WWE News: Randy Orton Return Possibly Being Pushed Back to the Royal Rumble PPV

Randy Orton has been out of action for nearly a month with a lower-back injury. Furthermore, until recently, we weren’t really sure when we’d see him back on WWE TV. 

However, the WWE last week released a number of advertisements hyping Orton’s TV return at tomorrow’s Smackdown tapings. The idea behind this would obviously be to build Orton up as a huge threat to win the Royal Rumble match on the final Smackdown show before the pay-per-view. 

While the plan up until a few days ago was to indeed bring Orton back tomorrow, it looks like those plans might have changed. 

From F4Wonline.com (via WrestleNewz.com): 

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WWE may pull Randy Orton from this Monday and Tuesday’s TV tapings to have him as a surprise for the 30-man Royal Rumble match. 

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I really like that idea. 

It does make some sense to bring Orton back tomorrow and have him build hype for the 30-man Royal Rumble match. However, I think it makes more sense to hold off on his return until the actual Royal Rumble pay-per-view. 

Smackdown is obviously a taped show, so why waste Orton’s return by having it take place on a Tuesday and then not airing it until three days later? 

Orton’s return will mean a lot more if it takes place in his hometown of St. Louis during the Royal Rumble match. 

Sure, it won’t really be a “surprise” because many wrestling fans are sort of expecting that to happen. However, it will be much more exciting to see Orton return unannounced during one of the most anticipated matches of the year than it would be to do otherwise. 

Giving away Orton’s return on this week’s episode of Smackdown would give the WWE little to no reward, other than maybe spiking the show’s rating a bit this week. 

That’s not worth ruining a potentially unforgettable Royal Rumble moment like the return of “The Viper.” 

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