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Randy Orton's Rumored WWE WrestleMania 41 Plans

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Jon Alba | Last updated Apr 16, 2025 10:11 AM ET

Randy Orton spent more than a year tied to Kevin Owens, setting up for what would have been the ultimate blow-off match between the two at WWE WrestleMania 41.

But sometimes, a series of unfortunate events can send plans into chaos.

Owens suffered a legitimate career-threatening neck injury earlier this year. He made a couple of attempts to work through it, but doctors informed him a couple of weeks ago he would need invasive surgery, throwing his WrestleMania match with Orton out the window as he recovers.

Orton had just recently returned to television himself at the Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event after months off-screen to set up the match, which left the question: would Orton be appearing at WrestleMania at all? While interactions with Smackdown general manager Nick Aldis and Solo Sikoa have teased potential matches, no direction has been made clear with the show days away.

Speaking on the Sportskeeda Q And A Podcast, WWE insider WrestleVotes provided an update on the situation.

“Don’t know if it will be Nick Aldis, but I’m 99 percent sure they are gonna add a Randy Orton match to Sunday’s card. I haven’t been able to lock down who the opponent is, which is a good thing. At this point in the game, I would say you got Randy Orton, unfortunately, in this to-be-determined type of opponent for WrestleMania. You got to try to make the most of it. I would say, right up until he’s in the ring, don’t announce his opponent.”WrestleVotes

The future WWE Hall of Famer has not had a singles match at WrestleMania since 2021, when he defeated The Fiend at WrestleMania 37. He then missed WrestleMania 38 and WrestleMania 39 due to injury recovery, then returning and competing in a triple threat match with Owens and Logan Paul last year.

H/T Inside The Ropes for transcript assistance.

This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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