Report: Randy Orton underwent back fusion surgery, no timetable for WWE return
Randy Orton is not expected back in WWE anytime soon.
According to a report from Fightful Select, Orton underwent fusion surgery on his lower back recently. While it is not known when exactly the surgery took place, his wife posted a picture of him in the hospital on November 14.
There are currently no creative plans for Orton or a timetable for his return.
Orton hasn’t wrestled since he and Matt Riddle lost a tag team championship unification match against The Usos on the May 20 edition of SmackDown.
It was reported in June that WWE was worried Orton’s back injury would require surgery that would sideline him for the rest of the year. The injury had been something he was working through for months but got progressively worse as he did so. At one point, there had been plans for Orton to face Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has appeared in award-winning publications such as NOW Magazine and The Huffington Post. He joined the F4WOnline team in 2019 and was named managing editor in the summer of 2026. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Ian has covered professional wrestling for more than 15 years.