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Randy Orton was announced to be returning to Friday Night SmackDown in the show’s upcoming episode. This is the third time we will be seeing Orton on a WWE show in the last six days after being deprived of his presence for a year and a half. Reacting to the news, RAW General Manager Adam Pearce said he would be making the trip to the blue brand as well.
The Apex Predator made his much-awaited return to the ring as a participant in the Men’s WarGames Match at the Survivor Series 2023 Premium Live Event. Orton also made his return to RAW this week, where he got a win over Dominik Mysterio, and now he is on his way to SmackDown to confront The Bloodline. In the storyline, The Bloodline was responsible for the injury that caused The Viper to miss 18 months of his career.
The rival brand’s General Manager, Adam Pearce, reacted to the official announcement of Orton’s SmackDown return on Twitter. The 45-year-old said that a trip to SmackDown was in order.
"Looks like a trip to #SmackDown is in order," Adam Pearce shared.
Check out Adam Pearce's tweet below:
It will be interesting to see if we witness any tension between Pearce and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis after their previous encounters.
How Randy Orton got back in incredible shape
Randy Orton had to sit at home due to a serious back injury. With him being a 20+ year veteran, injuries are bound to pile up. Despite this, the 14-time World Champion looked incredible on his return. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Senior Editor Bill Apter, Randy’s father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, elaborated on his son’s workout regime.
"He looks great. He's been training really, really hard. I go over once in a while to watch him. He's been working out hard for, gosh, I guess the last seven, eight months when he was able to get back in the gym. He's really stepped it up," Bob Orton said.
The hard work put in by the veteran clearly showed during his return. As Triple H also mentioned, returning from a serious injury at this stage in one’s career was not easy at all, and it was great to see that it does not look like Randy Orton has missed a step.
Do you want to see Randy Orton challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you use any quotes from the second part of this article, please credit WrestleBinge, embed the exclusive YouTube video, and give Sportskeeda Wrestling an H/T for the transcription.
