Randy Orton Explains Cody Rhodes Turn On WWE Smackdown, Says He Needed To Be The Viper Again

Randy Orton addressed his attack on Cody Rhodes last week on this week’s WWE Smackdown, saying that he needed to become The Viper again for WrestleMania. As noted, last week’s Smackdown closed with the contract signing between Orton and Rhodes for their Undisputed WWE Championship match, which turned bloody as Orton attacked Rhodes and left him a mess on the commentary table. Orton appeared in the ring on Friday’s show and cut a promo in which he spoke about his actions.

Orton sat down in the chair he attacked Rhodes with last week and talked about how everyone has sung his entrance music and loved him. He said that he tried to return that love, but the smile that he received from it was emptiest he’s ever felt. He noted that he didn’t want his legacy to be moments given to fans, but rather how many World Championships he’s won.

Orton talked about how he won the Elimination Chamber and was going to face Drew McIntyre, who he knew who he needed to be in order to beat. But then Rhodes won the title and he loves Rhodes like a brother. As such, he didn’t know if he could be the man he needed to be. But when Rhodes said that he wanted the best version of Orton and wanted him to be The Viper again, he realized what he had to do and get a killer instinct to win his 15th world title. He vowed to beat Rhodes and win the title.

You can see highlights from the segment below. Orton will challenge Rhodes for the title at WrestleMania 42, which takes place on April 18th and 19th from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show airs live on ESPN Unlimited in the US and Netflix internationally.

.@RandyOrton can no longer ignore the voices in his head 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/WtFx5liThR

— WWE (@WWE) March 21, 2026