WWE legend criticizes Randy Orton’s current booking direction

WWE legend Ric Flair is not a fan of Randy Orton’s current booking.

For over two decades, Randy Orton has remained one of the top stars on the roster. However, since his King of the Ring appearances, Orton has not been featured much in main-event storylines. Speaking on the Doubl3 Coverage podcast, Ric Flair shared his thoughts on Orton’s booking and openly criticized it.

“Randy Orton, I mean, he’s third generation,” Flair noted. “Randy is the best male worker in the company right now. They don’t utilize him the way I would if I was booker, but I’m not. So, he can still work his a** off. But, he’s making a lot of money. He’s doing good. He’s happy. And that’s all that matters.”

At SummerSlam 2025, Orton paired up with Jelly Roll to face the duo of Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul. He was last seen in action on the October 3rd episode of SmackDown, where he and Cody Rhodes lost to The Vision.

Randy Orton’s WWE return date

Out of action for over a month now, recent updates emerged about Randy Orton’s potential return date. The Apex Predator is now advertised at the December 5th SmackDown taping in Austin, Texas. This would mark his return to the blue brand after a gap of nearly two months.

In his last appearance, Orton took a Curb Stomp from Seth Rollins, which effectively ruled him out of WWE programming.