Randy Orton is still without an opponent at WWE WrestleMania 41 following the removal of Kevin Owens due to injury.
Orton has confirmed he will be issuing an open challenge, meaning any number of stars could step up to him.
Here are some potential opponents for Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41.
Ricky Saints
After retaining his NXT North American Championship at Stand & Deliver against Ethan Page on Saturday, Ricky Saints could be available on Sunday to take on Randy Orton.
Already popular with WWE fans, Saints’ debut could provide a major WrestleMania moment for avid professional wrestling watchers and casual fans alike.
Since Saints has already been touted multiple times as being effectively endorsed by CM Punk and Cody Rhodes amongst others, he wouldn’t be out of place on the main roster.
While he may still have some time left in NXT before he is called, surely whenever Saints does arrive, he will be destined for a major WrestleMania moment in the future.
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Je’Von Evans
There is already history between Je’Von Evans and Randy Orton from NXT back in October 2024 where they had a singles bout on TV in Orton’s hometown of St Louis.
While the match was fairly brief, it was definitely memorable with Orton showing respect to the Young OG after the bout.
It would be incredibly fun to see any NXT star, but particularly one as young as Je’Von Evans who at only 20 years old could take the opportunity for a career making moment.
Depending on the outcome of NXT Stand & Deliver, Evans could even bring the NXT Championship with him to the grandest stage of them all.
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Shane McMahon
At the WWE Hall of Fame, one of the specific names that Triple H mentioned was Shane McMahon, saying “I miss you”, and that he hopes to see McMahon soon.
Triple H also advised Shane to “not jump off of anything” too high, any time soon… which of course was in reference to Shane’s past history of doing wild spots in his WWE performances.
Known for making iconic surprise returns at WrestleMania in the past, there could be every chance that Shane shows up to be the surprise opponent for Randy Orton. After all, they have plenty of history themselves from back in 2009.
After having contributed so many entertaining moments in WrestleMania history, McMahon deserves a better ‘last match’ at WrestleMania than what happened at WrestleMania 39 – where he tore his quad shortly after an impromptu match against The Miz began, leading to Snoop Dogg saving the segment.
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Karrion Kross
One star that has been ever-present on TV but isn’t set for any match at WrestleMania 41 is Karrion Kross.
After his performance in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal drew attention from the crowd – with the Las Vegas audience booing when he was eliminated – it seems that Kross might finally be getting respect from fans.
Given his continued character work in methodically manipulating multiple people at once, there are ways it could make sense for Kross to find himself having finessed his way into the match.
While plans for Randy Orton’s future program remain unclear, perhaps it will include a run-in with Karrion Kross.
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Solo Sikoa
While there is certainly a storyline basis for this match, a WrestleMania against Randy Orton could be a career defining moment for Solo Sikoa.
He could either re-establish himself as a dominant force to be reckoned with on SmackDown – after seeing his power and control wane in recent months – but if not, the results could be very damaging.
If Sikoa picks up another big loss, it certainly would spell the end of the new Bloodline… or perhaps that is what is meant to happen.
Randy Orton being the one to finally put an end to Solo Sikoa’s reign over the Bloodline and potentially this chapter of the new Bloodline’s story entirely would be poetic.
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Joe Hendry
It could be a very fun surprise to see someone pop in from outside WWE – since Randy Orton did specifically note it could be anyone in Las Vegas this weekend.
TNA Wrestling World Champion Joe Hendry would be an amazing substitution to face Randy Orton since it could be a fun surprise for the crowd, but also because the result wouldn’t have too many consequences.
Hendry could still lose and be just as beloved as he already was – if not more so – so a WrestleMania moment may be the perfect way to remind WWE fans about Joe Hendry.
Following his Royal Rumble entry in February, Hendry is presumed by many fans to be WWE-bound when he finishes up with TNA Wrestling, but keeping him in fans’ minds could be a great strategy to keep up his momentum.
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Jeff Hardy
If WWE is going to call upon any TNA Wrestling star to get into the ring with Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 – Jeff Hardy is the one they should choose.
There may never be a better time to see the surprise return of Jeff Hardy to WWE than to take on his old rival, Randy Orton.
Providing a solid segue for Matt and Jeff to hit the stage for WrestleMania 41 for a meaningful moment without a long-lasting impact to any new stories, it could be the perfect solution.
Given the undeniable chemistry as well as long history between the pair – who haven’t met in singles action since 2021 – it would be very rewarding to see them lock up again.
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Aleister Black
One star who is anticipated to be making his way back to WWE after a stint in AEW is Aleister Black.
He would be a pretty exciting replacement for Randy Orton’s opponent and even more interesting if it launched into a proper feud moving forward.
Perhaps kicking off a future feud now due to unforeseen circumstances could benefit everyone in the long run.
Black’s return videos have pointed to a comeback on the post-Mania SmackDown, but given the situation, perhaps it could be brought forward to Mania itself.
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Rusev
Before Miro had even confirmed he was departing from AEW, fans were going wild with speculation that he could return to WWE when available.
Formerly known as Rusev during his time in WWE, when he was spotted at WWE HQ, speculation picked up even more.
Rusev’s upcoming return was actually confirmed by WWE star Big E on a live stream who noted the Bulgarian told him directly that he was officially returning to WWE soon.
Whether or not he is held as a surprise for the Raw after WrestleMania remains to be seen, but he could definitely hold his own against Randy Orton.
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Nick Aldis
The fact that this match has continued mystery surrounding Orton’s opponent may be most largely impacted by the excitement around this potential face-off.
Despite the fact he has not made his WWE in-ring debut yet, Nick Aldis is a former TNA and NWA World Champion. While he has been portraying an authority figure as SmackDown GM since his arrival in WWE, Aldis has commented in the past that he is not retired from in-ring competition.
After the recent reveal that since Kevin Owens was out of WrestleMania, Randy Orton seemingly took matters into his own hands to ensure he still had a match at Mania, hitting Aldis with a surprise RKO.
If it turned out to be Nick Aldis who answered Randy Orton’s open call for an opponent at WrestleMania 41, regardless of the outcome, Aldis could demonstrate his in-ring skills on the world’s biggest stage without having an entire program.
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