Randy Orton has been out of action with a back injury since May and nearly every update on “The Viper” since then has been negative. The latest came last week when it was reported Orton had to undergo spinal fusion in his lower back and that he’ll be out for a significant period of time. Fightful Select even had a source stating WWE would be fortunate to ever get him back in the ring given the injury and how he’s been in the business for more than two decades.
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However, Orton’s father Cowboy Bob Orton had a much more optimistic outlook on Randy’s recovery during a recent K&S WrestleFest virtual signing. He told the fans (h/t POST Wrestling), “He’s [Randy Orton] coming along. I see him maybe once a week or so. But he’s coming along. He’ll be back in there before you know it.”
Randy Orton on When He’ll Retire
Orton talked about his retirement plans back in January while on The Ringer Wrestling Show, saying he intends to retire by the time he’s 50 — “I’m 41. By the time I’m 50, I think I’m done. But I’m not like, I’ll do auditions every once in a while, but I almost only do them because my wife says ‘oh do them, because what if you don’t? Then you’ll wonder what if you did.’ So I do auditions here and there, crossing my fingers that I don’t get a callback because I love what I do. I don’t want to stop. I don’t want to have to stop, because of my body.
“So I’ve taken it upon myself to make sure I’m doing everything I can on the daily that physically I’m able to continue. But if it was up to me, and I knew physically it wouldn’t be a problem, I’d say I’d wrestle until I’m 50 years old. And I would go out and have that last match when I’m 50 and be able to say I did it on my own terms. That’s 9 years from now. But I don’t see an end to my career any time soon. I’d like to continue to go,”
If and when Orton comes back, he’ll have a ready-made storyline with Matt Riddle waiting for him. “The Original Bro” has been channeling his RK-Bro tag team partner ever since Randy went down with the injury, using his taunts and RKO finisher as a way to honor the 14-time world champion.
