Former WWE Champion to appear on SmackDown for the first time in almost 2 years

A former WWE Champion is set to appear on the upcoming episode of SmackDown after a gap of almost two years.

The name in question is Randy Orton. The Viper was last seen on SmackDown on the May 20, 2022, edition of WWE's Friday Night show in a winner-takes-all tag team match that saw him and Matt Riddle lose to The Usos. After the win, The Usos dropped Orton on the announcer's table. It was the Stamford-based company's way of writing the Apex Predator off television amidst lower back ailment.

The former World Heavyweight Champion was revealed as the fifth member of Cody Rhodes' team for the WarGames match against The Judgment Day and Drew McIntyre ahead of the premium live event. The Legend Killer was, however, nowhere to be seen during the initial phase of the match. It was only when Rhea Ripley brought in Damian Priest's Money in the Bank contract that Orton returned after 18 months to a thunderous reaction from the crowd. He also made an appearance on RAW following the Chicago event to beat Dominik Mysterio in a singles match.

The December 1 edition of SmackDown is scheduled to air from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The official Twitter account of the Barclays Center shared the announcement of Randy Orton for the show.

You can check the Twitter post below:

It will be interesting to see how WWE utilizes the former World Champion this Friday after two recent in-ring appearances in three nights.

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Triple H reflects on Randy Orton's return to WWE

During the post-show press conference of Survivor Series: Wargames, WWE's Chief Content Officer Triple H talked about Randy Orton's return to the company.

The Game revealed that he was proud of his former Evolution stablemate. He also appreciated the latter for fighting back from the severe injury.

"So incredibly proud of him, where he is – not only as a performer but as a man, as a father, as a human being, just incredibly proud of Randy Orton. When you have the kind of injury that he had where things were touch and go (...) I've been there, where they tell you you might never do this again. That's a rough experience. To be able to fight back what he went through, to be able to do what he had done and come back here tonight and have the moment that he had was just awesome."

What are your thoughts on Randy Orton's return to WWE? Sound off in the comments section below.