It's been over two weeks since Randy Orton teased a move to AEW on his Instagram page, and as his contract gets closer to expiring, the plot continues to thicken.
Orton posted a photo of himself staring at a sign that said "Elite Level," and he tagged multiple WWE and AEW superstars in it - including The Revival, Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes..
It was reported soon after that Orton signed a 10-year contract with the WWE in 2010, and that the deal runs up in 2020. So if he so desires, Orton will have the prime opportunity to leave WWE and head to the rival promotion, following the footsteps of Jon Moxley.
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com, the Viper has been "pretty open backstage about his willingness to discuss" heading to AEW. It was noted that his deal expires next summer.
Fightful had reported that Orton even pitched an idea to Vince McMahon about forming a stable with The Revival, whom the 13-time World Champion had briefly worked with. However, Orton wound up being moved to the Raw brand, thus splitting him from Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson.
Related: Randy Orton Teases A Move To AEW
It's also worth noting that Dawson and Wilder have been tied to reports of wanting to leave WWE, and they haven't accepted monumental five-year deals that were presented several months ago. So perhaps the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, along with Orton, are already planning to join the rival AEW company in the near future.
Losing Moxley (Dean Ambrose) was quite the blow for WWE, and it'd be even worse if they lost Orton and one of their top tag teams to AEW. We'll just have to wait and see how everything plays out here.
Orton To AEW Would Change Everything
The Viper has been one of the top main event stars since 2004, when he became the youngest World Champion in WWE history. If Orton were to jump ship to AEW, it would change everything about the Wednesday Night War. It'll be interesting to see how WWE tries to keep Orton aboard, but the main story for now is that he appears to be quite keen on leaving for another opportunity. That much should worry Vince McMahon and WWE officials.