What did The Bloodline do to Randy Orton? Remembering how the WWE legend got injured

On the latest episode of WWE RAW, Randy Orton unequivocally declared his intent to seek revenge against every member of the Bloodline. The Viper made a seismic return to the company after an absence of nearly 18 months at Survivor Series: WarGames, where he aligned himself with Team Cody Rhodes as its fifth member.

The saga between Randy Orton and the Bloodline originated at Backlash 2023, where RK-Bro, comprising Orton and former WWE star Matt Riddle, joined forces with Drew McIntyre against the Samoan faction. Despite a valiant effort, the babyface team lost this encounter.

On April 11, 2022, The Usos confronted RK-Bro on Monday Night RAW, challenging them to unify the Tag Team Titles as the Undisputed Tag Team Championship, a challenge that was later accepted. The Usos clashed with Orton and Riddle on the May 20 episode of SmackDown to unify RAW and SmackDown's tag team titles.

The match concluded with the victory of the Samoan twins, aided by interference from Roman Reigns. Despite securing the win, the Bloodline launched a post-match brutal assault on Randy Orton and Riddle. Subsequently, the company announced that Orton had suffered a legitimate back injury and was expected to be on hiatus for the rest of 2022.

It's important to note that before being written off from the Bloodline storyline, Orton had been contending with a troublesome back. He underwent surgery to address the injuries that had accumulated over time, primarily from executing the RKO on his opponents. The 14-time WWE World Champion had previously acknowledged the toll the RKO took on his body, expressing that he would have chosen a different finisher had he known about its brutal effects.

Randy Orton successfully underwent surgery in 2022 and completed his recovery in the summer of 2023. During his hiatus in September 2023, Riddle was released from WWE, effectively concluding the RK-Bro partnership.

Now that Randy Orton has officially returned to the Stamford-based promotion, he is actively seeking revenge against the Samoan faction. His recent RAW promo suggests that this vendetta also encompasses Jey Uso, whom Randy Orton was mere inches away from delivering an RKO to at Survivor Series despite being on the same team.

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What happened between Rhea Ripley and Randy Orton on RAW?

After delivering a resolute warning to the Bloodline, the Viper was interrupted by Rhea Ripley on RAW, a confrontation eagerly anticipated by fans for quite some time.

However, during this face-off, Ripley took the opportunity to mock the Viper, highlighting how Randy Orton assisted Jey Uso, the same individual who had injured him back in 2022.

The Judgment Day member further pointed out that Orton's return played a significant role in Damian Priest not currently holding the world title, as he could not cash in after Orton's surprise return.

In response, the Eradicator warned Orton, asserting that the Judgment Day now runs the show in the company. Orton, in turn, mocked Ripley, stating that while she may be "Mami," now the "Daddy is Back." The crowd fervently chanted for Orton to deliver an RKO to Rhea Ripley, although it did not materialize then. Instead, JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio intervened, attacking the Apex Predator.

Despite the onslaught, the 14-time WWE World Champion made a triumphant comeback by delivering an RKO to McDonagh and subsequently challenging Dominik to a match later in the show.