The road to WrestleMania 42 was full of twists and turns, and Randy Orton punched his ticket to the big show when he won the men’s Elimination Chamber match. The Viper stepped up to challenge Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship on the Grandest Stage of Them All, but it was ultimately Cody who picked up the victory to retain the belt.
Following Cody’s big victory it was reported that WWE originally planned for Randy Orton to win the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42, but plans were changed in the weeks leading up to the Show of Shows.
Dave Meltzer recently shared an update on Randy’s status on Wrestling Observer Radio, and he noted that Orton has been off TV due to a back injury, which is also probably the reason why WWE scrapped plans for him to win the title.
“Back injury. That’s why he’s been gone since WrestleMania, and that’s probably why he didn’t win the title. He’s got a back injury, it’s significant. He’s had it for years. It almost ended his career, came back, it’s still there. That’s why he’s been out.”
Randy Orton has not appeared on WWE programming since he faced Cody Rhodes in the night 1 main event of WrestleMania 42, and there’s currently no word on when he could be returning to TV.