Randy Orton on CM Punk's WWE Survivor Series return: 'Old Randy would have been pissed'

Randy Orton is proud of the way he handled what could have been a difficult situation at WWE Survivor Series.

At the event, Orton returned for his first match in 18 months. Orton had been dealing with a career-threatening back injury that required double fusion surgery. He returned as part of the men's WarGames match at Survivor Series last November, teaming with Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins & Sami Zayn to defeat The Judgment Day & Drew McIntyre.

But Orton wasn't the only wrestler who came back to WWE that night. After the WarGames match, CM Punk returned to WWE for the first time in nearly a decade.

While Punk's appearance at Survivor Series was kept as a surprise, WWE announced in advance that Orton would be returning. The decision was made so that the Chicago crowd would not expect Punk to be in WarGames.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Orton detailed how he was informed that Punk would be returning. Paul "Triple H" Levesque told Orton that it was something that only came together in the last few days before Survivor Series:

The day of Survivor Series, I’m about to get my boots on. I’m feeling the nerves, it had been a year-and-a-half.

Triple H is like, ‘Hey Randy, I’ve got to talk to you for a second.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, what’s up, man?’ So he told me a couple things. And then he went, ‘One more thing–Punk’s returning tonight.’

I thought he was f------ with me. I said, ‘You’re joking,’ and he was like, ‘No, I’m not. This is something that just happened in the last few days, yada yada yada.’

Orton said the situation is something that "old Randy" would have been pissed off about, but the new version of Orton didn't allow it to become a problem. Everything ended up working out and the fans were excited to see both Orton and Punk return:

I was so excited for this surprise return. That’s never really been the case. They’ve always kind of stooged off the fact I was returning; they wanted those views. So I’d never had that surprise return.

I could have been really pissed, and old Randy would have been pissed. It was a defining moment for me. I went out there, we had a great WarGames match, everybody was excited that I returned, everybody was excited that Punk returned, and neither return stepped on each other. It was a testament to how much I’d grown. It would have been an issue only if I made it one, so I was proud of the way I handled it.

Orton is set to compete in the men's Elimination Chamber match in Perth, Australia this Saturday. Orton, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, LA Knight, Kevin Owens, and Logan Paul will be the participants in the match. The winner challenges Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40.