The return rumors of Randy Orton to the WWE Universe have been circulating on the internet for the past few months. Everyone was expecting to see The Viper make his return to WWE at the greatest summer event of the year, WWE SummerSlam 2023.
Sadly, The Legend Killer was absent from that premium live event. However, without giving any major tease, WWE has confirmed Orton’s return to the promotion on the latest episode of SmackDown, making him the last member of the Cody Rhodes WarGames team.
Drew McIntyre and Damian Priest’s reaction to Randy Orton’s return
Over the past few months, the return of Randy Orton to the WWE ring has been expected, and several incidents have escalated this speculation. The major tease that Orton gave to the fans was his visit to the WWE Performance Center. Initially, he was rumored to appear at SummerSlam 2023, but it eventually didn’t come true, leaving fans disappointed.
However, on the latest episode of Monday Night Raw, the matchcard for the Survivor Series WarGames 2023 was updated, and the return of one major superstar was confirmed. Cody Rhodes announced that the fifth member of his team for the Men’s WarGames match will be Randy Orton. This announcement shook the whole arena, and the crowd went crazy with it.
With Randy Orton’s return confirmed, fans have been taking over the internet as they celebrate the return of the 14-time WWE Champion. Despite all the happiness among fans, his return has also caused distress to some of the WWE superstars. The stars in question are none other than Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre.
Hello darkness, my old friend #SurvivorSeries pic.twitter.com/2cYSij1NS1
— Drew (@DMcIntyreWWE) November 21, 2023
Reacting to Orton’s WWE return announcement, Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre tweeted on their Twitter/X accounts. McIntyre wrote, “Hello darkness, my old friend #SurvivorSeries,” with a photo from his match against Randy Orton in 2021.
On the other hand, Priest wrote, “Yo @RandyOrton, answer your phone… bro”. This proves that Judgment Day’s WarGames team is not happy with the return of The Viper, as they will face him as the opponent.
Yo @RandyOrton, answer your phone… bro!
— Damian Priest (@ArcherOfInfamy) November 21, 2023
How long was Randy Orton out due to injury?
The WWE Universe has been eagerly awaiting Randy Orton’s return for over a year and a half. The 14-time WWE Champion has achieved numerous phenomenal feats in his 20-year wrestling career, and his last run in WWE was quite smooth until he suffered a serious back injury.
On the May 20, 2022, episode of Friday Night SmackDown, The Viper suffered a tragic injury while facing off against The Usos with his RK-Bro tag team partner Matt Riddle. Randy and Riddle lost their Raw Tag Team titles that night.
After losing the titles, Orton and Riddle were sneakily ambushed by the Bloodline faction. During that brawl, The Viper got injured due to a wrong move from Roman Reigns. At first, fans thought that this injury was part of the storyline, but soon it was confirmed that Randy actually suffered a back injury.
Are you excited for Randy Orton’s return to WWE? Let us know your thoughts on it in the comment section below!
