Randy Orton Pushed For WWE Return Of Controversial 4-Time Champion
The voices in Randy Orton’s head told him to reach out to a former WWE ally about a comeback.
Former WWE US Champion Matt Riddle was released by WWE in September 2023. While there were some behavioral issues cited for his release, he also performed very well for most of his five-year WWE career.
While Riddle had success as a singles wrestler in WWE, he was also a two-time Raw Tag Team Champion with Randy Orton. That team, known as RK-Bro, was very popular with the fans and had a lot of merchandise that sold well, too.
However, RK-Bro never had an official breakup or ending on television because when Riddle was let go, Orton was out of action for 18 months due to a serious back injury requiring surgery.
At WrestleMania 41 in 2025, Randy Orton needed a replacement opponent after Kevin Owens suffered a neck injury. WWE used the mystery-opponent gimmick, and it turned out to be TNA’s World Champion Joe Hendry, who is now the NXT Champion. Orton beat Hendry in less than five minutes, but it was fun while it lasted.
Randy Orton Reached Out To Matt Riddle For WWE Return
Matt Riddle was a guest on the Rewind Recap Relive podcast, where he revealed that his former tag team partner, Randy Orton, had reached out to him about returning at WrestleMania 41.
“They call me, I’ll show up. The last time I talked to anyone from WWE was before WrestleMania last year. They were looking for an opponent for Randy, and Randy actually hit me up and said, ‘Hey, I pitched you to be my opponent.’ I was like, ‘Holy crap, thank you.’”
After Orton contacted him, Riddle said he also reached out to WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, regarding a return.
“I even reached out to Triple H and said, ‘Hey, I’ll be there if you need me. I’ll pass a drug test, whatever you need. I’ll be there.’ He told me he appreciated it and that they’d keep me in mind, but they went in a different direction, which ended up being Joe Hendry.”
Riddle also maintains a positive outlook on the future, noting that there will always be conversations.
“There’s always a little bit of conversation here and there. And with WWE, or even UFC or combat sports in general, you can never say never. There’s always a chance something could happen. We’re all hungry. We’re all ready to go.”
In his post-WWE career, Riddle continues to wrestle on the independent circuit while also appearing for promotions such as MLW.
As for Randy Orton, he lost to Aleister Black in the SmackDown main event in Fort Lauderdale when Drew McIntyre hit him with the WWE Title. Orton has qualified for the Elimination Chamber Match, which could lead to a WrestleMania match against McIntyre if Orton can win it.