Randy Orton’s WWE Return Officially Advertised

The WWE return of Randy Orton is coming soon.

Randy Orton’s last match in a WWE ring was on the October 3rd edition of SmackDown when he teamed up with the WWE Champion Cody Rhodes against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed.

Unfortunately for the veterans Rhodes and Orton, they lost the match because Seth Rollins got involved and hit Orton with The Stomp that the referee never saw. Reed followed up with a Tsunami splash off the top rope and pinned Orton.

Since that match, Orton’s name hasn’t been uttered very much. As a 45-year-old veteran with 25 years of WWE experience, Orton works a somewhat reduced schedule and is given time off to be with his large family since he has a wife and five kids.

On social media earlier this week, Randy Orton and his wife, Kim, shared that they went to Belize with their family to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary.

In an update on Orton’s WWE future, the WWE website is advertising Orton for the December 5th SmackDown taping in Austin, Texas. The other SmackDown stars advertised for that show are Cody Rhodes, Tiffany Stratton, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, and Charlotte Flair.

It should be noted that not only is the “card subject to change,” but Orton could also reappear on television before that without being advertised for a show.

Randy Orton Thought His WWE Career Would Be Over

As a veteran wrestler with over 20+ years of experience on television, Randy Orton has had his share of injuries. From May 2022 until his in-ring return 18 months later at Survivor Series 2023, Orton was out of action due to a serious back injury that required surgery.

During an interview with Stephanie McMahon earlier this year, Randy Orton opened up about his mental health struggles and how he was able to get past them.

“I think it kind of came to a head when I had a spinal fusion, and I was out for a year and a half. It was like, Here’s my identity. This is what I am. This is the one thing that I know that I’m good at, and I get respect for, and I can’t do it anymore. And for like six months, I was under the impression that was it.”

During that time, that six months where I thought that was it, it was like… when I was younger, I felt so mentally strong and tough and nothing could shake me. And I got in a dark place, and I started to revert back to some of my old habits, and I’ve got a wife and five kids.

Luckily, I was able to nip it in the bud quickly. She saw it happening, and I was put on some SSRIs. It’s like an anti-depression, anxiety medication. I’ve actually been off of them for about six months and feel like myself again, but I needed them for a few years because I didn’t know if I could do this job anymore, even after I came back.”

The good news is that Randy Orton was able to overcome it and return to the WWE ring. His next return should be very soon.