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1 year ago
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Randy Orton will make his long-awaited return from a back injury at Saturday night's WWE Survivor Series.
Following an 18-month injury lay-off, Cody Rhodes announced on RAW this week that the 'Legend Killer' would be the fifth and final member of his team to take on The Judgment Day in the men's WarGames match.
Orton's last WWE appearance came in May 2022, where he and Matt Riddle lost the RAW Tag Team Championship to the Usos, before he underwent surgery on his back.
Orton has previously been vocal on some of the injuries he's sustained in his career, some of which have been caused by his signature move, the RKO. His comeback was also put in doubt earlier this year after doctors told the 14-time WWE World Heavyweight champion not to return to the sport.
But there has been much speculation this year that the 43-year-old could return to the ring. There has also been a lot of anticipation ahead of this weekend's Survivor Series event, with reports claiming that a former multi-time world champion was expected to return for WarGames.
Randy Orton will make his long-awaited return to WWE this weekend at Survivor Series
Cody Rhodes announced on RAW that the WWE legend would be joining his team for their WarGames match against The Judgement Day
But the WWE opted to spoil a surprise return for Orton after rumours circulated a multi-time champion could be picked to join up with Rhode's team
Rhodes' team already boasts some illustrious names including Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn and Jey Uso, but there was one spot left to fill in that roster.
With Survivor Series taking place in Chicago on Saturday night, many had suggested that CM Punk could make his return to WWE in his home town and in front of a home crowd.
Punk, who hails from Illinois, is a favourite among Chicago wrestling fans and was recently released from his contract with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) after an investigation into a backstage incident that occurred at an event in Wembley, London.
His release from the rival organisation has sparked excitement among fans that he could be set for a home coming to WWE this weekend.
But despite that speculation the organisation has decided to put those rumours to bed in a bid to prevent fans from getting their hopes up should CM Punk not make a surprise appearance at the event on Saturday night.
Many fans took to Twitter claiming that CM Punk could be set to make his WWE return in his home town of Chicago for the Survivor Series event
But the organisation chose to announce Orton's return early, so as not to get the hopes of the Chicago fan base up, thinking CM Punk could return
WWE legend Booker T has also stepped in to defend the organisation's decision to spoil a surprise return for Orton.
'You know, a surprise would’ve been great, but I’m sure someone would’ve broken on Twitter that Randy Orton has been spotted in Chicago,' he said on the Hall of Fame podcast.
'I’m sure of that. There’s no way around that. So these days, trying to surprise someone, you might just be shooting yourself in the foot.
'Everybody [should] know [sic] that Randy Orton is gonna be there so they could tune in and buy it more than anything.
'More importantly, you want the Randy Orton fans to know he’s going to be there.'
English (US)