Randy Orton is back. This past Monday on WWE Monday Night Raw, Cody Rhodes closed the show by responding to The Judgment Day’s numbers advantage going into their War Games match at WWE Survivor Series by noting his squad does indeed have a fifth member. This mystery man is someone Rhodes says he has a “legacy” with, alluding to the fact that he formerly worked with Orton in the late 2000s stable of the same name. While Rhodes did not specifically drop Orton’s name, WWE followed up the tease by including the Apex Predator on the WWE Survivor Series main event’s graphic, confirming that Orton is indeed the fifth man.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Randy Orton’s Upcoming Return Ends Wild Evolution Streak
When The Viper slithers into the double steel cage on Saturday, he will end one of the craziest streaks in recent wrestling memory.
Randy Orton has not wrestled since May 2022 as he was put on the shelf to undergo surgery for some nagging back issues. This was not a sudden injury but rather the result of wear and tear over the course of Orton’s two-decade long career, one which has seen him land on his back multiple times per match, especially considering his RKO finisher involves a hefty back bump. There was some concern that Orton’s 20 years of RKOs had caught up to him, as reports indicated that he was advised to retire. After 18 months of recovery, it appears that Orton is good to go once again.
Two months after Orton went out of action, Ric Flair came out of retirement to wrestle one final time, teaming with son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to take on Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal at the one-off pay-per-view Ric Flair’s Last Match. With Batista retiring in April 2019 and Triple H leaving his boots in the ring at WWE WrestleMania 38 in April 2022, this meant that out of all members of Evolution, the 74-year-old Flair had the most recent match.
Evolution was a stable led by Triple H that included Flair, Batista and Orton. The faction dominated WWE Monday Night Raw in the early 2000s, accomplishing the rare feat of holding all of one brand’s gold in 2003. A Flair-less version Evolution would get back together in 2014 to feud with The Shield and had another reunion on WWE SmackDown 1000 in Fall 2018.
WWE Survivor Series goes down on Saturday, November 25th, streaming live on Peacock.
