Cody Rhodes reacts to WWE crowds cheering Randy Orton over him
Cody Rhodes isn’t bothered by WWE crowds cheering for Randy Orton over him in their WrestleMania feud.
The Undisputed WWE Championship will be on the line when Rhodes and Orton face off at WrestleMania 42. During the build to the match, Orton has turned heel and launched attacks on Rhodes, Matt Cardona, and even country music star Jelly Roll. The heel turn hasn’t exactly taken with fans, though, with them happy to see Orton return to his more aggressive persona.
Rhodes appeared on Busted Open Radio this morning and opened up about how the fans have been reacting.
“I don’t take it personally. I think maybe when I was younger I did. And certainly there’s no absolute in that, I’m sure some things kind of slip through the armor a bit and you feel it,” Rhodes said. “But my thought in terms of fans, today, more than ever, is that we are out there and whatever their emotional need is, if they need to cheer for you, if they need to cheer for him, if they need to yell at you — I can’t put a governor on that, and I will not. Tully Blanchard rules in terms of for me when he’d say, ‘The loudest, the longest [reaction].’
“I can’t be angry at them, whatever it is they need. If they’re cheering for Randy as he seeks [World title reign number] 15 even with the things he did, okay. I’m not there to try and tell you you’re wrong or right. There’s no wrong way to be a fan. So right now it hasn’t got to me. I’ll be honest, sometimes maybe it will. But right now? No.”
The Rhodes vs. Orton match is expected to headline WrestleMania 42 night one on Saturday, April 18. Rhodes told Busted Open that, despite all the history they have together, the matchup feels “very first-time” given how different he and Orton are now. Rhodes is looking to show Orton how much he’s leveled up as a wrestler since they were in Legacy together.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.