Cody Rhodes Says Randy Orton Has An ‘Addiction And Sickness’ To Win The WWE Title Again

Cody Rhodes says Randy Orton’s desire to win the WWE Championship again may be driven by an “addiction and sickness,” particularly as Orton closes in on historic territory. The comments came before Rhodes and Orton clashed at Sunday Night’s Main Event in Atlanta. The two had been barred from touching each other before the match by SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis.

If they had attacked each other, they would have been barred from competing for a WWE championship. Orton even tried to provoke Rhodes during a face-to-face segment, accusing him of being addicted to winning the championship and putting the title above everything else.

Speaking to OutKick Dropkick, Rhodes described Orton’s approach as “rage bait.” While he understands the desire to become a champion, Rhodes believes Orton’s urgency may be connected to the history he is chasing. He stated:

“He had said, ‘addicted to winning the championship’ and ‘sick’ and putting it in front of everything. What’s the term kids use today? The rage bait, you know, or baiting me into … because if I had hit him, then I don’t get an opportunity for the WWE championship ever, and the same vice versa if he had hit me,” Rhodes said. “I hate to put it in such terms, but at King of the Ring, I beat Randy Orton. At WrestleMania, I beat Randy Orton. I feel the desperation and the addiction. Every pro wrestler, to your point, you’re in this to win. You’re not trying to get second on the podium. I’ve never trusted a wrestler, ever, hell, I’ve never liked a wrestler, ever, who said he didn’t want to be champion.”

Cody Rhodes then turned Orton’s own words back on him. He pointed out that Orton (who has won 14 world titles) is closer to breaking John Cena’s 17 world title reigns than he is. He added that his former mentor may also feel he has not received enough recognition among the greatest stars of modern WWE. Rhodes continued:

“But I think that addiction and sickness is actually more on Randy’s end because Randy’s close to the record. He’s close to 17. He’s close to John. I think Randy also feels that he’s not been given the credit as one of the, you know, the GOATs of modern WWE, someone who’s going to go down in history as one of the greatest to ever do it. He should know he is going to go down in history as one of the greatest to ever do it, but he’s also going to go down in history as the guy who lost for a third time at Sunday Night’s Main Event to his protege, which is me.”

Cody Rhodes lost at Sunday Night’s Main Event after Randy Orton hit him with a low blow followed by an RKO.