- Randy Orton had returned only minutes before Punk came back after 10 years away
- Punk and Orton have been longtime rivals on-screen in WWE
- The reunion came almost a decade after Punk left WWE in controversial circumstances
Randy Orton had waited 18 months to return to a WWE ring. And when he finally stepped back inside the squared circle, at last November’s Survivor Series at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, he was overshadowed by a certain hometown hero only a few minutes later.
So, needless to say, when the 14-time World Champion stepped back through the curtain after his victorious efforts inside WarGames alongside Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins and Jey Uso, he was making a beeline for CM Punk.
On-screen, Randy Orton and CM Punk made for one of the company’s biggest rivalries, with Orton causing Punk to vacate his first ever World Heavyweight Championship, in 2008, before defeating the Straight Edge Superstar in a pulsating match at WrestleMania 27, in Atlanta. The two would also face off in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules a few weeks later as well before going their separate ways.
In 2014 Punk would leave WWE in a very well publicised blow up with the company. The former WWE Champion would then spend almost 10 years away from the old New York territory, before returning in his hometown last year, only a few months after his likewise controversial, and highly publicised, departure from All Elite Wrestling.
And as Punk greeted old and new faces alike backstage after his return, he was met by Orton, who let his former rival know what he thought of being upstaged on his big night.
“Can I not enjoy 10 minutes of my f**king return?” Orton begins at Punk in the backstage area, drawing a smile out of his old friend. “Everything is worth it to rain on your parade” comes Punk’s reply as Orton’s faux-outrage dissipates into shared laughter with his fellow former-World Champion.
The pair then embrace with Orton warning Punk, “I’m all sweaty,” to which Punk shrugs off with a “I don’t care, brother.”
After showing up once last year’s WarGames main event had culminated at Survivor Series, Punk will no step inside the XL steel cage, surrounding two rings, as he teams up with the Original Bloodline, helmed by Roman Reigns, to take on the new Bloodline, led by Solo Sikoa.
Punk’s addition, by a returning Paul Heyman, to the OG Bloodline lineup has drawn a ton of social media buzz, generating over 72 million views online since last Friday night (November 22).
Orton, meanwhile, may be technically on the sidelines, selling Kevin Owens’ recent piledriver centred assault, but something tells us he may be making his presence felt when his former friend Owens challenges Orton’s protege Cody Rhodes for the WWE Title at Saturday Night’s Main Event, on December 14.
Perhaps in the meantime, while he’s got the time off at his disposal, Orton could try and add to the monstrous 600 hours of Elden Ring that he’s already clocked.
