Teddy Long Discusses Randy Orton's Back Surgery And WWE Future

Randy Orton has been out of action since May, last competing in a WWE Tag Team Championship Unification match that saw he and Riddle lose to The Usos. Following this match, Orton has not been seen live on WWE programming and has underwent surgery on his back. There have been reports of Orton not recovering as well as fans had hoped; however, many wrestlers have made comebacks in wrestling when it was believed they were done. Some of those talents include Edge and Christian, who returned at the 2020 and 2021 Royal Rumbles respectively. WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long discussed what decision he hopes Orton would make when it comes to returning as a competitor.

"I just hope Randy makes the right decision," Long said while on "Sportskeeda Wrestling." "There's people like Edge, Kurt Angle that said they wouldn't come back once they found out they had injuries ... they came right back, you know what I mean? So, I just hope Randy just does the right thing. If the doctors tell you to stay out of the ring, you know, I suggest you stay out of the ring."

While it is currently unknown if Orton will ever be able to wrestle in a ring again, Long commented on what role he could see Orton taking on if he was forced to retire. "He could become a mentor," Long said. "They got a lot of young guys there, a lot of young kids there that need, you know, talking to ... Randy would be great in that field." If Orton was to come back to the ring as a competitor, there are different feuds the "Legend Killer" could enter. When tossed the idea of Orton feuding against former Legacy stablemate Cody Rhodes, Long said, "That's not a bad idea."