WWE News: More on Why Randy Orton Wasn't at the SummerSlam Pay-Per-View

As anyone who was watching will know: WWE star Randy Orton was notably absent from last night's SummerSlam pay-per-view.

Ever since Orton announced on Twitter that that he would not be at the event, speculation has been swirling around as to the reason why, with many wondering whether the former WWE Champion was still in the doghouse with management.

Over at PWInsider.com, Mike Johnson notes that, rather than any lingering backstage heat, Orton was held off the show mainly because he is due to take time off to film a movie next month, and the company therefore being unwilling to push him in any major angles: 

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Randy Orton wasn't booked into a bout at Summerslam because the company is holding off on pushing him into a major program as he's scheduled to leave in a few weeks to film their new "12 Rounds" film in Canada.

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Johnson goes onto deny the speculation that Orton was not on the show as some sort of punishment following his two-month suspension for violating the company's drug policy: "We've heard it's more that the company didn't want to put him into an upper-tier position only to pull him back out of it again to shoot the film."

Per WWE.com, 12 Rounds: Reloaded, the sequel to 2009's 12 Rounds, which starred John Cena, is scheduled to start production in Vancouver on September 26. Orton will play an EMT targeted by a criminal genius and forced, like Cena's cop character in the original, to undergo 12 gruelling tasks in order to save his wife's life (seemingly, every WWE Studios film ever made revolves around someone trying to get back their kidnapped wife).

The film marks Orton's first lead in a WWE movie, although he had a small supporting role in 2011's That's What I Am starring Ed Harris.