WWE Hall Of Famer Thinks Randy Orton’s Return Could Have Waited
The WWE return of Randy Orton was well received by fans, but one WWE Hall of Famer thinks the company could have waited a few months.
At WWE Survivor Series in Chicago, Randy Orton was one of two big names who returned to the company. Orton’s return was advertised about a week earlier since Orton was part of Cody Rhodes’ team that defeated The Judgment Day in a WarGames match.
For Orton, it was his first time being on WWE TV in about 18 months since having a major back injury that required surgery.
While Randy Orton was very impressive in the match, as soon as it was over, CM Punk’s music hit and the spotlight was on him since it was Punk’s first time on WWE TV in nearly ten years. Unlike Orton, CM Punk was not advertised and was a total surprise although some fans certainly thought it was coming.
Should WWE Have Waited To Bring Back Randy Orton?
Eric Bischoff, who is a WWE Hall of Famer who worked with Orton during Bischoff’s Raw GM run, spoke about the Orton return on his 83 Weeks podcast. While discussing Orton’s successful return, Bischoff suggested that maybe WWE could have waited two more months to do it at the Royal Rumble.
“We’ve been hearing about Randy making his comeback and perhaps making a comeback, we didn’t know when, but we knew he was on his way. That could have been held off til Royal Rumble, couldn’t it, and perhaps even built upon over the next few months? Not saying replicate the Triple H thing when he came back in 2002 and show him working out, getting ready. That’s kind of old-school, been there, done that, not as effective.”
“But there are other things that could have been done over the course of the next three months that could have helped build anticipation since it wasn’t going to be a surprise, let’s build anticipation for it and whether or not it actually happens, and have it happen at Royal Rumble. I think it probably could have been better for Randy individually.”
Randy Orton Will Still Have People Talking About Him, According To Eric Bischoff
As he continued, Bischoff said that even though CM Punk made his return, Randy Orton would make sure that people were still talking about him.
“I don’t think anybody’s sad. I don’t know Randy really well. I’ve gotten to know him a little bit over the years. I don’t think he was sitting at home, going, ‘Wow, they were excited me about for 20 minutes, and then not so much.’ That’s not Randy at all. The Randy that I think I know is going, ‘Cool, talk about CM Punk all you want. Wait til you see what happens next week.’”
“Because Randy will bring it into the ring. Not that CM Punk can’t or won’t. But there’s something special about Randy, and I think at the end of it all, they’ll be talking about Randy.”
Following Survivor Series, Randy Orton defeated Dominik Mysterio on Raw, and then on Smackdown, he signed a contract to officially join the blue brand. That’s because Orton is rumored to be facing Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, which is possibly why Orton was brought back at Survivor Series instead of waiting two more months.