Randy Orton Turns On Cody Rhodes, Assaults Him On WWE Smackdown

Randy Orton has reminded the world why he’s The Viper, turning on Cody Rhodes on this week’s WWE Smackdown. Friday night’s show featured a contract signing between the two WrestleMania 42 competitors, for their Undisputed WWE Championship match. Rhodes spoke during the segment about their history and said that no matter what happens in the match, he loves Orton.

The two then signed the contract before Orton slammed Rhodes’ head into the table and hit a low blow. Orton then took Rhodes out of the ring and nailed him with the steel steps, busting him open. Orton then continued the assault until everyone came down to stop it including Jelly Roll, who got shoved away by Orton.

Orton then nailed Rhodes with a chair shot and climbed back into the ring to side on the chair with the title in his lap. You can see highlights from the segment below.

Orton won the title shot by virtue of victory in the Elimination Chamber. They will meet in the ring 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 has completely SNAPPED 🤯 pic.twitter.com/3EJQJ1XOtz

— WWE (@WWE) March 14, 2026

NOT @JellyRoll615! 😱@RandyOrton pic.twitter.com/TyjAnjUjPn

— WWE (@WWE) March 14, 2026

.@RandyOrton, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!! pic.twitter.com/JIiwojFHy5

— WWE (@WWE) March 14, 2026

Absolutely speechless… pic.twitter.com/9f2aTl3P9I

— WWE (@WWE) March 14, 2026