Randy Orton discusses CM Punk's return at WWE Survivor Series.
WWE Survivor Series 2023 featured the double return of Randy Orton and CM Punk. Orton had been out for over a year due to a back injury, but he was revealed as the final member of Cody Rhodes' team for the WarGames match the week of the show. In the closing moments of the premium live event, CM Punk made his shocking return to WWE, just over two months after AEW terminated his contract.
Speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Randy Orton looked back on the road to his return at WWE Survivor Series. He noted that the company brought him back early because CM Punk's surprise return had been spoiled.
“I was supposed to be a surprise in WarGames at Survivor Series,” said Orton. “All these CM Punk rumors started a month prior, and everyone thought–since we were in Chicago for Survivor Series–that CM Punk would be the surprise. So they had Cody a week before WarGames say that he had a friend–me–that was going to come. The surprise was spoiled all because Punk was rumored to be there, and WWE didn’t want people to be pissed," Orton said.
Orton then recalled Triple H telling him about CM Punk's return ahead of the match. He stated that he thought Triple H was messing with him, but the WWE Chief Content Officer explained that it came together quickly.
“The day of Survivor Series, I’m about to get my boots on, I’m feeling the nerves, it had been a year-and-a-half. Triple H is like, ‘Hey Randy, I’ve got to talk to you for a second.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, what’s up, man?’ So he told me a couple things. And then he went, ‘One more thing–Punk’s returning tonight.’ I thought he was fucking with me. I said, ‘You’re joking,’ and he was like, ‘No, I’m not. This is something that just happened in the last few days, yada yada yada,'" Orton said.
Orton went on to share his thoughts on the situation. He described how he was excited for his own surprise return, but he did not get it. Orton admitted that, in the past, he would have been angry, but he realized that Punk's return did not take away from his own.
“I was so excited for this surprise return. That’s never really been the case. They’ve always kind of stooged off the fact I was returning; they wanted those views. So I’d never had that surprise return. I could have been really pissed, and old Randy would have been pissed. It was a defining moment for me. I went out there, we had a great WarGames match, everybody was excited that I returned, everybody was excited that Punk returned, and neither return stepped on each other. It was a testament to how much I’d grown. It would have been an issue only if I made it one, so I was proud of the way I handled it," Orton said.
Fightful Select previously reported that talent were informed about CM Punk's return ahead of the main event at WWE Survivor Series.
Orton is set to compete in the Men's Elimination Chamber at WWE Elimination Chamber. Fightful will have coverage of the show as it airs on February 24.
