Top RAW Rumors: Top Superstar likely to win the 2023 men's Royal Rumble, Former WWE Champion out for months, John Cena's next potential opponent
Welcome to another edition of the top RAW Backstage Rumors that could have a major impact. Last Monday, we saw Vince McMahon come out and lay the foundation for John Cena's much-awaited return to the red brand this week. In today's edition, we will take a look at what's next for him.
Randy Orton was initially rumored to return around SummerSlam and face Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. However, due to a back injury, he has been replaced by Brock Lesnar as The Tribal Chief's opponent. There is more bad news for Orton fans as he is unlikely to be returning anytime soon.
3) Cody Rhodes likely to win the 2023 Royal Rumble
Where we last left off... https://t.co/EN5HS8OCgb
We will take a look at who will likely win the 2023 Royal Rumble match. The betting odds are out, and early predictions suggest Cody Rhodes as the winner of next year's Royal Rumble match. The American Nightmare returned to WWE at WrestleMania this year but is already out of action due to a pectoral injury.
Note: The favorites have the smallest fractions, and the underdogs have fractions greater than one:
- Cody Rhodes 5/4
- The Rock 11/2
- Big E 8/1
- Roman Reigns 8/1
- Bron Breakker 12/1
He is expected to return around the time of Royal Rumble and is pegged to win the high-stakes match. Rhodes is seen as a significant star backstage and was given a big push before it derailed due to his injury. He currently holds three big wins over Rollins since he returned to the company.
2) RAW Superstar Randy Orton potentially out for months
In a 20+ year career @WWE, I’ve done a LOT. The time spent w @SuperKingofBros has been up there among my favorite. Aside from the jokes , he’s a serious competitor and athlete & a future world champion. But before that happens, we’re unifying those tag team titles on #Smackdown twitter.com/WWE/status/152…
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer stated that The Viper is set to undergo back surgery and will be out for several months as a result. His injury came at a bad time as he was set to headline SummerSlam initially.
''Lesnar replaces Orton in the SummerSlam main event. Orton is now having back surgery, meaning he’ll be out of action for several months,'' noted Meltzer.
Roman Reigns and The Usos took out Randy Orton after he and his partner Riddle lost the RAW Tag Team Championship to Jimmy and Jey. The Bloodline brutally assaulted the former WWE Champion, which wrote him off television.
It was believed that the company might start a feud between Riddle and Orton once his match with Reigns at SummerSlam. However, those plans are up in the air as of now.
1) WWE has big plans for John Cena vs. Theory
https://t.co/6Jj1QM4mHl
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter said that WWE is planning a big match between John Cena and United States Champion Theory at SummerSlam. He said the build would begin once Cena returns to RAW this week to celebrate his 20th debut anniversary.
"What will be more notable is after the announcement of the expected John Cena vs. Theory will Cena provide the extra box office magic for this show that he did for Raw this week in Laredo, TX for his return. In addition, the heavy promotion doesn’t start until after 7/2,'' said Meltzer.
Theory is currently feuding with Bobby Lashley on RAW. The two men will face each other at Money in the Bank for the United States Championship. It will be interesting to see if the company keeps the title on Theory heading into his big match at SummerSlam or not.