It appears as though Randy Orton will be off television for a while longer as he hasn’t been cleared. Orton was injured back in May 2022 during a tag team title unification bout with Matt Riddle against The Usos. Since then, he’s been on the mend following fusion back surgery.
Orton underwent that surgery in 2022 and—according to his father, Bob Orton Jr—The Viper has been training for his return. However, it was mentioned that the doctors aren’t clearing him yet and even advised that he not return.
Doctors Advise WWE Superstar Randy Orton Not to Return to the Ring
Internally, it appears that Randy Orton isn’t in any plans and creative hasn’t really discussed getting him back in the loop. It points to the likelihood of him returning—or at least WWE creative’s outlook for the 43-year-old former World champion. After all, if they were certain of his return, he’d been factored in somewhere down the line to get him back in the mix.
Without that, you’re looking at an Orton who is mainly there to steamroll opponents in exhibition matches or to give younger superstars the rub. That’s probably not how WWE would like to use Orton since he has many fans and can still deliver in-ring. Also, the company spent a lot of creative juices and TV time to build him up and maintain and boost his momentum.
At the moment, Orton is in the weightlifting portion of his recovery and is reportedly bigger than he was before. It’s unknown how long he has before he can start bumping in the ring and while there was a belief among fans that he’d be back by SummerSlam, that’s not the case here.
As we mentioned before, Randy Orton isn’t the only former World champion eager to return as Big E has said that he feels 100% and ready to return. In Big E’s case, it was believed he could return at SummerSlam to challenge for a major title.
Do you see Orton returning this year—perhaps at Survivor Series? Maybe we should hold out Royal Rumble? Or will this be an instance where a wrestler listens to doctors and hang up the boots? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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