WWE legend who is a long-time friend of Randy Orton provides a return update for the Viper

Randy Orton's return to the company has been speculated for a few weeks now. WWE legend Kurt Angle, who is also a long-time friend of Orton, recently provided a return update for The Viper.

Orton was last seen on WWE television on the May 20, 2022, episode of SmackDown when he teamed up with Matt Riddle. His last match was against The Usos for the Tag Team Championship, where RK-Bro lost their Tag Team titles.

After a few days, it was reported that The Viper will be on hiatus for the remainder of the year due to a back injury, but he still hasn't made his much-awaited return.

In a recent episode of The Kurt Angle Show, the legend hailed Orton as one of the most talented wrestlers and said that he deserved to be a world champion at a young age.

"He was so talented from the beginning – the kid had it, he had the 'it' factor," Angle said. "He started wrestling at 17, and years later he was world champion, and you know what, he deserved it. I think he's the youngest champion in history." [H/T Wrestling INC]

Kurt Angle further said that Randy Orton has been a great friend of his. He also said that The Viper is training with intensity to return as soon as possible.

"We were hanging out, we were traveling together when Randy started and we kind of kept in touch, even though he was on RAW and I was on SmackDown. Randy has always been a good friend of mine, he's still my friend to this day and he's one of the very few wrestlers that I actually still keep in touch with. We're definitely due [to hang out]... Randy has been out with injury, but even though he has time off right now, he's training his butt off and he's still rehabbing and everything." [H/T Wrestling INC]

You can check out the whole podcast below:

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Vince Russo believes WWE is not being creative since Randy Orton has been out injured

WWE formed a tag team of Matt Riddle and Drew McIntyre which is similar to what they did with RK-Bro, which included Randy Orton instead of McIntyre. However, Vince Russo is not a fan of the team.

On an episode of Legion of RAW, the former writer called out WWE for replacing The Viper and criticized the company for its unoriginal approach.

"Bro, all you did was Orton with McIntyre. That's all you did! And bro, Orton and Riddle were together three years ago, Chris? That's all you did. You took one guy out, and you put another guy in," said Russo.

Fans want to see Randy Orton back to his best after more than a year-long hiatus. Only time will tell when The Viper will feel fully fit to return to the WWE ring.

When do you think Randy Orton will return to WWE? Let us know in the comments section below.