Report: WWE fears Randy Orton will have to undergo back surgery

Another top WWE star could be facing a significant amount of time out of action.

Fightful reports that WWE fears Randy Orton will have to undergo surgery for the back injury that he’s dealing with. WWE sources told Fightful that, if Orton does need to undergo surgery, he’ll likely be out of action for the remainder of 2022.

Orton hasn’t appeared on WWE television since the May 20 episode of SmackDown, where RK-Bro lost a Tag Team title unification match against The Usos. There was then a post-match angle where Roman Reigns and The Usos attacked Orton and Riddle.

Fightful notes that Orton had “work done to improve his condition” before the Tag Team title unification match, but the extent of the work he had done isn’t known. “We’re told that things have gotten progressively worse,” the report said.

Dave Meltzer reported last month that WWE was planning for Orton to challenge Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam this July.

An Undisputed title match between Reigns and Riddle will take place on SmackDown this Friday night. The match has a stipulation where — if Riddle loses — he can’t challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal title again while Reigns is champion.

Orton’s back issues have been worked into Riddle’s on-screen rivalry with Reigns. Riddle said in a promo on the May 23 episode of Raw that Orton could barely walk before the Tag Team title unification match.

Cody Rhodes is expected to be out of action for the rest of 2022 after undergoing surgery for a torn pec earlier this month. WWE is claiming that Rhodes will be unable to compete for nine months.