Randy Orton has been sidelined, but have no fear, it looks like he should be back in the fold as soon as tonight.
The 13-time world champion hasn't been seen on Smackdown Live in several weeks, and last competed on June 10, tying up a series of live event matches against new Smackdown Superstar Aleister Black. Orton's last televised match was against Triple H days prior. These are his only in-ring appearances since May's Money in the Bank pay-per-view.
Fightful Select has learned that Randy Orton has been dealing with somewhat of a neck injury, which was evaluated last week. Orton jammed up his neck against Black, and already had vacation time coming up. He was given an additional two weeks prior in order to rest up accordingly. Orton was actually slated to appear at last night's live event, but missed it due to travel, and is expected to be back at tonight's live event.
The injury was said to not be serious, but there weren't any immediate plans for Orton at TV, and was given the time off to heal up.
Orton has dealt with neck injuries in the past, which isn't surprising, considering he's 20 years and over 2,000 matches in to his pro wrestling career. Orton missed a good amount of time in 2015 with a neck injury as well.
