Randy Orton and Kevin Owens are expected back on WWE television soon, with Orton possibly returning in the next week. That update turns a vague comeback watch into a real timetable, and it puts two major names back in play for the blue brand.
The timing matters because Orton’s return would not just be a cameo. It would point toward him getting involved in the main event scene, and it could happen at SummerSlam. For a roster that has gone without his presence for months, the possibility of his return in the next week is the kind of news that immediately changes how the shows are read.
The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter said Orton and Owens were on the way back sooner rather than later, and Dave Meltzer said Orton could be back “in the next week.” That is the sharpest window yet attached to either man, and it is why the Randy Orton Kevin Owens WWE return talk has picked up now rather than later. Orton has been out long enough that even a narrow estimate stands out, especially when the report ties it to the main event picture.
There is also a reason WWE has treated Orton’s return as more than a simple roster addition. Meltzer said Orton was originally planned to beat Cody Rhodes for the title, but his back became too much of a concern. WWE changed a lot of plans to account for that, which tells you how much was already built around him before the injury concerns forced a reset. The comeback is not happening in a vacuum; it is landing after a reshuffle that altered the path of the blue brand’s top stories.
Owens gives the story a different kind of urgency. He has apparently dropped some weight and is nearly ready to wrestle again for the first time since March of 2025. That does not give a fixed return date, but it does make clear that his absence is nearing an end. In practical terms, that means he is closer to being available for television first and a match soon after, depending on how WWE chooses to bring him back.
What remains unclear is the exact first step for either man once they reappear. Orton could be back in the next week, and Owens is close enough that a return no longer feels distant, but WWE has not locked in the first match or storyline for either one. The next answer that matters is not whether they are coming back. It is how quickly WWE puts them where they were always likely to matter most: in the center of the show.
