WWE Rumors on Randy Orton's Injury, CM Punk's Schedule, Roman Reigns, Jacob Fatu and Uso

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Orton Reacts to Rumor of Back Injury

Randy Orton has not appeared on WWE programming since losing to Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 42 last month, and his absence is reportedly related to an injury.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Orton is dealing with a "significant" back injury, which is why he has been off television and "probably" why he didn't beat Rhodes for the WWE Championship.

Meltzer added that Orton has been impacted by the back issue "for years," and it nearly forced him into retirement before he returned in late 2023 after an 18-month hiatus.

Orton later responded to the rumor on social media:

The 46-year-old Orton turned heel during the road to WrestleMania and aligned with Pat McAfee. Although fans seemed to be overwhelmingly against McAfee's involvement, Orton received babyface reactions at WrestleMania, eclipsing those of Rhodes.

During the WrestleMania match, McAfee tried to step in as a replacement referee, but after he did a slow count, Orton turned on him and hit him with an RKO.

Cody took advantage of the chaos and ended up beating Orton to retain the WWE title, but Orton stood tall at the end of the night by punting Rhodes in the head and holding the WWE Championship above his head.

The Viper has not been seen since then, apparently due to injury, but WWE is advertising him to appear on the May 29 episode of SmackDown in Barcelona, Spain, so his absence may not last much longer.

Latest on CM Punk's Upcoming WWE Schedule

Despite his removal from advertising for the upcoming WWE European tour, there are reportedly no issues between WWE and CM Punk.

According to Meltzer (h/t Cain A. Knight of Cageside Seats), there is "nothing more" to Punk getting removed from the tour "than a schedule change."

Last month, WWE advertised Punk for May and June dates in the United Kingdom, but he was no longer included in revised advertisements this month:

As of now, Punk's next advertised date is the June 29 edition of Raw in Atlantic City, New Jersey, followed by the July 6 Raw in his hometown of Chicago.

After losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns in the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 42, Punk appeared on the Raw after WrestleMania and teased going after Rhodes' WWE Championship.

Punk has been off WWE programming since then, and his sudden absence led some to speculate that something may have been amiss.

Ultimately, WWE may not have had any major plans in place for Punk at the Clash in Italy or Night of Champions premium live events, but the fact that he is still being advertised for shows after those events suggests he will be factored in heavily to SummerSlam in August.

Reported Backstage Details on Reigns, Fatu, Usos Storyline

Roman Reigns, Jacob Fatu and The Usos were huge parts of the May 11 episode of Raw, and new information has emerged regarding who was behind their segments.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Carrier), Michael Kirshenbaum was listed internally as the producer for the segments in which Reigns interacted with Jimmy and Jey Uso, while Bobby Roode was listed as the producer for Fatu's solo segment.

WWE reportedly also entitled the May 11 episode of Raw internally as "Unceremonious."

After Reigns beat Fatu at Backlash to retain the World Heavyweight Championship, he spent the episode stressing the importance of Fatu acknowledging him as the Tribal Chief.

The acknowledgement ceremony didn't go according to plan for Reigns, though, as Fatu took out The Usos and attacked Reigns as well, incapacitating him with the Tongan Death Grip.

All signs point toward a rematch between Reigns and Fatu at Clash in Italy, and based on how things played out on Raw, perhaps Tribal Combat could be in the cards.