A few weeks ago the King of the Ring tournament kicked off and a number of competitors from both Raw and SmackDown entered the first round. Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes were the two stars who happened to make it all the way to the King of the Ring finals, and they clashed at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
As soon as the bell rang the crowd was electric as Orton and Rhodes kicked the match off. Early on in the match Randy Orton hit Cody Rhodes with a superplex off the top rope and Orton started to sell a back injury. Cody Rhodes took notice and targeted Orton’s back throughout the match.
Orton finally made a comeback when he hit the draping DDT from the middle rope. He then went for the RKO, but Cody reversed it into a Cross Rhodes for the two count. The Viper connected with the RKO right after only for Cody to kick out.
Randy went for the punt, but hesitated as he second guessed himself. Finally he went for it. Cody dodged it then grabbed Orton’s leg as he locked in the figure four. Orton reversed the hold and got out of it. The American Nightmare went for a Cody Cutter, but Orton caught him with the RKO off the second rope for a two count.
The Viper started to get frustrated as he grabbed a chair from the ringside area. The referee took the chair from Randy Orton and Orton took the turnbuckle pad off the top rope while the ref wasn’t looking.
Orton tried to slam Cody’s head into the exposed turnbuckle, but Cody blocked it and sent Orton into the turnbuckle ribs first. Rhodes followed up with the Cross Rhodes for the win.
After the match Cody was interviewed by Byron Saxton and he showed respect to Randy Orton. The Viper looked furious as he looked on from the entrance ramp. The American Nightmare then hyped up his title match at SummerSlam and said that when he gets his shot at the title he’s getting the ball back.
All RHODES lead to SummerSlam! pic.twitter.com/5Bz1nhE79L
— WWE (@WWE) June 28, 2025