Did Randy Orton just save WrestleMania 42? | Column
It took a bit, but WrestleMania 42 now looks to have a good WWE title match booked.
To review, the original plan was a third WrestleMania main event with Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns. Few seemed enthused about that idea. Then it was going to be Rhodes vs. McIntyre again, possibly with Jacob Fatu added. I didn’t sense much excitement for that idea either.
What WWE ultimately landed on, however, is a storyline they’ve had in their back pocket since Rhodes returned to the company. The mentor/mentee relationship combined with Orton feeling he “needs” to win the title was just sitting there waiting for them. Why it was ever a question they’d do anything else is anyone’s guess.
Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton on WWE SmackDown
“Randy, I’m not your son, and I’m not your brother, but I have always been proud to be your boy,” Cody Rhodes.
The dynamic between Orton and Rhodes in the closing segment of the March 13 SmackDown was really interesting.
Rhodes implied that what he expected from him and Orton main eventing WrestleMania was a respectful babyface vs. babyface main event. He mentioned that he expects to get the “Legend Killer,” but seemed to feel that would only happen after the bell rang, and not a moment before.
Rhodes said:
“I’m sure you’re hearing the voices in your head, and when the bell rings that’s what I expect. That’s what they expect. We get to watch the best Randy Orton has ever been. Randy Orton who just won a stacked Elimination Chamber. And I know when the bell rings that I get the Legend Killer. That I get the youngest World Champion in company history.”
“I know that we get the master of the 3 most dangerous letters in all of WWE. But that’s when the bell rings. And after the main event of WrestleMania, when the last bell rings, I want you to know I will always love you.”
Just two old pals heading into WrestleMania having respectful promo segments with each other is what Rhodes believed would take place.
But Orton knew that signing the contract meant he’d have to treat Rhodes like anyone else standing between him and the championship, regardless of their history.
“I don’t think you understand, Cody. I need this. I need that. But this wasn’t supposed to be hard. This was supposed to be easy. Drew was supposed to be out here,” Orton said.
“How am I supposed to….”
He was all but apologizing to Rhodes for what he was about to do.
This was the best thing to happen to the WWE title picture in months, including the two recent title changes.
Poor, vulnerable Jelly Roll
“Jelly Roll is a braver man than most,” – Wade Barrett
The absolute cherry on the sundae of the segment, however, came when Jelly Roll got involved. Because we needed that one extra step to solidify that Orton is a bad guy now. He needed to do something dastardly to a seemingly helpless victim, and somehow a Grammy Award-winning country music singer/rapper was picked for the role.
Jelly Roll played his role well too. I felt for the guy. He walked up to Orton literally saying, “I’m your friend” and was shoved to the ground. I hope none of you reading this ever have a friend reject you like this. For shame, Randy Orton. Don’t you just want to see Cody beat him at WrestleMania now?!
The full segment from the March 13 SmackDown is available below:
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.