Randy Orton hasn't been seen on WWE television since the May 20 edition of SmackDown, and a recent report indicates that he might not be able to wrestle again in 2022. The Viper and Riddle lost the tag team title unification match with The Usos on that night, and the former has been off TV since then. Audiences have been told that Orton was injured during that match, and this has motivated Riddle to go after The Bloodline, but Randy's issues apparently were lingering before that.
Prior to the injury, Orton was in the midst of a bit of a career renascence. His work with Riddle was a consistent highlight of Monday Night Raw, and it was always clear that he was having a good time while working those tag matches. Orton's injuries halted that, however, to the point where he apparently needed work done prior to the tag team unification match last month.
Fightful is now reporting that some in WWE worry that Orton might be done for the year. As per their report, "Orton has been dealing with a back injury for quite some time, to the point he actually had work done to improve his condition before the tag team title unification match, though we aren't sure of the extent of the "work" that was done." The report continues, stating that "(w)e're told that things have gotten progressively worse, and WWE fears that Orton will be forced to undergo a surgery. WWE sources that we spoke to said that if that happens, Orton would likely be out of action the rest of 2022. Thus far the exact injury is unknown."
This report also indicates that there is no planned creative for Orton at this time, which would be a huge blow to WWE's plans for the summer. There were rumblings a few months back that he would square off with Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, but that seems to be on hold for now. At that juncture, Riddle was supposedly being set up to work with The Tribal Cheif at Money In The Bank, but when WWE failed to sell out Allegiant Stadium, they moved the premium live event to a smaller venue and pulled Reigns from advertising. Riddle is now set to fight Reigns on the June 17 edition of Friday Night SmackDown.
Orton's injury issues are just the latest in a rash of problems that have hit some of the industry's biggest stars. AEW will be without CM Punk for the next several months, and WWE recently lost Cody Rhodes to a torn pectoral muscle. Rhodes and Orton were two key cogs for the Raw brand, and losing The Legend Killer for the next six months would be brutal for the company in terms of future booking. They are already short on reliable, bankable faces. Moving forward without Rhodes and Orton for the next four-to-six months would be tough sledding, to say the least.
Sources: Fightful
Randy Orton hasn't been seen on WWE television for several weeks now, and a recent report is indicating that The Viper may be done for the year.Franklin Steele