Major concern over iconic former WWE Champion's future following serious injury; Unlikely to return - Reports

It seems like the injury bug has caught WWE as the road to WrestleMania is set to kick off. Former WWE Champion Randy Orton has been out of action since before SummerSlam last year owing to a back injury. While he was expected to return by Royal Rumble, that may not happen as there are a lot of concerns over his future.

Orton was paired with Matt Riddle as RK-Bro before he took his sabbatical. The two men held the RAW tag team championships for a long time and lost the titles to The Usos on the same day that The Viper was 'taken out' by The Bloodline. He was initially supposed to face Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, but the plans changed later.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that Sheamus and Drew McIntyre forming a tag team called Banger Bros. indicates that RK-Bro is done for the time being. He also stated that there is a lot of concern over Orton's health and career.

''McIntyre & Sheamus are now being called The Banger Bros. A key question from that regards both Orton & Riddle as RK-Bro, which would seem to mean there are no imminent plans for them to return because the WWE doesn’t usually like to do names so similarly. There was a lot of concern regarding Orton’s career due to his back issues,'' noted Meltzer.

Major opportunity missed for WWE?

There had been rumors that the company was planning for a match between Randy Orton and Riddle at WrestleMania 39. RK-Bro was one of the most popular tag teams in 2021-22. It is believed that the company would eventually start building towards a feud involving both men.

However, with Orton out of action and his future in danger, the match seems unlikely to happen. Riddle has also been absent from RAW as of late as he was sent to rehab after failing his second drug test with the company. An angle between the two would have been massive for 'Mania and it could have helped establish the Original Bro as a dominating superstar. Sadly, the WWE Universe might not see the match this year.