Randy Orton is back like he never left, and once upon a time, that seemed impossible. Orton stepped away from the ring in May 2022 to heal some wear and tear on his back, initially anticipated to be a couple of months. Two decades of RKOs had caught up to him in a mean way, as he ended up requiring spinal fusion surgery. Even after a successful operation, Orton was advised to never wrestle again. Instead of calling it a career, Orton got to work, spending 18 months recovering and eventually returned to the ring in November 2023, showing up at WWE Survivor Series in what many have called the best shape of his career.
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“If you would have asked me two years ago, I would have thought I was close to the end because I had spinal fusion about a year and a half ago. That changed the game,” Orton told Adam’s Apple when asked about how much longer he anticipates that he will wrestle. “I had been in pain through my entire 30’s and was hurting. I was begging for time off when I was 35. I think Vince’s [Vince McMahon] quote to me was, ‘Mother nature gets us all.’ That’s hard to hear when you’re 35 and your back hurts and you’re busting your a– for this company. There have been some changes. Now, I think instead of pushing the guys and running them into the ground until they fall apart, there is a great atmosphere of, ‘How can we make this guy last?’”
As for how long he hopes to last between the ropes, Orton has a definitive milestone in mind.
“At 44, I would love to be able to go until my 50s. Maybe I wrestle until I’m 50 and call it,” Orton suggested. “That’s 30 years. 30 years with the same company, on top. It feels like now is the perfect environment for me to thrive.”
Thrive he has since that November 2023 comeback. While he has come up short in multi-man title matches, Orton remains undefeated in singles competition in 2024. If Orton continues to perform at the level he is at right now, he plans on making that run into his 50s no different than the schedule he currently on.
“I feel so great after my surgery. I’m a full-time guy,” Orton continued. “I don’t want to do the old Undertaker or Shawn Michaels schedule, which they needed to do, understandably. I want to be on the road every week. I want to make all the TVs, I want to be on all the PLEs.”
Orton takes on AJ Styles in a first round King of the Ring match this Friday on WWE SmackDown, airing at 8 PM ET on FOX.
