Report: Randy Orton Possibly Out Of Action For Remainder Of 2022

Randy Orton might not be on WWE TV anytime soon. 

Fightful Select have reported that the 14-time world champion "has been dealing with a back injury for quite some time" and the injury has only worsened. WWE now fear that Orton requires surgery and WWE sources told Fightful the 42-year-old would likely be on the shelf for the remainder of 2022 if he does need to go under the knife. 

The exact injury is currently unknown but Orton had "work" done prior to the May 20 tag team title unification match that saw him and Riddle lose to The Usos. Orton was then written off TV with a post-match attack from The Bloodline. 

An Undisputed WWE Universal Title programme had been pitched for The Viper and Orton was "heavily figured" into WWE's plans for SummerSlam. Those plans are now up in the air and Orton currently isn't being factored into WWE creative. 

After Orton was written off TV, Riddle stated that his tag team partner had been dealing with back issues and The Original Bro was unsure about the future of their tag team.