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After being sidelined by a career-threatening back injury for over 550 days, Randy Orton is finally set to return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023. The Apex Predator was last seen in the ring on May 20, 2022, losing the RAW Tag Team Championship in a title unification match against The Usos.
His absence has been felt dearly, with the biggest victim of the same being Matt Riddle, who lost momentum and eventually left the Stamford-based company after going on a solo run. Time flies in the pro wrestling business, and after 18 months out, The Viper will return to a vastly different landscape. With that in mind, it is worth looking back at the state of the company from the last time we saw The Apex Predator.
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Here are a few things that were happening in WWE when the last time Randy Orton competed in the ring:
- Vince McMahon was still in charge of WWE when Randy Orton last competed.
- Kevin Owens was still feuding with Ezekiel.
- Sasha Banks, now known as Mercedes Mone, and Naomi, now known as Trinity, had just walked out of WWE.
- Sami Zayn was trying to join The Bloodline.
- Ricochet was the Intercontinental Champion.
- Madcap Moss had just won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
- Finn Balor was feuding with The Judgment Day, led by now-AEW star Adam Copeland, formerly known as Edge.
- Bianca Belair was just one month into the longest Women's Championship reign in WWE history.
- Becky Lynch was a heel.
- The current WWE Women's Champion, IYO SKY, was in NXT, and Dakota Kai had just been released from the company.
- Pat McAfee was still a weekly presence on SmackDown.
- Toxic Attraction held all the gold in the NXT Women's Division.
- Max Dupri, now known as LA Knight, debuted the Maximum Male Models the night Orton was written off television
... and so much more.
Randy Orton will return to a vastly different WWE landscape
The WWE product today is starkly different from the time, with many of the major players above in wildly different stages of their careers today. How will Randy Orton fit in? Will he find another tag team partner with whom he shares as much chemistry as he did with Matt Riddle? Will he return to the singles competition? Will he continue with his babyface momentum from early 2022 or revert to type as an iconic heel?
Most importantly, given that his career-threatening back problems were allegedly aggravated by years of performing the RKO, have we seen the last of arguably the greatest finisher in WWE history? The fans will have to stay tuned to find the answers.
Do you want to see Randy Orton return to WWE as a heel or as a babyface? Sound off in the comments section below!
