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- Randy Orton’s first shoulder injury in WWE
- Randy Orton once injured his shoulder taking out the trash
Known in the WWE Universe as The Viper or Apex Predator, or simply as the 14-time WWE Champion, Randy Orton He has remained at the top of the card in WWE since his debut in 2002. Physically dismantling his opponents, Orton’s character has always shown himself to be ruthless and violent, often showing little regard for his opponents’ well-being. However, when it comes to wrestling, fans know that Orton isn’t actively trying to hurt his opponents, although injuries do happen. For Orton himself, injuries have plagued this man’s career more often than not, with his shoulders being a sticking point.
Throughout his career, Orton has suffered numerous shoulder injuries, which have only been made worse by a condition Legend Killer suffers from called hypermobility. Looking at what the condition really is and the injuries Orton has sustained due to it, there’s a lot to learn regarding Randy’s shoulder issues.
What is hypermobility?
Wrestling is a dangerous sport, and one where wrestlers regularly get injured. With Randy Orton wrestling for over 20 years at this point, he has dealt with numerous injury issues in his career. One of the main issues Randy Orton has faced from an injury perspective is his shoulder hypermobility.
For those who don’t know, having hypermobile shoulders is a condition that allows the shoulders to stretch much further back than the average person. While that can be helpful in some situations, it also means you’re more prone to injuries, primarily shoulder dislocations. Over time, the shoulder joints are also more likely to wear out much faster than a normal person without hypermobility. While it may make wrestling more dangerous for Orton, it has also affected his personal life, as in 2015 he injured his shoulder while taking out the trash.
Randy Orton’s first shoulder injury in WWE
Making his official WWE debut in 2002, Randy Orton would pick up an upset victory against Hardcore Holly in his first televised match. After his strong start, the future Legend Killer would be traded to the Raw brand later that year before sustaining the first major injury of his career.
Orton suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him from in-ring action for several months and thus cut his original momentum under him. During this period, Orton would still appear on television, although he would be in a sling and kept backstage to provide updates on his injury recovery. While this would be the first of several serious injuries to Orton’s shoulder during his WWE career, it would end up being a win-win for the young wrestler. During his time out of action, WWE hatched the plan for him to join the Evolution faction immediately after his return, which would be a key turning point for his career.
Randy Orton once injured his shoulder taking out the trash
Following his first shoulder injury in 2002, Orton would deal with sporadic shoulder problems throughout his WWE career, though it wouldn’t be until 2012 that a more serious one surfaced. Dislocating his shoulder during the 2012 Tribute to the Troops, this issue would only get worse due to the fact that The Viper had hypermobile shoulders. Following this, WWE would remove Orton from television while he continued to build The Shield, as the faction assaulted Orton on two occasions. Randy would leave television for a while and rehab his shoulder before returning to action in 2013.
Looking at the aforementioned incident where Orton hurt his shoulder while taking out the trash, this was to occur in October 2015. At the time, The Viper was embroiled in a feud with the reunited Wyatt Family and was set to team up with Dean Ambrose to take on newly debuted Braun Strowman and Luke Harper in a tag team match at Hell in a Cell in 2015. In shocking news, primarily due to the cause of the injury, WWE was forced to pull Orton from the event after he suffered the shoulder injury, which sidelined the former world champion for nine months before returning in July 2016 for a SummerSlam match with Brock Lesnar that would also see him injured.
Orton would also recover from this injury, continuing his legendary career. This year, however, injuries struck Orton again, but this time to his back. It remains to be seen when Viper will return to WWE.