Okay, so check this out. Yesterday, I was messing around, thinking about wrestling and stuff, and Randy Orton popped into my head. Then it hit me – “Hall of Fame!” Has that happened yet? So, naturally, I went down the rabbit hole, seeing if he’s been inducted. Turns out, not yet, but the conversation is definitely brewing, right?
Anyway, that got me thinking, what would his Hall of Fame speech even be like? Could I write one? So, I decided to give it a shot. I started by just listing out all the big moments, you know? Championship wins, RKO outta nowhere, the feuds with Cena, Triple H, Edge… the whole shebang. I just dumped it all into a text file, like a giant brain dump.
First thing’s first: I needed to get the timeline straight. Randy’s been around forever, so I Googled his debut date, his major milestones, just to get the facts locked down. Then I started organizing my list. Early career, Evolution, Legend Killer, Apex Predator… it started to take shape organically.
Next, I thought about the tone. This is the Hall of Fame, man! It’s gotta be heartfelt, a little bit funny, definitely respectful. So I tried to channel Randy’s “viper” persona, but with a touch of humility. Tough balance, right?
- Opening: I imagined him thanking the fans first, always gotta start with the fans. Then, his family. His dad, Cowboy Bob Orton, huge influence.
- Middle: This is where it got tricky. I wanted to hit all the important stuff without it sounding like a Wikipedia article. So, I focused on the key moments, the defining rivalries, the lessons he learned along the way. Tried to make it personal, not just a list of achievements.
- End: I figured he’d close by thanking the WWE, Vince McMahon, and maybe give a shout-out to the younger guys coming up. End on a high note, leave ’em wanting more.
Then came the actual writing. It was messy. Lots of deleting, rewriting, trying different jokes. I kept going back to the list, adding details, fleshing things out. Some parts came easy, others were like pulling teeth. I even watched some of his old promos to try and get his voice right. I was trying to imitate his unique charisma.
After that first draft, I read it out loud. Cringed a lot, changed a bunch of stuff. Showed it to my wife (she’s not a wrestling fan, but she’s a good editor). She gave me some great feedback, helped me smooth out the rough edges. I re-wrote a few parts to add what she suggested.
The Final Touches
Finally, I trimmed it down. Hall of Fame speeches can’t go on forever, right? I cut out the stuff that felt repetitive or unnecessary. Made sure it flowed well, had a good rhythm.
The end result? It’s not perfect, but I’m pretty happy with it. It’s a fun little project, a way to appreciate one of the all-time greats. Plus, it was a good writing exercise. Now, whether or not Randy Orton would actually say any of this stuff? That’s a whole different story! But still had fun doing it.
