Randy Orton last competed on the May 20th episode of Friday Night SmackDown, where he and his partner Riddle lost to The Usos in a Tag Team Title Unification match. Following Monday Night RAW, Riddle kicked off the show with an emotional promo. Riddle said Randy Orton had been dealing with severe back issues in the past two years. Riddle also noted that Orton could not stand properly before their Tag Team Title Unification match at SmackDown.
Later, WWE announced an injury update on Randy Orton, but they did not mention how long Orton would be out of action. However, Fightful Select has provided an update about The Viper. They stated that things have gotten worse, and WWE has scared that Orton will have to undergo surgery.
Fightful has learned that 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. We’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.
WWE has planning Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam on July 30th at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. However, the match would be canceled if Orton needed surgery.
Riddle will battle Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the upcoming SmackDown. Riddle noted that he would get his revenge on Roman Reigns. The match also has a special stipulation. If Reigns wins, Riddle can not challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title again as long as Reigns holds the title.
We will update you when we receive more details. Stay tuned with The Spotlight.