Randy Orton recently made his much-awaited return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023. Thereafter, he participated in the Men’s WarGames match and helped his team, pick up the win. However, while Randy’s return to WWE was confirmed, which brand division he would be performing for was unknown. Instead, he was labeled as a free agent.
With that, on the December 1, 2023, episode of SmackDown, Randy Orton made an appearance. He was then approached by RAW and SmackDown general managers, who wanted to sign him to their respective brands. Meanwhile, Paul Heyman walked out and was followed by Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso.
A brawl broke out, and The Bloodline started taking down Orton. Meanwhile, LA Knight came out for the save and, took care of Sikoa, while Orton nailed an RKO on Jimmy. With that, The Viper chose the SmackDown contract and signed it. Thus, officially becoming a part of the SmackDown roster.
#SmackDown‘s Apex Predator pic.twitter.com/WkpRAzvwGR
— WWE (@WWE) December 2, 2023
After the signing, Orton grabbed a mic and addressed Paul Heyman. He asked The Wiseman to call the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and warn him that “Daddy’s back”. Thus, it seems The Viper will now be in the same brand division as The Bloodline and will look forward to some retribution for the stable’s previous wrongdoings.
What happened between Randy Orton and The Bloodline in the past?
Previously, Randy Orton and Matt Riddle (known as RK-Bro) were involved in a feud with The Bloodline. The stable then consisted of Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso), and Solo Sikoa. It is also to be noted that back then, The Usos were the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, while RK-Bro were the RAW Tag Team Champions.
With that, The Usos and RK-Bro were repeatedly featured in several matches. The feud also resulted in a match between the two teams on May 20, 2022. During that, with the help of Roman Reigns, The Usos defeated RK-Bro to win the RAW Tag Team Championship. However, after the match, The Bloodline continued the beatdown and destroyed Orton and Riddle.
Going ahead, it was announced that following the beatdown, Orton suffered a serious back injury which would keep him out of action for a long time. The injury was indeed a severe one, as it kept The Apex Predator away from WWE television for 18 months. However, now that he is back in the Stamford-based promotion, he will look forward to exacting revenge on The Bloodline.
It seems Orton has already taken his first step towards the stable, and now it remains to be seen what lies ahead for them in the upcoming days. Also, fans will look forward to an onscreen interaction between Roman Reigns and Randy Orton and will wait with high anticipation till that happens.