Randy Orton Injury: Updates on WWE Star's Head and Return

WWE Superstar Randy Orton lost to Brock Lesnar by technical knockout Sunday night at SummerSlam after Lesnar opened a cut on Orton's forehead.

Continue for updates.

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Orton Receives 10 Staples to Close Cut

Monday, Aug. 22

WWE.com announced the extent of the damage early Monday morning.

The finish of Sunday's match was eerily similar to Edge and Matt Hardy's first encounter in 2005, which coincidentally also came at SummerSlam. A bloodied Viper receiving medical attention while Lesnar stood triumphant wasn't the lasting image many fans expected to see to end the pay-per-view, courtesy of WWE:

WWE may keep Orton out of the ring while the laceration heals, but the injury probably isn't serious enough to take him off SmackDown Live entirely for any period of time.

The bigger question is where Orton goes from here. He's one of the biggest stars in the company and should challenge for the WWE World Championship at some point. But having him go from being bludgeoned by Lesnar to wrestling Dean Ambrose wouldn't be a smooth transition.

Giving Orton a strong midcard feud before he jumps into the main event picture would help him regain some of the momentum he lost Sunday night.