Nick Aldis Says WrestleMania 41 Match With Randy Orton Was Never Discussed With Him, But Orton Told Him To Stay Ready

Nick Aldis will officially return to the ring at WWE SummerSlam when he faces Gunther.

This will be Aldis’ first match since October 2023, which is when he joined WWE and became the general manager of SmackDown.

There have been teases of Aldis wrestling in WWE before SummerSlam, notably after he was RKO’d by Randy Orton, who needed an opponent at WrestleMania 41, and in a storyline with Drew McIntyre.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Aldis was asked if he thought a comeback match in WWE was possible.

“Yeah, might be, but that doesn’t mean that this one didn’t come as a total shock, because it did. You know what’s funny? There were two people when there were other moments where it looked like that might be on the cards. Two people that said to me, ‘You have to stay somewhat ready because they’re not gonna give you three months’ notice. You’re gonna get like a couple weeks.’ One was Mickie [James], and one was Randy [Orton]. Because last year at WrestleMania, a lot of people felt like maybe that was a possibility. Was never discussed with me, you know, and even Randy even kind of leaned toward it on TV. But like I said, I try to make a point to stay out of it in that respect. I didn’t lobby for anything. But I remember Randy talking to me at WrestleMania and kind of saying, you know, you need to stay ready, because it’s gonna happen, and they’re gonna do it like that. It’s gonna come out of nowhere,” he said.

Aldis is a former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion. SummerSlam will be his first televised match since he competed against Eric Young on TNA iMPACT! in July 2023.