WWE News: Injury to Randy Orton Causes Major Change to Royal Rumble Plans

Aside from the “It Begins” videos, Randy Orton has been arguably the hottest topic in the WWE as of late. 

News broke last week that Orton had suffered some sort of back injury, and there have been all sorts of conflicting reports about his return stats, with some saying he’ll be out only for a few weeks and others speculating that he could actually miss WrestleMania. 

Regardless of the exact extent of his injury, however, Orton has thrown a wrench into the WWE’s Royal Rumble plans. 

From the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via WrestlingInc.com): 

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Regarding Randy Orton, there have been a number of different ideas on how to handle his injury creatively, since at one point he was set to win the Royal Rumble in his hometown of St. Louis. 

According to The Wrestling Observer, officials have discussed having Orton do a surprise return late in the Rumble, win it and then take more time off to heal leading into WrestleMania 28. 

Keeping him off the Rumble and having him return around Elimination Chamber to set up his WrestleMania match has also been discussed. 

Orton is currently scheduled for the Jan. 16 RAW SuperShow in Anaheim, California and the Royal Rumble taking place Jan. 29 in St. Louis, Missouri. No word on if he'll be wrestling or doing run-ins. 

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As soon as Orton’s injury was announced, something seemed fishy about it, and I immediately speculated that it was apart of his ongoing storyline with Wade Barrett more so than anything else. 

That’s not to say that Orton isn’t suffering from a minor injury or that he doesn’t need time off to heel his aches and pains. It’s just that the timing of his break from the ring is making it pretty obvious he’s due for a “surprise” return some time in the near future. 

That will likely come at the Royal Rumble in Orton’s hometown. 

At SmackDown live events, Barrett has been claiming that Orton will be out for six months, but we know that heels lie and that this is a good—albeit obvious—way to lead to Orton being the No. 30 entrant in the Rumble, eliminating Barrett, winning the match and then going on to main event WrestleMania. 

I think there’s a remote chance that Orton’s comeback is held off until Elimination Chamber, but given that the Royal Rumble is in Orton’s hometown, the WWE will likely want to capitalize on that by having Orton win the Rumble in front of one of the most pro-Orton crowds ever.

After all, Orton is one of the WWE’s top stars, and you don’t want to keep him off of TV for too long unless it’s absolutely necessary, especially when you consider that he’s the biggest ratings draw for Friday Night SmackDown.