WWE’s top superstar chats about his title shot at SummerSlam, life on the road, how he’s changed and his upcoming movie role

Last year, I spoke with WWE superstar MVP. During the interview, our conversation turned to who was the best worker in the WWE right now. I said, “Randy Orton,” and MVP stopped talking. After a moment of silence, he said, “There isn’t anybody better right now, is there? He does everything perfectly.”

In a business stuffed with major egos and competitive fire, that is perhaps the best praise you can earn. A year later, nothing has changed. Orton, a third-generation wrestler (His grandfather Bob Orton Sr. and his father, “Cowboy” Bob Orton, both performed) is, in many people’s opinion, still the best worker in the WWE. Well, OK, a few things have changed. For years, Orton, nicknamed “The Viper,” was the greatest heel working. He was a nasty snake in the grass with piercing blue eyes and a demeanor that screamed “evil,” and the crowd loved to hate him. But as with Triple H and a slew of vicious heels before him, that hate eventually turned to respect, and Orton was suddenly a fan favorite. This Sunday, Aug. 15, he heads into his WWE Championship match at SummerSlam (arguably the biggest WWE pay-per-view outside of WrestleMania) in Los Angeles against current heel champion Sheamus as a babyface. A ruthless, edgy babyface seeking his sixth championship belt in six years, but one nonetheless.

Recently, the usually private Orton granted us a rare interview, via phone, to discuss his upcoming match, how he and the business have changed, and much more.

MSN TV: Where are you right now?
Randy Orton: I’m home, briefly. St. Louis.

Can you talk about the travel for the WWE? How brutal is it, especially now that you have a child? [Orton's wife gave birth to a daughter in 2008.]
It’s hard. Any of us with family, it’s hard to be away so much. But the toughest part of travel is that it’s harder on your body than performing in the ring. Renting cars, driving 1,000 miles a week — which is what we average — the airports, which is five or six times a week … it’s tough. If you have a couple of good books and a computer, you can get through it. But with us taking all of the falls we do in the ring and landing on our back, dozens of times a night, all year round, and then sitting in a rental car or an airplane after a show, that is really the hardest part. You aren’t really able to wind down and get flat. There is no time to recover. The most important things when taking care of yourself, if you’re a body-builder or anybody in fitness, is diet, training and recovery. We have the diet down. We can make do with McDonald’s all day and figure out what’s healthy and get by. We all get to the gym. But we can’t recover, so we’re missing one of the key elements to keep your body in tip-top condition, and that is why we get hurt.

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“‘Wrestlemania XXVI’ was earlier this year. This Saturday will be basically a recap and the highlights from ‘Wrestlemania XXVI,’” said Orton.

WWE Superstars, such as Orton, John Cena and Triple H entertained a sold-out crowd in March at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The highlights during the NBC special will feature what turned out to be one of the greatest matches in WWE history.

“Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker was one of the biggest matches of the year. Shawn Michaels of course isn’t with us any longer. He retired, and that was his last match, so if you haven’t seen it, that’s one match you won’t want to miss,” said Orton.

More than 72,000 fans were on their feet throughout the emotional roller coaster of athleticism. The two immortals put on a performance that thrilled the audience and in the end, reduced grown men to tears.

Randy Orton is a lot like George Clooney’s character in “Up in the Air,” except he travels with wrestling tights instead of designer suits.

As one of the top superstars in World Wrestling Entertainment, Orton spends an average of five days a week on the road, shuffling between airplanes, rental cars, sports arenas and hotels. He’ll be at Joe Louis Arena on Sunday as part of WWE’s “Over the Limit” pay-per-view event, part of an endless tour that’s kept him on the road for the better part of eight years.

Like Clooney’s character, Orton has come to grips with the realities of life in transit, but takes advantage of it where he can. “Airlines, rental car companies, Marriotts, Hiltons, Hyatts, Wyndhams, Sheratons — we have every points card you can imagine,” he says on the phone last week from his St. Louis home during a day off. “It’s pretty funny, actually.”

The cards might be funny, but the nonstop travel can be grueling. Though he was groomed for the business — both his grandfather, Bob Orton Sr., and his father, “Cowboy” Bob Orton, were top grapplers in their day — the 30-year-old Orton says life on the road takes its toll.

“The travel, nowadays, is almost tougher on my body than the actual wrestling,” says Orton, who is married and has a daughter who will turn 2 in July. “Sitting in a rental car and driving yourself at 4 or 5 in the morning, trying to get to the gym on four or five hours of sleep, trying to eat well and stay in shape, not getting sick and taking care of yourself, plus being 100 percent in the ring? It’s hard to complain, you just sort of take it. It’s part of the job.”

Halfway through the event, Randy Orton came out for a Q&A. He was nice and funny. It was weird seeing him out of character. He was asked who his hero is. He said his father. He was then asked, “What do you think about Bret Hart being back in the WWE?”

Orton responded: “I think it’s awesome having Bret back. He’s a true hero. I remember as a kid, him and the guys (other superstars) would tease me. I can’t remember why, but I remember Bret chasing me down the hall with a broom (laughs).”

Orton was asked what he would be if he wasn’t a WWE superstar. “Probably an archaeologist or selling gas at a gas station,” he cracked. Randy was asked what he likes to do in his free time. “Well, since I work a lot on my days off, I like to relax and spend time with my wife and kid.”

The next question was whether he gets to go out to places like restaurants or to the market. He laughed and said, “Well, I really don’t do the shopping. That’s my wife’s job.”

The guys in the crowed cheered and the women booed. He laughed and said, “Yeah, its not too bad. I get to take my wife out to dinner, but the fans are pretty respectful…. But I want you fans to know that if you see me out on the streets, you can stop me for an autograph or picture, I don’t mind! I love my fans!!…..but don’t be the creepy stalker fan waiting for me at the airport…It’s weird.” He then thanked the fans and left.

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Shortly after his first day moonlighting as a feature film actor, playing a supporting role in the New Orleans-shot coming-of-age comedy “Big Red,” pro wrestler Randy Orton couldn’t help but admit that he could get used to this whole Hollywood thing.

First of all, there’s no chance that co-star and four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris will hammer him with a folding chair when he’s looking the other way.

Also, however, the third-generation wrestler — who was in town for “Big Red” for a six-day stretch that ended Sunday (March 21) — said he appreciated the break from the nomadic lifestyle that comes with wrestling for the WWE.

“We were in Denver Friday, we were in San Jose Saturday morning and drove to Freso, wrestled in Fresno Saturday, drove to Bakersfield Saturday night, wrestled in Bakersfield Sunday, drove about five hours to San Diego, did San Diego Monday, then I was on a red-eye to New Orleans. Tuesday morning I got it,” he said Thursday in a trailer on the film’s Metairie set. “That’s, like, every week. There’s no off-season.”

“It’s go, go, go,” he said. “So now that I’m in one place for a while, even though it’s not my home, it’s nice to be able to get into that routine.”

Still, he said, movie stardom will remain merely a sideline to his day job. “I’ll always be a WWE wrestler, first and foremost,” he said, his tattoo-covered arms covered up with makeup for the film shoot. “But I love movies. I respect the acting side of things, and if it’s something I’m good at, then I’ll do it (again).”

“Big Red,” written and directed by Michael Pavone, is being produced by WWE Studios, the film arm of the wrestling outfit’s parent company. In addition to Harris, it co-stars Amy Madigan.

Principal photography wrapped Friday (March 19). No release date has been set.

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