Road Dogg Casts Doubt On WWE Star Returning From Injury

14-time World Champion Randy Orton has been sidelined with a back injury from the WWE since his last match in May, losing to The Usos alongside Matt Riddle to unify the tag titles. It's been reported since that the injury is much more severe than many had originally thought within the company, with Orton being sidelined throughout the rest of 2022, and a timeline yet to be determined, if ever, for a comeback.

WWE has yet to reveal a specific timeline for Orton since the back injury, with several within the company having added their thoughts on Orton's time away. One name added to that list was WWE Senior Vice President of Live Events "Road Dogg" Brian James during the latest episode of his podcast "Oh... You Didn't Know?" The WWE Hall of Famer detailed that he has spoken to Orton, but it wasn't about his injury, calling it "something he shouldn't mention on the air."

"I don't know [about his injury], I haven't seen Randy, and I haven't asked about Randy," James said. "I don't bring him up. For my job, I have a list of people I cannot use and he's on that right now. I don't have him as a combatant to write into a match."

Although James did seem optimistic about Orton returning, the same can't be said about others in the company including his former rival Kofi Kingston, who said he doesn't know "if Orton is coming back." Someone close to the situation is Kurt Angle, whose wives are close friends, who detailed that Orton had surgery in November and he's hopeful it will "save his career."