WWE legend Randy Orton’s return date to the promotion is confirmed: Report

Randy Orton, the 14-time World Champion, hasn’t been on WWE TV since the October 3 episode of SmackDown, raising a lot of questions about his whereabouts over the past month especially with the Survivor

Series: WarGames Premium Live Event (PLE) in San Diego firmly on the horizon. The WWE veteran has made sporadic appearances in the promotion since returning at Elimination Chamber PLE in Toronto in March.after recovering from a spinal cord nerve injury in November, 2024.

Notably, Randy Orton competed at WrestleMania 41 in April in Las Vegas in a one-on-one match with Joe Hendry, who accepted the open challenge laid out by him after his initially slated opponent Kevin Owens backed out due to legitimate neck injury in real life. At his home town in Saint Louis, The Viper challenged John Cena for the WWE Championship in May but ended up losing to his arch-nemesis who was in his villainous arc.

Randy Orton was attacked by The Vision on October 3 episode of SmackDown

The last PLE bout of Randy Orton happened in August at SummerSlam when he and Jelly Roll lost a tag team match against Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul before he helped WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in his battle against Drew McIntyre on the blue brand. Amidst the speculation around the WWE veteran’s status, PWInsider has reported that he is scheduled to make his return to the promotion on the December 5, 2025, episode of SmackDown in Austin.

Moreover, with Randy Orton currently portraying the role of a babyface on SmackDown and his issues with Drew McIntrye well documented, he could end up facing the aforementioned in a match in December. WWE could also pivot to the veteran facing the young upstarts on the blue brand heading into WrestleMania early next year, to not only to consolidate his legacy but also help bolster the roster for the future.