enjoy something other than work. Life is really short. To all these spoiled stars I say stop and think what you could have if your life wasn't consumed by money and fame. I am not saying Paul is rich, but for the most part pro athletes are, or should be if they were smart.