Randy Orton brutally attacks Cody Rhodes on WWE SmackDown
What started as a cordial contract signing turned into a bloody assault.
Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes met in the main event segment of Friday’s SmackDown to sign the contract for their upcoming WrestleMania title match. Rhodes signed but Orton hesitated, telling Rhodes that he didn’t realize how much he needs the WWE title. Rhodes replied saying he knew that the best version of Orton would be at WrestleMania when the bell rings, and would always love him.
The two shared a hug, but Orton immediately snapped and smacked Orton’s head on the announce table, following that up with a low blow. He threw Rhodes into the announce table and smashed the WWE Champion in the face with steel steps, bloodying him up. Orton propped up Rhodes’ head with the steps on the announce table, shoving Nick Aldis and Jelly Roll who tried to intervene.
Orton initially left as officials went to check on the battered champion. But Orton wasn’t done as he emerged through the crowd, got on the announce table and smashed a chair into Rhodes’s head, causing further harm. The last moments of SmackDown saw Orton re-enter the ring, sit on the chair that he had just used to assault Rhodes, and held onto the WWE Championship as the show faded to black.
The WWE title match for WrestleMania had been up in the air in recent weeks, becoming more settled when Rhodes won the title from Drew McIntyre last Friday. Orton earned the WrestleMania title match after winning the Elimination Chamber last month.
Bryan Rose is an editor from California that has been covering professional wrestling for well over a decade. He officially joined F4WOnline as an editor in 2017.