Randy Orton will soon be returning to a new WWE.
In the midst of the New Era with a brand split on the horizon, "The Viper" now has a plethora of potential new faces to feud with whenever he makes his comeback.
Orton has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since October and though it has taken longer to heal than expected, the "Apex Predator" will soon return to the squared circle.
It's likely Orton could even be back before "SmackDown" goes live to usher in the brand extension on July 19. One thing is certain, the WWE will have big plans for the 12-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam on Aug. 21 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Here are five potential adversaries for Orton at "The Biggest Party of the Summer."
1) AJ Styles
The "Phenomenal One" will take part in a dream match against John Cena this Sunday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at Money in the Bank, but Orton is another WWE veteran who would be a great adversary for him. Styles has already shown through his bouts with Roman Reigns that he can shine in the ring with anyone, so once his feud with Cena is up, a chance to see him get in the squared circle with the likes of Styles is very enticing.
2) Brock Lesnar
"The Beast" has faced a who's who of Superstars after returning to the fold in 2012, but one that makes perfect sense who he hasn't clashed with is Orton. The man behind the RKO out of nowhere has the kind of striking offense that would make him a believable contender against the former UFC heavyweight champion. Between the RKO, punt, through the ropes DDT and the rest of Orton's arsenal, he could believably stack up as a threat against Lesnar.
3) Karl Anderson
This one is unlikely as the WWE seems content to keep Anderson and Luke Gallows together as a tag team and part of AJ Styles' Club, but Anderson has already expressed his desire to step in the ring with "The Viper." The two Superstars could potentially use SummerSlam as that platform.
"Being in the WWE is a dream in itself," Anderson told Amarillo.com earlier this month. " 'd love to get in the ring with Randy Orton. Roman [Reigns] was cool to be in the ring with, Dolph Ziggler would be really sweet. But I think Randy Orton right now would be pretty cool for me. He's somebody I look up to. We're about the same age but he's been on TV for a long time so it'd be pretty cool to get in there with him."
4) Sami Zayn
The WWE has a huge talent in the former NXT star, but it's unlikely he'll win the Money in the Bank briefcase on Sunday given the booking of NXT talents upon coming to the main roster. However, much like Kevin Owens had his breakout moment with John Cena last year, the WWE could do the same with Zayn, having him get tangled in a feud with a veteran in Orton to help propel him as a major threat in the company. Orton has already gone on record at a recent Q&A and named Zayn as a desired opponent, and this could be a highly-anticipated clash at SummerSlam.
5) Finn Balor
It is widely expected that "The Demon" will be one of the major call ups to help round out the "RAW" and "SmackDown" rosters during the brand split, so he could be a month or even less away from coming up to the main roster. "The Viper" also said in that same Q&A that Balor was a star he'd like to face. Balor and Orton would be an epic altercation and could help legitimize the former when he makes it to the main roster -- something the WWE has struggled to do when transitioning its NXT stars.
