WWE Rumors: Randy Orton Next Major Superstar To Be Released? The Truth Behind The Confusion

On Friday, WWE decided to do some house-cleaning and the company ended releasing eight longtime talents, but most of them had not been seen in quite some time. During the mass exodus of superstars from WWE, there was panic and confusion that came about as many believed Randy Orton was one of those who were no longer employed. Well, it’s a bit of an odd story as to what exactly happened, and here’s the truth behind it all.

During the chaos of Friday, WWE ended up releasing eight superstars in total, but it’s being said that some more cuts may still happen. When all was said and done, most of the names weren’t big surprises, but a couple of them were disappointing.

• Alex Riley
• Damien Sandow
• Zeb Colter
• Cameron
• El Torito
• King Barrett
• Hornswoggle
• Santino Marella

At one point, the online profile of Randy Orton was no longer up on the WWE website, and everyone started freaking out. Most likely, a lot of people wouldn’t have noticed, but once one person saw it, then everyone was advised of the situation.

WrestleZone reported that a number of readers were mentioning in the comments section that Orton’s profile came down from WWE’s website. It was broken or missing or gone or removed or something, but it just wasn’t there and it caused a huge uproar.

The Wrestling Observer has let it be known that there was and is no indication that WWE had released or was even thinking of releasing Randy Orton. There was simply a technical problem and a glitch that caused Orton’s profile to not be visible on the website anymore. Unfortunately, it ended up happening right when all the cuts were taking place.

Maybe it’s needless to say at this point, but Randy Orton’s profile has since been fixed and restored on the WWE website.

Even though the release of Damien Sandow was upsetting to a lot of fans, it shouldn’t have been very shocking. WWE had not had anything for him to do in months, and even though he was well-liked, talented, and popular, he simply ended up being a casualty.

Looking at the full list of releases, none of them were totally unexpected, but Randy Orton being cut would have been.

It was thought back at the beginning of April that Orton would return from his shoulder injury in two to three months. Forbes is now saying that his recovery from surgery is going a lot slower than anyone originally anticipated. There is still the possibility that he could be at the WWE Performance Center in Florida soon and begin training for an in-ring return.

Barring any serious setbacks, it’s expected that Orton will be back on WWE’s main roster sometime in mid-June. Money in the Bank is taking place on June 14, and it’s not expected that he will be back in time to compete at that event.

WWE Battleground is on July 19, and Orton should end up being back in time to start a new program and have a match at that pay-per-view. It’s not known what kind of storyline or agenda he will have upon his return, but he was written out with a beatdown at the hands of The Wyatt Family.

Randy Orton has missed a great deal of time due to injuries, and WWE has missed him since he went out back in September. Many thought he was injured more seriously than he actually was. Some thought he would have to retire. On Friday, there were a lot of people who believed WWE had actually released “The Viper.” All of those things have turned out to be untrue, and now it’s just a matter of waiting for Orton’s return to the ring.

[Image via WWE]