Rumor: Orton Reportedly Out Until After the Holidays
Summary: Unconfirmed: WrestleVotes reportedly says Randy Orton will return "after the holidays" and miss Survivor Series on Nov. 28 and Wrestlepalooza on Dec. 12. Four outlets relayed it on Nov. 9. WWE has not commented.
Single source, not confirmed. Heat 3/5 · Credible
This is a rumor and it is not confirmed. WrestleVotes reportedly said on Nov. 9 that Randy Orton will not return to WWE until after the holidays and will miss both Survivor Series: WarGames and Wrestlepalooza. WWE has not commented, and we found no statement from Orton on his schedule.
The quick version
- Not confirmed by WWE or Orton. We did not find a WWE statement.
- Reliability: Single source, not confirmed. Every version we read traces to one answer from WrestleVotes in a Q&A session. Four outlets repeated it. None added a source.
- Heat 3 of 5. It would take a top star off two major shows, but it fits what Orton himself has said.
What is being reported
eWrestlingNews, Ringside News, WrestleZone and Wrestling Noticias all say a fan asked WrestleVotes when Orton will be back after his Last Man Standing loss to Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel on Saturday, Nov. 7. The answer, as all four print it: "Randy will be back after the holidays. He will miss Survivor Series and WrestlePalooza."
The report gives no return date and no reason. "After the holidays" is not defined. We did not open the original post or Q&A, only the four outlets' copies.
What the shows are
Survivor Series: WarGames is Saturday, Nov. 28, at Daikin Park in Houston, and Wrestlepalooza is Saturday, Dec. 12, in Perth, Australia, per Wrestling Noticias and Fightful's event list. WWE has announced no Survivor Series card beyond Team USA vs. Team Mexico, which Rhodes and Rey Mysterio are building. See our Rhodes story.
Wrestling Noticias adds two points that we could not check. It says Orton was advertised for WWE's Australia and New Zealand tour from Dec. 9 to 17, and it reads "after the holidays" as meaning he could be back for the Royal Rumble on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027, in Glendale, Arizona. Both are Wrestling Noticias' own wording, not WrestleVotes'. See our Royal Rumble story.
What we know for certain
- Rhodes beat Orton in the Last Man Standing opener at Crown Jewel with three Cross Rhodes and a punt. See our Crown Jewel opener story.
- Orton wrote on Nov. 8 that he will be back "sooner, or later," per Fightful. He gave no date. See our Orton story.
What would confirm or kill it
A WWE or Orton statement, or Orton appearing on a Survivor Series or Wrestlepalooza show, would settle it. A second outlet with its own sources would add weight.
Reported by: WrestleVotes, in a Q&A session, as relayed by eWrestlingNews (Ryan Clark), Wrestling Noticias (Patricki Chites), WrestleZone (Bibon Sinha) and Ringside News. We did not read WrestleVotes' original. Reliability: Single source, not confirmed. We did not contact WWE or Orton.
Sources
- eWrestlingNews (Ryan Clark), "Report - Randy Orton Taking A Break From WWE", Nov. 9, 2026 (the WrestleVotes quote). https://www.ewrestlingnews.com/news/wwe/report-randy-orton-taking-a-break-from-wwe
- Wrestling Noticias (Patricki Chites), "Update on When Randy Orton Is Expected to Return to WWE After Crown Jewel", Nov. 9, 2026, 8:40 PM ET (the event dates, the tour claim, the Royal Rumble reading). https://wrestlingnoticias.com/update-on-when-randy-orton-is-expected-to-return-to-wwe-after-crown-jewel/
- WrestleZone (Bibon Sinha), "Randy Orton Preparing for a WWE Break After Crown Jewel Loss - Report", Nov. 9, 2026 (same quote). https://www.wrestlezone.com/news/1670565-randy-orton-taking-break-from-wwe
- Ringside News, "Randy Orton's WWE Return Timeline After Crown Jewel", Nov. 2026, date not shown on the page we read (same quote, the Crown Jewel finish). https://www.ringsidenews.com/randy-ortons-wwe-return-timeline-crown-jewel
- Fightful, wrestling page with its event list (Survivor Series: War Games, Nov. 28, Houston; Wrestlepalooza, Dec. 12, Perth), read Nov. 9, 2026, no page date. https://www.fightful.com/wrestling
- WrestleVotes on X, original Q&A answer, Nov. 9, 2026. No link: we did not open it and no outlet linked it.
- WrestlingNews.com, "Orton Says "I'll Be Back" After Crown Jewel Loss", Nov. 9, 2026. https://wrestlingnews.com/story/randy-orton-says-ill-be-back-after-crown-jewel-loss/
- WrestlingNews.com, "Crown Jewel Opener: Rhodes Beats Orton in Last Man Standing", Nov. 7, 2026. https://wrestlingnews.com/story/crown-jewel-opener-rhodes-beats-orton-last-man-standing/
- Reliability: Single source, not confirmed.
- WrestlingNews.com staff reporting: read four outlets' copies of one answer and checked the event dates against Fightful's event list and our own stories. We did not contact WWE or Orton.
How we credit sources: Editorial standards.