It’s hard to believe, but Randy Orton has been out for more than a year due to his ailing back. Yet there’s plenty of buzz about a potentially imminent return, including Kurt Angle saying he thinks Orton will be back soon, as well as the rumor accounts weighing in.
A lot has happened since the 43-year-old Viper last stepped in a WWE ring, including major turmoil within the Bloodline and the WWE Draft reshaping the Raw and SmackDown rosters. But slotting Orton in someplace won’t be difficult as he’s an absolute future WWE Hall of Famer who can take on any role the company whips up for him.
Given that Orton was a fan favorite prior to stepping away and the whole “absence makes the heart grow fonder” syndrome that always happens when wrestlers are on the shelf for an extended period of time, the expectation would be that he’d come back as a face. If he’s really going to return at Money in the Bank or shortly thereafter, however, he could really be useful as the top heel on Raw.
It’s a spot that has been largely vacant since the WWE Draft took place. Roman Reigns is on SmackDown. The Judgment Day is the main villainous force on Mondays, and they’ve done great work that has reportedly been praised inside the company. While the stable has no true leader, most fans consider Finn Balor to be “in charge” (though a strong argument can be made that Rhea Ripley is the biggest star), and he’s getting his shot at Seth Rollins and the World Heavyweight Championship this weekend in London.
Balor is expected to lose, and Damian Priest already had his shot at Rollins. Unless WWE plans on having the Rollins-Balor program continue to SummerSlam, Raw’s top champ will need a new foil.
That’s where Orton could come in nicely. He’s crossed paths with Rollins in the past — he’s worked with everyone over the course of his two decades in WWE — but the two men haven’t had a real program since 2015. That might as well be another geologic era in pro wrestling time.
Rollins is as over as he’s even been right now, so having Orton pop up after so long and hammer with a patented RKO out of nowhere would be instant heat. It’s one of those “almost writes itself” moments.
You have to imagine that Matt Riddle would be crestfallen to see his best buddy return only to quickly succumb to his darker natures. There’s a ready made feud between them as well, one that could help elevate Riddle after he (partially by his own doing) has stalled out a bit.
Finally, there’s Cody Rhodes. While he and Orton have history together too, they haven’t faced off one-on-one in the ring for a decade. WWE seems determined to keep throwing new hurdles at the American Nightmare before he gets his championship journey back on track, and Orton would be one of the biggest ones possible.
Surely, WWE has a good idea of what it wants to do with Orton is he actually is making his way back soon. There’s no lack of options that would be entertaining on either side of the face/heel divide. It just feels like having him as Raw’s top villain would work out perfectly, or put another way, it would be very good to see Randy go bad again.