Match Spotlight: Cody Rhodes Vs. Randy Orton, WWE Night Of Champions 2025

Under the direction of the voices in his head, Randy Orton has unleashed his violent side once again, with Cody Rhodes, Matt Cardona, and Grammy Award winner Jelly Roll so far falling victim to it. In Jelly's case, he received a simple shove. Cardona and Rhodes weren't as lucky.

On last week's edition "WWE SmackDown," Orton scolded Cardona, a fellow in-ring veteran, backstage for being a "mark ass stooge." When Orton then seemed to gesture apologetically to Cardona in the ring, he instead nailed the former "Indy God" with a low blow and a steel chair-wrapped stomp to his arm. The week prior, Orton bloodied Rhodes, his long-time friend and former Legacy stablemate, after they both signed the contract for the WrestleMania 42 match involving the Undisputed WWE Championship. Similar to Cardona, Orton feigned a hug to Rhodes in order to catch him off guard with a low kick, then steel stair and chair shots to his head.

Orton's attack on Rhodes was preceded by an emotional claim that Orton himself needs to win at WrestleMania 42. Moreover, he needs the Undisputed WWE Championship, something he hasn't held in six years. Unfortunately for Rhodes, he stands in the way of Orton's urgent demand, hence his fate of leaving "SmackDown" with a ripped shirt and crimson mask.

The fate of Orton and Rhodes' follow-up faceoff at WrestleMania 42 has yet to be seen as we are still weeks away from the big event. We can safely assume, however, that it will greatly contrast the scenes that unfolded during their last televised match: WWE Night of Champions 2025.

So before we saddle up for "The Show of Shows," let's take a look back at that NOC match, which painted a much different picture than the one from today.

Heading into Night of Champions in May 2025, Orton boasted an 8-3 record in singles televised matches against Rhodes in WWE. Exclude one of Rhodes' wins that came via disqualification, Orton actually had an 80% win rate.

One could argue that none of that mattered as Rhodes and Orton hadn't wrestled each other under those circumstances since 2013. In that time, Rhodes also proved that he had greatly evolved.

The version of Cody Rhodes that faced Randy Orton here was not the same one that did 12 years earlier. This Rhodes was a main event player, now with a world title reign to his name. This Rhodes emerged just as resilient and as skilled as the Orton that guided him and Ted DiBiase in Legacy from 2008 until 2010 too.

The Randy Orton at Night of Champions was also not the same. While still as skilled and respected, he lacked the killer instinct that previously won him 14 world titles, perhaps because of the man standing across from him.

Unlike their previous encounters, Orton showed Rhodes mercy. Yes, mercy. Following an RKO out of nowhere, Orton lined up in the corner for a punt — a move so devastating that WWE banned it for several years. Instead of blasting a vulnerable Rhodes with the punt, Orton visibly struggled with the implications of it. After all, Rhodes was a friend, a brother, family.

Was that relationship with Rhodes worth more than securing the King of the Ring crown and an Undisputed WWE Championship match at SummerSlam? For a moment, it seemed so as Orton hesitated, pausing in place with his hands on his head (My, the drama of the decision!). Ultimately, the voice of self-preservation took over, causing Orton to charge forward with a fierce punt. By that point, though, Rhodes recovered and trapped his former mentor in a Figure Four leg lock.

Much to my surprise, Rhodes and Orton switched roles in this bout, with Orton appearing more doubtful and desperate while Rhodes cranked up the focus and aggression. One moment, Rhodes even twisted Orton's surgically repaired back around the ring post.

While working together in Legacy, Orton, Rhodes, and DiBiase often used dirty tactics to upend their opponents. In between that, Orton helped his mentees sharpen some legitimate skills, such as aggression, in-ring psychology, and storytelling. The former became apparent at King of the Ring when Rhodes targeted Orton's bad back with ruthless intensity. That also wove into the match's larger story: the battle of the student vs. master.

With nicknames like "The Legend Killer," "The Viper," and "Apex Predator," exploiting the weaknesses of his adversaries is second nature to Orton. What happens when nature turns on him, though? An opening for Rhodes to steal his playbook.

A third of the way into the 20-minute affair, a superplex resulted in an immediate rush of pain to Orton's back. In the style of Orton, Rhodes then seized the opportunity to exacerbate it with repeated strikes, a suplex, and that constricting wrap around the ring post (Kudos to Orton for selling the pain too. I almost felt it myself).

Beyond the poetic irony, Orton and Rhodes delivered a performance filled with a thrilling sense of familiarity. Yes, we as fans knew what moves to expect from each of them — Orton would unleash his powerslam, draping DDT, and RKO, while Rhodes would inevitably hit the Disaster Kick, Cody Cutter and Cross Rhodes. Orton and Rhodes even knew what to expect from the other. But that's the beauty.

Through that familiarity, which extends back to the overarching match theme, Orton and Rhodes anticipated the other's moves, leading to some explosive counters. I never thought I'd see an RKO reversed into a Cross Rhodes or a Disaster Kick turned into an RKO (and if by chance I had, it'd surely been over a decade since).

When it eventually became clear that Rhodes couldn't be defeated as easily as he had before, Orton resorted to another chapter in his playbook, those dirty tactics. After introducing a chair to distract the referee, Orton untied the turnbuckle pad to expose the steel underneath, intending to launch Rhodes into it. Instead, Rhodes again turned the tables on Orton, with the former Legacy leader crashing into the steel and rebounding into a Cross Rhodes for the former mentee's win.

On that day, Cody Rhodes proved that maybe, just maybe, the student had surpassed the master. Whether that will remain the case at WrestleMania 42, of course, has yet to be known.