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Randy Orton has been out of action since the November 8 edition of SmackDown when his former friend Kevin Owens attacked him. KO executed a banned WWE move, the piledriver, rendering The Viper motionless on the ground. He was later taken to the hospital, and the promotion later confirmed in a statement that Orton was diagnosed with cervical cord neurapraxia with no timeline for his return.
However, the 14-time World Champion might show up sooner than expected. He might make a staggering return on Saturday Night's Main Event on December 14 during Cody Rhodes' Undisputed WWE Title match against The Prizefighter.
However, in a stunning twist, The Viper could unleash an attack on Cody Rhodes instead of KO. And not just this; he could bring out a previously banned move, The Punt Kick, to teach The American Nightmare a lesson. Notably, the devastating finisher was banned by WWE in 2012. However, Randy has sporadically used it since then. The last time he unleashed it on his opponents was in 2020.
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Why is that? Randy Orton may realize what made KO so bitter towards him and that Rhodes should bear the blame for this. This would establish The Viper as a heel, setting up his feud with the former Legacy member. The two may square off at the Royal Rumble PLE next year.
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However, this is speculative at this point.
Former WWE writer once revealed why the company banned Randy Orton's Punt Kick
While speaking on The Universal Wrestling Podcast in 2022, former WWE writer Matt McCarthy said that there was an apprehension that The Punt Kick would give concussions to wrestlers. He also revealed Randy Orton's reaction after the move was banned in the early 2010s.
“The feeling was if he does it as a shoot, he’s kicking someone full-blast in the head, and we can’t do that. If he works it, it looks awful, and we can’t do that. So now Randy doesn’t get to do his punt kick at all. And for months after this, any time you brought any creative to The Apex Predator, he would look at it and go, ‘So we can do this, but I can’t do my punt kick?''' he said. [1:03:50-1:04:21]
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if The Viper brings out The Punt Kick in the coming months.
