Veteran WWE Superstar Randy Orton is said to be training for a return to the ring.
Fan footage of Orton outside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando is making the rounds on social media, as seen below. Fans cheered for The Viper as he arrived for the WWE NXT tapings, and he acknowledged them.
Orton has been spotted at the Performance Center in recent weeks, which could be a sign that he is preparing for his long-awaited return to the ring, according to PWInsider. Furthermore, Orton’s bus has been parked outside the Performance Center since late August or the first of this month, according to those close to the facility.
There’s a social media narrative going around tonight that Orton is now “huge” because he gained some size in a good way, but that was originally reported by Fightful Select on August 1 when Orton resumed lifting but wasn’t taking bumps in the ring.
Orton has insisted to those close to him that he will return to the ring after undergoing back fusion surgery. WWE has a strict rule that a talent must work out in some capacity when they join the company or return to action. There were rumors about Orton possibly returning at various points over the past several months, but Orton’s friends and family insisted during SummerSlam Weekend in early August that Orton was not even close to being medically cleared.
While Orton was present at WrestleMania 39 Weekend and SummerSlam Weekend, he has not wrestled since the May 20, 2022 SmackDown, and he ended up having lower back fusion surgery in late 2022. In late November, his father, WWE Hall of Famer Bob Orton Jr., told fans that his son was “coming along” and would be back soon. It was reported at the time that Orton would be out of commission for an extended period of time, possibly until this year. Internal WWE rumblings about Orton began in mid-March, which was notable because there had been no formal internal discussion about Orton for quite some time. Randy Orton’s father then stated in May that Randy was training but was unsure if he would return to in-ring action. He also claimed that doctors advised Orton not to return to the ring. Cowboy previously stated, “Randy will do what Randy will do.”
On August 1, it was reported that doctors told Orton that wrestling in the future is not a good idea, but sources said he still planned to return. It was also reported at the time that Orton had resumed lifting and was “huge” as a result. While Orton had resumed working out, it was stated that he had not resumed bumping, but would be brought into the WWE Performance Center when he was ready, which appears to be now.
The aforementioned fan video is embedded below:
Randy Orton était au WWE Performance Center cette semaine pic.twitter.com/2gsbyeTUfv
— Tambu (@SoceQuiPeut) September 20, 2023
