After more than a year away, Randy Orton is set to make his long-awaited WWE return.
Orton’s future remained a mystery for some time, with many fans accepting the fact that The Viper would not wrestle again. Aged 43 years old, having nothing left to prove and out with a serious back injury, no one would blame the former World Champion for calling time on his in-ring career.
Orton last wrestled on SmackDown in May 2022, losing the Tag Team Championships to The Usos while fighting alongside Matt Riddle.
On September 20th, Orton was seen walking into the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Likely there to undergo a physical before going back to the squared circle, fans’ excitement grew as it looked like the former WWE Champion would be back imminently:
Randy Orton making his way to the WWE Performance Center.
— Just Talk Wrestling (@JustTalkWrestle) September 19, 2023
The comeback might finally be on pic.twitter.com/YdiPdYLdqR
Rock band Rev Theory, who wrote and performed Randy Orton’s iconic entrance theme, posted a series of updates with the caption “Orton voices,” further hinting that Orton could be making a return soon:
Orton Voices pic.twitter.com/wxK1mwzJRY
— Rev Theory (@revtheory) September 25, 2023
A Fightful Select report posted a series of updates that featured an interesting sentence; Randy Orton is shooting for a Survivor Series return. TH report was the latest hint and now fans had a date, November 25th 2023 in Chicago.
The latest confirmation dropped on October 20th, which saw reliable account WrestleVotes post an update that all but confirmed the return along with announcing that there will be new merchandise:
Regarding the Randy Orton return rumors, source states new merchandise & branding has been approved. Also, WWE will present a large social media promotion / digital material for the comeback. It’s indeed happening. Likely Survivor Series or that weekend.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) October 20, 2023
Although multiple reports seem to confirm that Orton will be back and at Survivor Series, nothing is truly confirmed until that music hits.
Featured image: WWE
