WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has recalled the behaviour of a young Randy Orton, saying he didn’t make the “smartest decisions” while recounting his own mistakes.
Speaking on The Kurt Angle Show – which is available via AdFreeShows – the Olympic Gold Medalist recalled how Randy Orton’s natural ability was a blessing in that it brought him success very early in life, but that success would come with its own burden.
“I don’t know what was going on with Randy [Orton], I do know this. When he started wrestling, he was only 18-years-old. And he was on WWE television when he was 20. He was a kid and kids are going to make mistakes, especially someone that’s… When you’re 18, 19, 20 years old, you’re immature and you’re gonna make bad decisions – we all make mistakes, especially when we’re younger.”
Angle went on to say that, while Randy Orton made his mistakes, the 14-time World Champion has matured into a “nice, fine young gentleman” after going through his growing pains.
“Randy’s grown to [be] a nice fine young gentleman now, he’s very responsible. He had to go through his growing pains, he was a kid when he started – that’s the main reason why. […] When you’re famous and you’re making a lot of money, you have a lot of responsibility to be a role model to the community. With Randy making the decisions he made, they weren’t the smartest decisions. I also made bad decisions, and I was even older than Randy, a lot older, making the wrong decisions I made. So I understand what Randy had to go through, and he had to just mature a little bit.”
Orton himself recently recalled how he wasn’t ready to be World Champion at 24 years old, admitting he believes he still has a lot of gas left in the tank.
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