What happened to Randy Orton? Find out the reason for his 18-month WWE absence ahead of potential return

Randy Orton is expected to return after 18 months on WWE RAW this week. The Viper was last seen inside the squared circle on May 20, 2022. He and Matt Riddle lost the RAW Tag Team Championship to The Usos, and were subsequently destroyed by The Bloodline.

For those wondering why Orton has been out of action for the last 18 months, he had to undergo a surgery to heal his back from all the injuries that had piled up over time – primarily from giving the RKO to his opponents.

The 14-time World Champion had previously admitted to hurting his body due to the constant bumps from the RKO. Orton even said he’d have come up with a different finisher had he known about the brutal effects of the RKO.

“I kind of wish I could go back in time and create a finishing move that didn’t entail me jumping up as high as I can and landing on my back,'' said Orton. ''After doing that a couple of thousand times over the last few decades, I’m starting to feel it.”

Randy Orton underwent a successful surgery in 2022. He recovered from the procedure in the summer of 2023. WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle had provided an update on the Viper’s condition during his podcast The Kurt Angle Show at the time.

"Doing good man. He recovered from his back surgery. He's, I think he's gonna come back pretty d**n soon. He's doing much better, yes," Angle said.

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Will Randy Orton return to WWE RAW before Survivor Series: WarGames 2023?

Randy Orton is reportedly set to return to WWE RAW in the lead-up to Survivor Series: WarGames 2023. The Apex Predator is expected to join Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, and Jey Uso against The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, and JD McDonagh) and Drew McIntyre.

The angle started off as a four-on-four WarGames match between Team Rhodes and The Judgment Day. This turned into five-on-four after McIntyre signaled his alliance with the heel faction by costing Rhodes and Jey their tag team title match on RAW last week.

It remains to be seen if the match-up will indeed turn into five-on-five this week on WWE RAW.