Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee), claims there’s “a lot of concern” within the WWE regarding the severity of the injury sustained by the Legend Killer. Orton’s latest appearance was with Matt Riddle on the May 20 Episode of SmackDown. At the time, the then-reigning Raw Tag Team Champions, the RK-Bro, enjoyed a 200+ day run at the top of the WWE scene. Unfortunately, their streak would come to an end against The Usos in the title unification match. Since then, Orton hasn’t been seen in the WWE although his partner, Riddle, has mentioned him several times during his absence.

♬ Battle vibes music.loop_PRG, Muscle Training, Martial Arts, Karate, Athlete, Fight, Boxing, Wrestling, Combat, Sports(1066861) - Ney { “@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “VideoObject”, “name”: “Randy Orton injury could force him to retire from the WWE”, “description”: “The latest update to Randy Orton’s back injury casts doubt on whether the Legend Killer call it quits on his historic career. “, “thumbnailUrl”: [ “https://p16-sign-sg.tiktokcdn.com/obj/tos-alisg-p-0037/64ea36a503ef42cba4b33bddb1fdcf7b_1669624620?x-expires=1669644000&x-signature=KLGp64YKWPDLf13uL9s1X5Tqmr4%3D” ], “uploadDate”: “2022-11-27”, “duration”: “PT29S”, “contentUrl”: “https://www.tiktok.com/@xfire.com/video/7170983033871404289", “embedUrl”: "” } The WWE has reportedly made several changes to its plans now that The Viper is out for an extended period. Apparently, the original plan was for Orton to challenge Roman Reigns at SummerSlam for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Orton is one of the most well-known stars in WWE history with more than a dozen world title reigns, among other accomplishments. He’s a perennial threat to the spot but he’s also not afraid to be a team player. At several points throughout his career, Orton has won the Tag Team Championship, including his most recent run with Matt Riddle as the RK-Bro. If Orton hangs up his tights now, he’ll go down as the record-holder for most PPV matches in WWE history and the third-most world championship victories at 14. Speaking of injuries in the WWE, one of Orton’s former teammates, Cody Rhodes, is teasing a return soon following an injury sustained earlier this year.

Randy Orton injury could force him to retire from the WWE - 5Randy Orton injury could force him to retire from the WWE - 10