Think for a moment about having the potential to reach fame & fortune. Having a path carved for you that if you can simply walk it you will have the admiration of an entire industry. Now think of that same path to fame that your own family has already walked, achieved, and soared. Think of the pressure, think of the expectations.
Could you do it? Would you even want to?
Barry Orton was born into wrestling royalty. Given the one thing that can carry weight regardless of skill, desire or talent. He was given lineage. The name. It was certainly one of the most intriguing reflections of all time.
Let me peel back the curtain and give you a peek as to what went on pre cameras rolling. The interview, which was scheduled in the early evening was delayed, delayed and delayed again. At times the RF Video staff as well as the host felt this may not happen. Into the wee hours of the night, Barry O arrived. At first it seemed he was in no shape to sit for an interview. RF Video management was ready to pull the plug. It was at the request of the host that we continue and give Barry a chance. Cameras rolled as we sat down with not the wrestler with a path carved for him, not a talent with lineage, we sat down with a man. A man who had seen and reached for heights only to end up embroiled in his own demons. Barry spoke of his beginnings and how he was introduced to the family business. His time in territories attempting to create his own persona. His eventual arrival in the World Wrestling Federation and how he was perceived by his peers. As he talks about his wrestling days you may get the sense that he felt shackled by his name. He so desired to create but felt that ability nullified in the WWF machine. We then talk about his coming forward in the sex scandal that rocked the WWF at its height of popularity. He talks candidly and openly about his thought process and the ramifications it caused. You may get the sense as the host did that he is still haunted by this period even to this day. Does he have regrets? He will tell you himself but he clearly states that he knew he would never work in the industry again anywhere by coming forward as he did.
It is easy to look at Barry O and dismiss him as another causality of the industry. A business where those who can sell themselves and swim in shark infested waters and thrive become legends. Just think for a minute if your life was planned for you. If the expectations of what others have achieved rested on your shoulders to carry that reputation. What if you didn’t share their passion? If you had to feel the eyes of an industry upon you from your earliest of memories. Could you do it? Would you even want to?