Robert Roode Reportedly Returning to WWE Raw Soon

Former NXT, United States and Raw Tag Team Champion Robert Roode has been stuck in his home country of Canada due to travel restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic for months. As a result he’s been absent from WWE television, even after he was quietly traded to the Raw roster alongside tag partner Dolph Ziggler. But based on a new report from WrestleVotes this week, it sounds like Roode’s luck is about to turn.

The insider account tweeted on Monday, “Robert Roode, who’s been away for months, is expected to return to RAW within the next week or two, possibly even tonight.”

Ziggler, who pulled double duty as a commentator and Raw Underground competitor last week, recently poked fun at Roode’s absence.

After a lengthy run in TNA/Impact Wrestling, Roode made the jump to WWE in 2016 and quickly became a headliner as NXT Champion. He dropped the title to Drew McIntyre at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III in August 2017, then was called up to the SmackDown roster.

Throughout his time on the Raw and SmackDown rosters, Roode has stayed firmly in the midcard scene — something he has stated in interviews doesn’t both him nearly as much as it bothers fans.

“They don’t know what’s going on,” Roode said in a 2018 interview with Lilian Garcia. “For me, it’s patience, it timing. Like I said, ‘Timing is everything in the business.’ and people can say whatever they want, but I came up here, I came up to Smackdown and had a great run there. I got work with Randy Orton, I got to work with Shinsuke, I got to tag with those guys, I got to work with AJ tagging. It may not have been on television, but Live Events and different things, I got to work with some amazing people, and became the United States Champion, was a part of a WrestleMania. I haven’t had a weekend off in a year. Even though you don’t see me on television every week, I’m still working, I’m still doing stuff and having great matches.”