Randy Orton is officially part of the SmackDown roster, and a new report provides details about his immediate future.
Survivor Series on November 25th saw Randy Orton step inside a WWE ring for the first time in 18 months. Ahead of the event, Cody Rhodes revealed that Orton would be the fifth member of his team, and Orton helped secure a victory against The Judgment Day.
The next night on Raw, Orton faced Dominik Mysterio in the main event bout, just prior to CM Punk addressing the audience after making his own shocking return at Survivor Series. The returns of Orton and Punk proved to be a massive ratings boost for Raw, but it was revealed on the December 1st episode of SmackDown that Orton would be part of the blue brand going forward.
On December 1st, Orton made it clear that he had his sights set on Roman Reigns and also sought revenge on The Bloodline for taking him out of action back in 2022. Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa launched an attack on Orton, but the two-on-one assault was broken up by another enemy of The Bloodline, LA Knight. After evening out the odds, Uso was left alone in the ring with Orton. The former Unified Tag Team Champion was then planted with a rope assisted DDT before receiving an RKO, which he sold for a very long time.
Randy Orton To Feud With The Bloodline On SmackDown Going Forward
A new report from Fightful Select confirms that following the events of the December 1st episode of SmackDown, Randy Orton is in line for a feud with The Bloodline. The report also notes that Orton’s recent segments on both Raw and SmackDown have been produced by WWE Hall of Famer Michael Hayes, who is in charge of producing all of Roman Reigns’ segments and most things having to do with The Bloodline.
The report also reveals that the reason for putting Orton on Monday Night Raw on November 27th was to not only capitalize on the buzz of his return, but also to give closure to his storylines with both Jey Uso and The Judgment Day.
Fightful Select also reported recently that Randy Orton’s WWE contract is set to expire in autumn of 2024, though time may be added as he was away for 18 months due to injury.
In a new interview, Randy Orton has revealed that he wants to break a particular WWE record.