The latest WWE Pay-Per-View Survivor Series will not be forgotten. There were so many outstanding moments within the Squared Circle, but most notably, the return of the wrestlers: Randy Orton and CM Punk.
May 20th, 2022, on an episode of Smackdown, was the last time we saw Randy Orton in the ring in a beatdown with The WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, and his cousins, The Uso Brothers. Randy Orton’s back injuries were due to him doing his finishing maneuver many times throughout the years. According to Orton’s father, WWE legend “Cowboy” Bob Orton, his son had been wrestling with a back injury since May of 2022. No one knew if or when Orton would come back since back injuries can be very devastating and hurtful.
When cameras were off air during a commercial break Orton worded to the crowd “10 more years.” Insinuating that he’ll be wrestling for 10 more years but we’ll just have to see.
However, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bishoff thinks WWE should have waited a little longer to return him. On Bishoff’s 83 Weeks Podcast, he says, “We’ve been hearing about Randy making his comeback, we didn’t know when, but we knew he was on his way. That could have been held off until Royal Rumble, couldn’t it, and perhaps even built upon over the next few months?” Randy Orton is such a beloved superstar within the WWE and has been absent for so long. So although everyone is happy about Orton’s return, waiting longer and building the tension up more would’ve been more hard-hitting and climactic.
January 26th, 2014, during WWE’s Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View, was the last time we saw CM Punk during the main event of the night. Seth Rollins entered at #2 during the rumble with Punk coming in at #1. They both lasted about 46 minutes in the match, making them the longest in the match out of everyone, but both were eventually eliminated.
According to atletifo.com “CM Punk left WWE due to being unhappy with his booking, due to being lied to and nearly dying from misdiagnosed injuries by WWE. He even sued WWE for the injuries which could have killed him prior to his walkout after the 2014 Royal Rumble.” Another reason as to why CM Punk left was that when he entered into the WWE his biggest goal was main eventing Wrestlemania. Although he did come close to main eventing in the 2012 Wrestlemania with being the second to last match, it wasn’t enough for him.
Many CM Punk fans theorized about his return to this Survivor Series weeks before it happened. So when Punk’s theme music came out of those arena speakers, the crowd went wild. Many people were not aware of Punk’s return, including fans and staff at WWE. Sean Ross of Frightful says, “WWE staff, reps, creative had no idea. He walked through the back in plain sight minutes before he appeared. They had cleared an area out. Triple H took over calling the show in the last couple of minutes and called for the copyright logo. Even many in production didn’t know.” Punk’s return was for sure the most shocking and exciting.”
The return of both of these A-list superstars was a huge surprise and still has people talking today. Everyone is very ready and extremely excited for the future of these superstars.
