WWE Royal Rumble 2023 is just around the corner, and fans are wondering if Randy Orton will return to the ring on the first premium live event of the new year. In case you didn’t know, the Apex Predator of WWE has been out of action for a long time now.
Orton’s last WWE appearance came back in May 2022 when The Bloodline attacked him and wrote him off TV due to his injuries. Many fans expected him to be back in time for the WWE SummerSlam 2022 show. However, Orton did not recover, forcing WWE to bring Brock Lesnar back and make him challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a Last Man Standing match.
remember when randy orton was dancing to bianca belair’s song while being helped to the back 😭 pic.twitter.com/0l0FV7oSLr
Advertisement— chey ⚡️ (@womenswrestli17) December 27, 2022
Later, Randy Orton was rumored to return at WWE Extreme Rules 2022 to help his friend Matt Riddle in a Fight Pit Match against Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins. However, even that claim proved to be false.
Randy Orton Return Date: Will he return at WWE Royal Rumble 2023?
Fans are now thinking if Orton will be back as a surprise entrant at Royal Rumble 2023. The answer to that question is most probably ‘NO’. Orton has a spine injury. As per Fightful, the Legend Killer underwent surgery last November. WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle recently gave an injury update on Orton and said on ‘The Kurt Angle Show’:
“Randy (Orton) just had surgery on his back. He literally couldn’t do anything, and this surgery is hopefully saving his career. But that’s how much back problems can affect you as a pro wrestler.”
randy orton’s best rko, me thinks. pic.twitter.com/iIKZxAx53P
Advertisement— chey ⚡️ (@womenswrestli17) December 24, 2022
The latest injury update about Randy Orton is that he is still not 100% fit. It will be a big surprise if he manages to make a return at Royal Rumble 2023. The chances are low, but if Orton is ready to wrestle again before January 28, WWE wouldn’t mind bringing him back in the Rumble match.
