00:00Randy Orton's life changed after a career-threatening back injury.
00:04The Apex Predator stepped away from WWE at his peak,
00:08leaving fans fearing the legend killer was finished for good.
00:11Stay until the end to find out the new devastating diagnosis that could end his career for good.
00:17The night of WrestleMania 42, night one in Las Vegas, Allegiant Stadium was electric.
00:23Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes had just delivered what observers immediately called a masterclass.
00:28Two of the most credible wrestlers on the planet had given everything they had in that ring
00:33over the undisputed WWE Championship, and Orton had come out on the losing end.
00:39Number 15 would have to wait, but the finish wasn't the story.
00:42The story was what happened after.
00:44Orton snapped, he stormed back into the ring, grabbed Cody by the back of the head, and launched the punt.
00:50That same devastating running kick to the skull that has written off dozens of careers over the years,
00:55now aimed at the face of WWE.
00:57He stood there holding Cody's championship above his own head, and for a moment, everything made sense.
01:03He was telling everyone watching, this isn't over.
01:06Then he started walking, and that's when the concern started.
01:09During the match itself, Orton had worked on his back several times, which may have restricted his movements.
01:15After it was over, WWE interviewer Jackie Redman said on the post-show that Orton was limping on his way
01:23back,
01:23and that fans might not see him for a while.
01:25Redman's words weren't a scripted tease.
01:28Her tone was different.
01:29She sounded like someone reporting what she was watching with her own eyes.
01:32It took him a full 10 minutes to make it up the ramp.
01:35He was moving slowly.
01:36He was limping.
01:38He was grabbing his back.
01:39And according to Redman's words on air, he had a blank stare straight ahead, did not look to his left,
01:46did not look to his right, engaged with absolutely nobody.
01:50For a man known to feed off crowd energy the way Randy Orton does, that blankness told its own story.
01:56He didn't appear on SmackDown the following week.
01:59He didn't appear the week after that.
02:01Weeks turned into more than a month, and not a single shot of the man anywhere on WWE television.
02:07The post-match punt-kick angle had set up what looked like a scorching summer feud, and then nothing.
02:14Silence.
02:15Orton was gone.
02:16His absence from WWE TV since WrestleMania 42 is reportedly due to a significant back injury.
02:24Despite seemingly setting up the continuation of his feud with Cody Rhodes when he attacked the undisputed WWE champion at
02:32the end of night one,
02:33Orton has been off TV since.
02:35With Rhodes moving on into a feud with Gunther, fans began wondering what Orton's status was heading into the summer
02:42months.
02:43The silence stretched on.
02:45And then the report dropped.
02:47On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed that Orton is dealing with a significant back injury,
02:55and that's likely why he didn't leave WrestleMania 42 as WWE champion.
03:01That single sentence hit the wrestling community like a punch to the sternum, because this wasn't just about a missed
03:08pay-per-view.
03:09This was about a man who had already stared down the exact same demon, the same back, the same injury,
03:16the same question, and nearly didn't make it back the last time.
03:20It's impossible to plan for an injury such as this, which puts Orton's pursuit of the record in serious jeopardy.
03:27The last time he was sidelined with a back injury, he almost didn't return to the ring, almost.
03:33That word is doing a lot of work right now.
