Randy Orton was originally thought to have picked up a kayfabe injury on WWE programming and would have made a come-back in time for Summerslam. However, the latest reports suggest that he’s dealing with a legit injury that could delay his return, and subsequently, the proposed match for him on the July event is n sheer jeopardy.
Fightful Select is reporting that Randy Orton has been dealing with a back injury for a while now. While the exact nature of his injury is unknown but the top superstar had to give special attention to it before working the Tag Title Unification match with Riddle and The Usos. Whatever the injury is, it has gotten worse in recent times and he may have to undergo surgery due to this.
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If that happens, the feeling is that Randy Orton will be out for the rest of 2022. Per the earlier reports, he was planned to feature in a major role this summer, including becoming the headliner of SummerSlam with Roman Reigns for an Undisputed WWE Universal Title match.
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But due to the current situation, now Fightful is saying that he’s currently not factored into any creative plans of the WWE. We haven’t seen Randy Orton since that Title Unification match that took place back on the May 20 episode of SmackDown. On that night, he was also put down by the Bloodline with a vicious attack.
A week after that attack, WWE released a statement on the status of Randy Orton, stating that he was “undergoing consultations with neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons to determine the extent of his injury,” but this information had to be per storyline-based incidents.
During the absence of Randy Orton, Riddle has been involved in a feud with Roman Reigns, which was originally planned for his tag team partner, according to the source. The two are planned to have a match, this Friday on SmackDown. Per the stipulation, if Riddle loses he will not be able to challenge for the Unified WWE Universal Championship as long as Reigns remains the champion.
The popular theory is that Randy Orton would make a comeback after this match to seek revenge against Reigns and Co to set up the Summerslam bout. We’ll have to wait and see whether that happens in the coming weeks.
