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Additional WWE SmackDown Dates Announced For Randy Orton Ahead of WrestleMania 41

Randy Orton is heading back on the road with WWE following his return last Saturday at Elimination Chamber.
Rick Ucchino|
The Viper is back for WrestleMania 41
The Viper is back for WrestleMania 41 | WWE.com

The Viper is back in WWE and he's going to be sticking around for the run up to WrestleMania 41 in April.

Randy Orton returned at Elimination Chamber this past Saturday. He had missed several months of action to sell the storyline injury he suffered when Kevin Owens gave him a package piledriver on the November 8 episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

Orton was out for revenge in Toronto when he went after Owens just seconds after his brutal Unsanctioned Match victory over Sami Zayn. Security personnel stopped Randy from delivering his patented punt, which allowed Owens to escape serious harm.

The expectation is that Orton and Owens are heading toward a showdown at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, and The Viper has now officially been announced for several episodes of SmackDown as part of WWE's extensive European tour later this month.

  • Friday, March 14 - Barcelona, Spain
  • Friday, March 21- Bologna, Italy
  • Friday, March 28 - London, England

Thursday's announcement about Orton comes on the heels of WWE announcing additional dates for John Cena's retirement tour on Wednesday.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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