Randy Orton appearance added to WWE SmackDown

The number one contender to the Undisputed WWE Championship will appear on Friday’s SmackDown.

WWE announced Thursday that Randy Orton will appear live on the Friday, May 2 SmackDown in Des Moines, Iowa.

Orton is set to challenge Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena in the first title defense of Cena’s 17th World title reign at the Backlash PLE scheduled for Saturday, May 10 in Orton’s hometown of St. Louis.

Cena is not advertised for Friday’s SmackDown.

Champion and challenger had a face-to-face confrontation on last week’s SmackDown episode, ending with Cena eating an RKO from Orton. The two also went face-to-face on the April 21 Raw, with Orton also hitting Cena with his finisher.

The only other item announced for Friday’s episode to this point is the in-ring return of Aleister Black. Black made his WWE return on last Friday’s SmackDown, and will step into the ring with The Miz for his first WWE match since October 2020 on this week’s episode.

WWE SmackDown, Friday, May 2 —

• Randy Orton appears
• Aleister Black vs. The Miz

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