Back in October, it was revealed that former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton had suffered a pretty serious shoulder injury, and that he would be out of action for several months. It was then reported by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer that Orton was also suffering from a neck injury that required surgery , and that he may be out of action until early 2017.
Orton has refuted Meltzer’s report , saying that he doesn’t need neck surgery. However, Meltzer is still suggesting that Orton is suffering from a neck injury, but surgery, at least for now, isn’t mandatory.
WWE’s “Apex Predator” has been away from the ring since last October, and he ended up missing this past Sunday’s WrestleMania 32 . But it does look like we could be seeing Randy Orton return to action within the next couple of weeks, as he recently told AfterBuzz TV that he could be returning to action two weeks from now at the earliest, and a few months from now at the very latest.
I liked a @YouTube video from @afterbuzztv https://t.co/GyBsxuQ8q4 Randy Orton Hall Of Fame 2016 Interview | AfterBuzz TV
— AfterBuzz TV (@afterbuzztv) April 3, 2016
“I had a match on October 12 in Chicago. My shoulder got stretched back, and I had a repair 12 years ago that was destroyed. I had a little pain, got an MRI and was told they had to fix my shoulder again. I had a new guy do it and had a stabilization done that they do to rugby players get, and they’re some tough customers.
“A couple months, maybe 3-4, 2 weeks. Maybe there’s an RKO out of nowhere (in Dallas). I’m not quite ready to be back on the road. I still have 5-10 years left, but who knows? I feel like I’m nowhere near done.”
Of course, we didn’t end up seeing an RKO out of nowhere in Dallas, at WrestleMania 32 . But that doesn’t mean that we won’t see one soon.
SEScoops reported several weeks ago that WWE was expecting Randy Orton to return to action in either late April or early May. There aren’t any known plans for Orton whenever he does return; however, we should know a bit more about what he’ll be doing upon his return as we get closer to his return date, whenever that’ll be.
During an interview that was conducted over WrestleMania weekend, the new number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship AJ Styles said that he would love to get in the ring with Randy Orton when “The Viper” returns to action. So, a feud or at least a match with “The Phenomenal One” may be on the table for Orton when he returns.
Randy Orton was last seen feuding with the Wyatt Family before he was injured. He was actually supposed to be Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns’ partner against the Wyatt’s back at Night of Champions , but WWE was forced to replace him with Chris Jericho due to Orton’s shoulder injury.
It was explained on television that Orton’s injury was caused by the Wyatt Family. So, a feud with Bray Wyatt will probably be on the table whenever “The Viper” does return to action.
There also could be a few more NXT call-ups that take place between now and Orton’s return. One of the call-ups could be Finn Balor, as the Balor Club (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) are expected to make their WWE debut at some point in the near future. So, Orton could feud with the Balor Club faction as well.
An Orton heel turn also shouldn’t be ruled out, as WWE is in need of a top heel, and they almost always seem to turn to Orton when they’re in that position.
[Image via WWE ]