There are so many big names out right now due to injury, and WWE had to do a lot of moving around for WrestleMania 32 . Many main event level talents have been out for months and still on the shelf for a good bit of time to come. Rumors have been swirling about when some will be back, but not all of that information is always correct. This evening at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, Randy Orton actually gave his return date from his own mouth.
Just yesterday, Randy Orton turned 36 years old, but he hasn’t been seen in the ring for months. He sustained a shoulder injury which was really going to take him out of action for a while, but The Wyatt Family attacked him in mid-September to write him off of WWE television.
Many have wondered when he would be back, and a little over a week ago, Fox Sports Radio gave an update on “ The Viper .” They stated that Orton was going to be heading back to WWE television right after the biggest pay-per-view of the year.
BREAKING: Randy Orton to return to WWE programming next month. This is brought to you by @AudioNowUS . #WWE #Viper pic.twitter.com/jckoTaRjxb
— FOX Sports Radio1340 (@1340AMFOXSports) March 23, 2016
Apparently, they should have said that it wasn’t necessarily “breaking,” but merely possible or just a rumor and nothing certain.
Orton is in attendance at tonight’s 2016 class induction ceremony for the WWE Hall of Fame, and he showed up with some information. He was there with his wife and proceeded to let everyone know when he was going to be back in the ring.
According to WrestleZone , Orton is actually still about “two-three months” away from returning to in-ring action. As it stands, it doesn’t seem as if Randy Orton is going to be wrestling again until at least June or July.
That’s a drastic change from last week’s report that he would be back sometime in April, but also not surprising. The injury to Orton ended up showing a few other issues he has been dealing with, and that includes some neck issues that have been bothering him for a while.
At one point, there was talk that he would need to have additional surgeries or might even be pushed into retirement. Orton shot down those rumors, but he knows that he has to heal enough before returning or it could lessen his time in the ring for the long run.
Many others are out due to injury, and that includes other main event talent such as Seth Rollins , John Cena , Nikki Bella, and Luke Harper . All of these absences combined with the retirement of Daniel Bryan has really made things difficult for WWE over the past year.
It’s rumored that Cesaro could be returning as soon as this month, and some speculation is going around to him appearing in a match at WrestleMania 32 . While he’s not scheduled for one, he has been seen in Dallas without a sling on his arm, and the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is his kind of thing.
Sting is also out, and there’s the possibility that he could be retiring soon due to his injuries. Even though he only ever wrestled two matches in WWE, he was still a big name that was always worthy of having out there for a match now and again or a storyline.
Over the course of the next few months and into the summer, WWE will be getting back the majority of their injured superstars. For now though, Randy Orton may not be coming back as soon as originally thought.
Then again, Randy Orton may have just wanted to squash all the rumors and swerve everyone by saying it will be two or three months before he returns. All that can be done is to wait and see if he shows up at WrestleMania 32 or sometime in April or if he really is out for a few more months.
[Image via WWE]