46-year-old star shares a cryptic post after Randy Orton was shockingly written off WWE television

Randy Orton was brutally attacked on WWE SmackDown and written off television for the foreseeable future. Today, RAW General Manager Adam Pearce shared a cryptic post regarding The Viper.

Randy Orton returned from a career-threatening injury at WWE Survivor Series 2023. The Viper spent 18 months away from the weekly product and made no appearances until he returned to the Stamford-based company as Cody Rhodes' fifth member for WarGames against The Judgment Day.

Earlier this year, Randy Orton was brutally attacked and stretchered out of the arena. Today, RAW General Manager Adam Pearce shared a cryptic post on Instagram in which Randy Orton can be seen attacking Jeff Hardy at ringside.

Pearce is known to share such cryptic stories and posts. The General Manager also took an RKO from The Viper in Saudi Arabia when he tried to stop a brawl between Orton and Kevin Owens.

---

What happened to Randy Orton on WWE SmackDown?

Last month, Kevin Owens turned on Cody Rhodes and attacked him in the parking lot after Bad Blood in Atlanta. On the following episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Randy Orton tried to calm The Prizefighter down but was elbowed in the neck by KO. Orton then retaliated by punching him.

This kicked off their rivalry and a series of assaults on each other in the following weeks. Later, Triple H agreed to finally grant Randy Orton a match against Owens in Saudi Arabia. However, the bout never started and the two brawled and ended the segment.

Earlier this month, Kevin Owens crossed a line when he hit Randy Orton with a piledriver. The Viper couldn't move and had to be stretchered out of the arena as Cody Rhodes and an official assisted him. Given the veteran's injury issues, it'll be interesting to see when the 14-time World Champion returns.

The veteran could be written out for a bigger feud with Cody Rhodes in the coming year. Nevertheless, The American Nightmare and fans will have to wait a while before The Legend Killer returns to WWE SmackDown.