Where Does WWE's Randy Orton Go Next?
Is all-time WWE legend Randy Orton in a bit of career purgatory right now?
It sort of feels that way, right? Orton had the long injury saga and eventual return to major fan reactions. But he's sort of just spun the proverbial wheels since and been all over the place in strange feuds.
Plenty of theories exist as to Orton's current usage.
But Ric Flair? He's got one idea.
While calling Orton "underutilized' by WWE, Flair speculated that perhaps he even angered those with some booking influence behind the scenes.
"I don't know," Flair told Liam Solomon of The Escapist. "I think maybe he made somebody mad along the way. Randy's not afraid to say what he thinks, and that's not always popular."
It's really, really hard to imagine that in a world with Triple H at the creative controls, Orton has managed to anger people to the point of being thrown shoddy booking.
But...the fact it feels this way is a big red flag.
Even naming the feuds and matches Orton has had over the last year is tough. Roughly one year ago, he was just messing around in tag teams with the likes of Kevin Owens against…guys like Austin Theory.
And since the calendar turned to 2025? He's brushed shoulders with Drew McIntyre at times, teamed with L.A. Knight in some quick Bloodline stuff and had a shot at John Cena's title at Backlash that everybody knew he wasn't winning. Even a quick feud with Cody Rhodes that resulted in a match at Night of Champions was, well, better than it should have been.
Then, in the motherload of all strange sidetracks, Orton teams with musician Jelly Roll to fight McIntyre and Logan Paul at SummerSlam.
Now look, maybe this is the stuff Orton wants to do. But when fans envisioned a possible end-of-career sprint for the now 45-year-old Orton, this sort of stuff isn't exactly what fans had in mind.
Granted, there are caveats here. The big one is Cena. Orton can't exactly have a retirement tour of his own and occupy a space for a long time in the main-event scene if the entire focus right now is on Cena's goodbye.
WWE just simply enjoys an embarrassment of riches in terms of roster talent, so there's only so much room in the main-event scene. Rhodes is top dog right now and WWE apparently didn't want an extended feud yet, if at all. And from a storyline perspective, the Seth Rollins stuff is a no-go, at least for now.
We also don't know if and when Orton actually intends to walk away for good, of course. But the fact his last injury saga seemed so serious created a bit of urgency from an outsider's perspective. If this is close to the end, is it really the career-capper all involved get?
On paper, one would like to think WWE would go overboard in doing right by Orton near the end. It seems so, so obvious, and yet…Cena's heel turn, weird Travis Scott stuff and no-shows from The Rock and all the negatives around that retirement tour suddenly don't leave a lot of room for confidence.
The solution isn't simple. There's no magical spot where the logjam in the main-event scene suddenly clears. That's how guys stay waiting forever. The answer would seem to be, simply put, at least keeping Orton clear of forgettable tag-team stuff with the likes of entertainers named after pastries, right?
Perhaps the best move from here, at least, is for WWE to use Orton in meaningful ways. Let him have a big, knockdown, drag-out feud with an up-and-coming talent like a Bron Breakker. That would keep him nearish the main-event scene and capable of jumping farther up the card at a moment's notice, while also using his platform and talent to elevate the next generation of Superstars.
After all, some of the most memorable, critical building moments for Orton over the years were his brushups with legends, and especially guys like Mick Foley. Turning him loose to do something like that now for others overextended feuds would be a fantastic way to spend this bit of time off in roster purgatory.
Beyond that, slowly layering possible feud hints with others before WrestleMania season arrives makes the most sense. Even if it's just more hints at going after Rhodes for that prolonged feud that fans so badly want, the sooner, the better.
Because right now? The fact we even have to ask what's next for Orton? It's an issue. The fact an all-time legend wonders if he's being punished because the booking is so mid-tier for this stage of his career? Major issue.
Pro wrestling heading for 2026 with a legend like Randy Orton stuck in purgatory just isn't something anyone should have predicted. Fixing it starts with getting him in meaningful programs with real stakes and legacy moments for himself and others.
