Randy Orton was originally slated to return to WWE TV as part of last night’s Raw SuperShow.

However, Orton was pulled from WWE’s advertising of both Raw and SmackDown for this week’s shows because his back injury is taking a little longer than expected to heal.

As of right now, Orton is still booked for WWE house shows and TV episodes starting this coming Monday 1/23, so it shouldn’t be too much longer before Randy’s Road to WrestleMania is kick-started back up once more.

CB’s Slant: Before his injury, Orton was rumored to be WWE’s first choice to win this year’s Royal Rumble. That is still a very feasible option since Orton could win as a late entrant even if he is not 100 percent, or WWE can simply hold off on the SmackDown part of the WrestleMania World Heavyweight Championship equation and have Randy win at Elimination Chamber instead.

Tags: monday night raw, randy orton, Raw, Road to WrestleMania, royal rumble, Smackdown, wrestlemania, WWE