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Randy Orton Picks His WWE Brand

By Lyle Kilbane • Published 2nd December 2023
Randy Orton Nick Aldis Adam Pearce WWE

Randy Orton returned to WWE at Survivor Series and now SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis has his man, but at some personal cost.

Randy Orton had been out of the ring for eighteen months before he made his grand comeback at Survivor Series as part of the men’s WarGames match. Doctors had warned Randy Orton to call time on his career following back fusion surgery but The Viper is back and looks to be part of the WWE roster for the long haul once again.

On SmackDown in New York City, Orton was on SmackDown and both Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce made clear that they were both after his signature to become exclusive to their respective show. And it looks like Orton’s mind was made up by getting his hands on The Bloodline.

Randy Orton Targets Bloodline On WWE SmackDown

In the final segment of the show, both Aldis and Pearce made their case for Orton to join them but Paul Heyman made his presence felt and told Orton that his decision would be made for him by The Bloodline as Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso swarmed.

As The Bloodline attacked, LA Knight came to Orton’s rescue and brawled with Sikoa to the back. That left Orton to lay out Uso before signing his SmackDown contract to join WWE’s blue brand. Randy Orton told Heyman to call Roman Reigns and tell him “Daddy’s back.” As Nick Aldis celebrated with Orton, he was hit with an RKO outta nowhere – a small price to pay to have the future Hall of Famer on his show.