WWE may be without one of their top performers for the remainder of 2022.
According to a report from Fightful Select (h/t Ringside News), veteran WWE superstar Randy Orton has been suffering from a back injury for a while now (the specifics of the injury are unclear). The report added that Orton had to get get some work done on his back so that he could compete in the Tag Team Titles unification match on SmackDown last month.
Fightful's report adds that things have been getting worse, not better, and the company is concerned that Orton may have to get surgery. If he goes that route, the 42-year-old superstar will probably be sidelined for the remainder of 2022.
On May 28, WWE announced that Orton was dealing with an injury following an attack from The Bloodline. At the time, it wasn't immediately known if this was a legitimate injury or part of the storyline. Orton's tag team partner, Riddle, has been teaming up with Shinsuke Nakamura in recent weeks.
Orton and Riddle (then the Raw Tag Team Champions) lost a Tag Team Titles unification showdown to The Usos (SmackDown Tag Team Champions) on the May 20 episode of WWE SmackDown. Two weeks ago, Riddle teamed up with Nakamura for another title showdown with The Usos, which Jimmy and Jey won.
Riddle will challenge Roman Reigns for the Undispusted WWE Universal Championship on this week's episode of SmackDown.
WWE Reportedly Had A Major Summerslam Match Planned For Orton
It was recently reported that WWE was planning a championship match between Reigns and The Viper for the July 30 SummerSlam 2022 pay-per-view, which will run in Nashville, Tennessee. At this point, it doesn't seem likely that Orton will be recovered by then. So in all likelihood, WWE will have to find a new SummerSlam 2022 opponent for The Tribal Chief. Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley and AJ Styles are among the top babyfaces that WWE could use here. Of course, Vince McMahon could always opt for another showdown between Reigns and Brock Lesnar.
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