WWE Superstar Randy Orton has been a man-possessed ever since returning from his back injury. The Legend Killer has been on the winning end of most of his matches, and he recently ended an unfortunate 1455-day run.

Orton returned to WWE after nearly 18 months at the Survivor Series: WarGames 2023 Premium Live Event to join forces with Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, and Jey Uso in the Men’s WarGames Match against The Judgment Day and Drew McIntyre. However, the 14-time World Champion soon set his sights on Roman Reigns and signed an exclusive contract with SmackDown.

Randy Orton has wrestled in just a handful of matches since returning and has won all but one as his Triple-Threat Match on this week’s episode of SmackDown: New Year’s Revolution ended in No Contest after interference from The Bloodline. He was also in action at last night’s WWE live event, where he defeated Dominik Mysterio in a singles match. This was Orton’s first one-on-one win on the live circuit in 1455 days, with the last one coming back on January 12, 2020, when he defeated AJ Styles.

Check out the complete WWE Supershow results from Spokane, Washington, by clicking here.

WWE veteran was surprised with Randy Orton’s booking since his return

Randy Orton did not waste much time in going after Roman Reigns and The Bloodline after returning from his back injury. While many people expected him to get The Tribal Chief alone in a singles match, the creative team decided to take the Fatal 4-Way route.

WWE legend Dutch Mantell also expressed his surprise with The Viper’s booking, stating that he thought the 14-time World Champion would be pushed stronger.

“You know who I am surprised that they are not pushing stronger? Orton. I thought they would be pushing him a lot stronger. I was watching Orton tonight, he is head and shoulders with his specials, the way he looks. He looks like if you met him in a street alley, you would back up. I thought they would push him a little stronger because he is the guy that would fit in with Roman Reigns,” Dutch Mantell said.

Randy Orton will be challenging for Roman Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the 2024 Royal Rumble, along with LA Knight and AJ Styles in a Fatal 4-Way Match. He has had an upper hand on The Bloodline so far since his return.