Randy Orton is just days away from making his in-ring return after being on the sidelines for months at this Saturday’s WWE Survivor Series premium live event by working the likely main event of the show.
Orton’s absence
Orton will team Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and Cody Rhodes against The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio), Drew McIntyre & JD McDonagh in the Men’s WarGames Match.
The former WWE Champion has been sidelined since last May due to a back injury that resulted in him and Matt Riddle dropping the Raw Tag Team Titles to The Usos before taking time off. This nixed WWE’s plans to do an Orton vs. Riddle feud, as Orton would later need back fusion surgery. Riddle was released a few months ago.
The announcement
Orton’s return was announced in advance of Survivor Series to further downplay rumors of CM Punk’s return at the show held in Chicago. The big reveal was made at the closing moments of Monday’s Raw by Rhodes.
Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics pointed out the reaction from fans for the reveal was notable, as the video on YouTube has now surpassed a million viewers in just a little over 24 hours.
Raw was watched by 1.459 viewers in the ratings and did a 0.49 in the key demo rating. It was Raw’s highest P18-49 viewership since September 4 despite going up against a historic NFL game.
The final segment that featured Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso, where the expected announcement was made, increased by +7 in total viewership and 5% in the key demo rating. Raw’s third hour is notorious for dropping in the ratings, and throughout the hour, ratings were dropping this week before the final segment.
Now surpassed 1,000,000 views on WWE's official YouTube channel:
"Cody Rhodes reveals that Randy Orton will compete at WarGames: Raw highlights, Nov. 20, 2023"
1,006,752 views pic.twitter.com/WqlfitAC5c
— Wrestlenomics (@wrestlenomics) November 22, 2023
