When WWE rejected Randy Orton's plan to form a faction with two top stars currently in AEW

Randy Orton is one of the most recognizable names in the wrestling world, as he has been performing at the top for nearly two decades. He has gone on to win title after title and has had countless memorable feuds, which make him one of the biggest names in the industry.

So, it should come as a surprise when his request to team with The Revival (now known as FTR in AEW) was dismissed by none other than WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

According to wrestling insider Sean Ross Sapp, Randy Orton went to Mr. McMahon in the hopes that he could form a faction with the tag team stars, but Vince said no. He went a step further and made sure that Orton was drafted to RAW while The Revival was on SmackDown.

Vince McMahon may have refrained from making them a faction at the time for a number of reasons. This happened in 2019, and the fact that Orton and The Revival both had contracts that expired in 2020 might have been a factor.

Another possibility is that Vince wanted Randy Orton to have one more championship run and decided that it would be better for him to do so as a singles competitor rather than with a stable because it would give him more credibility.

When will Randy Orton return?

Randy Orton has been out with a back injury since May 2022, when he had his last match against then-Tag Team Champions The Usos. There has been a lot of speculation as to when The Viper will return.

Having been out for over a year, various reports came out recently that suggested that Randy might be making a comeback soon. Fightful Select gave an update on his return and stated that various WWE officials said he wasn't ready yet and there was still time.

It will be interesting to see who Orton might target when he makes his much-awaited comeback. In an ideal world, he would go after Seth Rollins in a quest to win the new World Heavyweight championship.

Another possible scenario for him would be to come back as a heel and take out his former tag team partner Matt Riddle or take on The Usos since it was against them that he had his last match, and they put him on the shelf for this long. Orton can also target The Tribal Chief, as he was reportedly booked to challenge Roman Reigns for the title at SummerSlam last year.