It sounds like Randy Orton’s back injury might cost him the rest of 2022

Randy Orton was written off WWE television with a back injury on the May 20 episode of SmackDown when he was destroyed by the Bloodline after dropping the Raw tag team titles to The Usos.

Orton is one of the highest paid wrestlers in WWE and has certain perks included in his contract. Therefore I initially assumed the injury angle had no basis in reality, and Randy was just taking some time off at the start of the summer. Furthermore, rumors and reports have consistently mentioned that Orton is penciled in as Roman Reigns’ challenger for the WWE Universal championship at SummerSlam 2022, coming up on July 30. That’s only six weeks away.

But a new report from Fightful now puts Randy’s availability in doubt, not just for SummerSlam, but for the remainder of 2022.

The report claims that Orton has been dealing with an injured back for a while, and it’s gotten progressively worse. WWE is apparently worried that Randy will require surgery for the injury. The exact nature of the injury remains unknown, but WWE sources believe he could miss the rest of 2022 if he undergoes surgery. As a result, he is no longer factored into creative plans right now.

With Cody Rhodes out for six to nine months due to a torn pectoral muscle, and now these new reported concerns surrounding Orton’s availability, WWE could be quickly running out of babyfaces for Roman Reigns to beat this summer.

If WWE has to call an audible due to Randy’s injury, who do you think should face Roman Reigns at SummerSlam?