3 Wrestling rumors we hope are true and 3 we hope aren't: Huge plans for WrestleMania 38 main event revealed, Bizarre reason why WWE wants Braun Strowman to return

#2. Hope isn't true: Backstage news on Randy Orton's WWE absence

Randy Orton and Riddle have been one of the most entertaining duos in WWE

Randy Orton has been away from WWE for a while now. He was supposed to compete in the "Last Chance Qualifying Match" on RAW for the final Men's Money in the Bank ladder match slot, but he was abruptly pulled while his tag team partner Riddle took his place for that match.

Since then, Riddle has done his best to pay tribute to the WWE legend and 14-time World Champion. But there has been radio silence from both WWE and Randy Orton's end about his absence, leading some to suspect that he may have gotten COVID-19.

Where are you, @RandyOrton?@SuperKingofBros misses you.#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/QHcdC1jkum

— WWE (@WWE) July 20, 2021

It's only speculation, and the reason for it is that WWE did that throughout 2020. Normally, when a superstar was absent and quietly pulled without any mention, it was COVID. But that may not be the case as Keith Lee's absence wasn't explained for months.

What a tribute to #TheViper @RandyOrton! @ShinsukeN @rickboogswwe @SuperKingofBros #MITB pic.twitter.com/WBAm7lUm0q

— WWE India (@WWEIndia) July 19, 2021

According to Fightful, there is still no reason given for Randy Orton's absence. Sportskeeda's Divesh Merani wrote:

Sean Ross Sapp recently reported on Fightful Select that Orton has been on WWE's disabled/inactive list for the past month, although no concrete reason was given for his disappearance from weekly programming.

We hope this isn't true, but it was additionally reported that Randy Orton is expected to return in early August.