5 Top superstars who were away for so long that WWE fans lost interest

#3. Randy Orton - Away from WWE from October 2015 to the summer of 2016

Randy Orton in 2015

Randy Orton had several injuries before, but in late 2015, he had to take a hiatus from WWE for a bizarre injury. He suffered a major shoulder injury while taking out the trash, and he would be out of action for nearly a year.

It's not that Orton was lighting the WWE Universe on fire around that time, because apart from Seth Rollins, not many stars were thriving in 2015.

Perhaps it could be argued that his absence was felt at WrestleMania 32, but Randy Orton was among a long list of superstars who couldn't make it to The Grandest Stage of Them All due to an injury.

But ultimately, WWE fans didn't seem to care too much about his absence. Things were picking up in 2016 post-WrestleMania 32, and it was only well before SummerSlam that Randy Orton's return was announced.

It was revealed that he would headline SummerSlam 2016 against Brock Lesnar. While the match ended in a bloody mess (literally), he managed to regain momentum just by being a part of the 2016 SmackDown Live roster.