Kurt Angle Says Randy Orton Was Worried For A While That His Back Wouldn’t Heal Enough For A Return

Kurt Angle talks about Randy Orton’s return to WWE at WWE Survivor Series. 

Randy Orton hasn’t wrestled a match since losing the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship to Jimmy and Jey Uso in a Tag Team Championship unification bout on the May 20, 2022 episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown. Orton has been sidelined following back fusion surgery. He is slated to return to action as the fifth and final member of Cody Rhodes’ team heading into WarGames at WWE Survivor Series 2023. 

On the latest episode of The Kurt Angle Show podcast, Angle commented on how he feels seeing his friend return to action, noting that he kept in touch with Randy throughout his recovery process and for a while, “The Viper” didn’t think his back was going to be able to make a full recovery so he could return to the squared circle. 

“It’s about time. I’m just glad he did [return] because I was communicating with him for quite some time when he was out with the injury because Kim [Orton] and Giovanna [Angle] are best friends. He was telling me, ‘Hey, man, it’s not looking good. I don’t know how my back is going to heal if my back’s going to heal.’ so he was a little worried about it for a while and eventually it started to heal up and now I think he’s okay, but it was pretty serious for some time,” said Kurt. “They didn’t know [if Orton would return]. Randy, he’s young, too. I mean he’s in his 40s, but he’s still pretty young. [Compared to] me and other guys that are wrestling like Sting in his 60s and Chris Jericho in his 50s. So yeah, he’s still young. He still has a good six or seven years if he stays healthy.” 

Randy Orton will actually have to team with Jey Uso as part of the WarGames team adding to the dynamic and the drama of his return. Orton competed at his first Survivor Series 20 years ago, leading Eric Bischoff’s team to victory over Stone Cold Steve Austin’s team. In the early years of his career, Orton made a habit out of being a sole survivor and while there is no elimination element involved in WarGames, Orton’s return is a testament to his ability to survive. 

Fans can check out the full card for Survivor Series here. Fightful will have live coverage of the event on Saturday, November 25.

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