Projecting Returns for Randy Orton and 8 Injured WWE, AEW Stars

Getting hurt at any point can be a significant setback for a wrestler, but the timing is especially awful heading into WWE and AEW's busiest seasons of the year.

The road to WrestleMania has already seen the likes of Brock Lesnar, Edge and Cody Rhodes resurface and cement their spots on what should be a stacked WrestleMania 39 card. More notable names are bound to join them in the coming weeks and months, while others will unfortunately have to miss The Show of Shows due to injury.

Elsewhere in AEW, Adam Cole will be a big boost to AEW when he makes his in-ring return soon. He had previously been sidelined with multiple injuries since the beginning of last summer and can immediately be inserted right back into the main-event mix.

Although WWE and AEW's injured lists aren't terribly long, those who are out missing at the moment are all valuable assets and can contribute in a meaningful way to their respective promotions once they're cleared to return.

Based on what we know, let's look at when these eight WWE and AEW top talents could be ready to return and how they can be brought back into the fold.

Editor's Note: Stars who are inactive for non-injury-related relations such as Matt Riddle, Alexa Bliss and Jeff Hardy will not be included.

Randy Orton

Randy Orton is no stranger to suffering major injuries and being out for extended periods of time, but his latest setback has proven to be his most troubling yet.

At the peak of his popularity alongside Matt Riddle in RK-Bro, Orton stepped away from in-ring competition last May to tend to nagging back injuries. Fightful Select reported at the time that things had gotten "progressively worse" for the first-ballot Hall of Famer before taking time off, forcing plans to be changed for his rumored championship clash against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.

The outlet followed up with an update in early December revealing he had recently underwent successful back fusion surgery and that he wasn't expected back any time soon. It was serious enough to apparently put his career in jeopardy, though the report noted he "insisted" on wrestling again once he's fully recovered.

There is currently no timetable for his return. WWE would be fortunate to have him back ahead of August's SummerSlam event where he can either reunite with Riddle or kick off their long-awaited rivalry.

The Viper will strike again eventually, but don't hold your breath on it being before WrestleMania 39 or even the summer.

Kris Statlander

Despite Kris Statlander having been a staple of AEW's women's division since late 2019, it wasn't until just last year that she found her footing as a character and catch fire with the fans.

Just as she started to hit her stride, she tore her ACL as well as her meniscus in her right leg in August 2022. She suffered the same ACL injury in her left leg two years prior.

This was mere weeks before she was reportedly penciled to challenge Jade Cargill for the AEW TBS Championship at All Out, likely in a Triple Threat also involving Athena. All signs pointed to her being the one to end Cargill's undefeated streak and title reign.

She underwent surgery soon after, The only update she has provided since then came in a tweet on Dec. 22 when she confirmed she hadn't been cleared yet.

The Galaxy's Greatest Alien was out of action for approximately 10 months the last time she was out with an ACL injury, and said in an August episode of AEW's "Road To" series that her recovery time would be between six to eight months.

That would put a comeback for her right around now, if not closer to Double or Nothing. Cargill has been spinning her wheels for weeks and it's possible that's being done by design so she can rekindle her rivalry with Statlander going into Revolution next month.

If not there, Statlander should be back in time for Double or Nothing. Regardless, her dethroning Cargill is practically inevitable.

Andrade El Idolo

Andrade El Idolo has had a string of bad luck since signing with AEW in May 2021.

In addition to questionable booking, he has since suffered an injury and been suspended by the promotion. The Wrestling Observer alluded to him as such during a November update, while Andrade confirmed he tore his left pec muscle in an Instagram post in December.

The injury occurred during a six-man tag team match on the Aug. 17 edition of Dynamite. Andrade nor AEW have commented on his status or when he's expected to be back.

If the surgery was only two months ago, Andrade is bound to be sidelined for many more months. It's unknown that will cause the company to extend his contract depending on when it is set to expire.

If he has his sights set on eventually returning to WWE, there's a decent chance we may have seen the last of Andrade in an AEW ring. At the very least, it will be quite some time until we see him again, potentially not until mid-summer or early fall.

AJ Styles

AJ Styles has largely avoided injuries over the years, but an ankle injury suffered at a WWE live event in late December will cause him to miss the most amount of time he's ever missed in his illustrious career.

The Phenomenal One not needing surgery is great news for both him and his fans. An ankle injury won't see him sidelined for too long, but it does certainly put his status for WrestleMania 39 into question.

He could be cleared in time for The Show of Shows, but he'd have to be back on TV within the next few weeks to begin building up a program. Then again, Bobby Lashley returned from injury on the final Raw before WrestleMania 38 and was in action that weekend, so the possibility shouldn't be ruled out entirely.

Saving him as a post-WrestleMania surprise might be the better option if there's no obvious 'Mania match for him this year. He wasn't involved in anything of note prior to taking time off as The O.C. has been a cold act so far, so starting fresh once the road to WrestleMania wraps up would be the way to go.

The Raw roster will undoubtedly benefit from having him around again soon enough.

Tommaso Ciampa

It's been so long since Tommaso Ciampa was last featured on Raw that it's easy to forget he's been out injured for the past five months.

WWE clearly had no significant plans in mind for him upon his arrival on the Raw roster in April 2022 based on his booking. Triple H taking control of the company's creative direction was the best thing that could have happened to him, and within weeks, he was challenging Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship on Raw.

His alliance with The Miz presumably would have played a key role in their storyline with Dexter Lumis and Johnny Gargano in the fall. However, Ciampa disappeared from WWE TV before anything could come of his involvement in the angle.

An Instagram post from Ciampa in October revealed he not only underwent surgery to repair a hip injury, but also that the road to recovery would be a lengthy one. A specific timetable for his return hasn't been provided, so it's looking like he won't be back until at least June if not later.

Hopefully he can pick up where he left off with Miz and have that transition into either a reunion or rivalry with the star he has been synonymous with since 2015, Johnny Gargano.

Kyle O'Reilly

Kyle O'Reilly made an immediate splash in AEW when he debuted on Dynamite in December 2021 within weeks of his WWE contract expiring. He wasted no time in reuniting with his longtime Undisputed Era stablemates Adam Cole and Bobby Fish.

Unfortunately, their long-term story, which would have seen them betray The Young Bucks and feud with The Elite never came to pass for a number of reasons–O'Reilly getting hurt is one of them.

After beating Darby Allin in shockingly clean fashion at Double or Nothing last May, he went on to face Jon Moxley in a high-profile Dynamite main event on June 8. He remained a regular on AEW TV afterwards but didn't wrestle, until it was revealed he had to undergo neck surgery in September.

O'Reilly added in an Instagram post in early January that he experienced a post-surgical issue that caused him frustration and that his type-1 diabetes has hurt his healing process (h/t Wrestling Inc's Kieran Fisher). In other words, he is a long way from making an in-ring return, sadly.

At best, expect the former reDRagon member back in the final few months of 2023. It will be a bummer to not have him around for the majority of the year, but his health comes first and it's encouraging to see him in better spirits.

The New Day's Big E

Similar to Kyle O'Reilly, Big E's absence can also be attributed to a neck injury, though his was much more sudden and nearly life-threatening.

As a result of a suplex gone awry from Ridge Holland on the March 11 edition of SmackDown, the New Day member suffered non-displaced fractures of the C-1 and C-6 vertebrae in his neck. His latest update from July revealed that he won't be evaluated until after the one-year mark.

Even at that point, it will be a long road to recovery for Big E, assuming he's lucky enough to eventually be cleared to compete again. If so, he will most likely need the remainder of 2023 to recuperate.

He merely scratched the surface of what he could do at the main-event level before getting hurt. Although he was demoted to the tag team ranks alongside the rest of New Day following his WWE Championship run, he would have inevitably worked his way back up the card and into championship contention again.

Nothing is for certain as his quality of life is paramount, but if he is able to re-enter the squared circle, WWE would be foolish not to capitalize on such a monumental moment and push him to the top upon his return.

AEW's CM Punk

CM Punk's status with AEW remains a massive mystery, but one thing for certain is that he tore his left triceps against Jon Moxley at All Out in September. That was mere moments before his profanity-laced tirade at the post-show media scrum that earned him an indefinite suspension.

Everyone involved in the incident, including his backstage brawl with The Elite, has been tight-lipped about it, presumably for legal reasons. The Elite has since returned to television and Punk has only dropped hints on social media that he isn't currently on the best of terms with the promotion.

On one of the latest editions of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that AEW will be free to use Punk once he's healed up from his injury "in a couple of months."

He added that bringing back Punk would open up a whole heap of other issues regarding the rest of the roster, implying that the baggage he brings with him may not be worth it to AEW president Tony Khan.

AEW can absolutely use a star of his stature, but the cons could far outweigh the pros. Odds are Punk is indeed done in AEW and that Khan will come to terms with him on his departure within the next six months.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.