Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton: The Full History of the Rivalry Before Crown Jewel
Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton will settle things in a Last Man Standing match at Crown Jewel on November 7. It is the latest chapter of a story that goes back 18 years, from mentor and student in The Legacy, to friends, to two men who now cannot stand each other.
Here is the full history of Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton, from the beginning to the punt kick that is hanging over this match.
Where it started: The Legacy
In 2008, a young Cody Rhodes joined Ted DiBiase Jr. under Randy Orton as The Legacy. Orton was the star and the leader, and Rhodes and DiBiase were the second-generation kids learning from him while doing his dirty work.
Legacy was at its peak in 2009. Rhodes and DiBiase were in the Royal Rumble that Orton won, and the group was at the heart of Orton's feud with Triple H and the McMahon family on the way to WrestleMania 25.
By early 2010, the group had fallen apart amid infighting, and at WrestleMania 26, Orton beat both Rhodes and DiBiase in a triple threat match. It was the first real sign that Rhodes and Orton were going to be tied together for a long time.
The 2011 rematches
By 2011, Rhodes was a very different character, a masked, bitter Intercontinental Champion, and he crossed paths with Orton again on SmackDown. The two traded wins on TV through the fall, and Orton beat him one on one at Vengeance in October 2011. A month later at Survivor Series, Rhodes got some measure of revenge when his team beat Team Orton.
After that, the two stayed in the same locker room, but the real rivalry went quiet. Rhodes left WWE in 2016.
From friends to rivals
When Rhodes returned at WrestleMania 38 in 2022, he and Orton were on good terms. When Orton came back from back surgery at Survivor Series 2023, he did it on Rhodes' WarGames team, and through 2024 the two were allies against The Bloodline.
Their first big singles match in years came in the final of the 2025 King of the Ring tournament at Night of Champions in Riyadh. Rhodes won, but it was a match built on respect, not hate.
2026: The turn
That respect did not last. At Elimination Chamber on February 28, Orton and Rhodes were the last two men left in the Chamber. Drew McIntyre ran in and hit Rhodes with the title belt, and Orton took the chance to RKO Rhodes and win, earning a world title match at WrestleMania 42.
A week later, Rhodes beat McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE Championship, which set up Rhodes vs. Orton for the title. Then, at their contract signing on March 13, Orton attacked Rhodes and turned heel for the first time in years, chasing his 15th world title. Orton spent the following weeks taking calls from a mystery adviser, who turned out to be Pat McAfee.
WrestleMania 42 and the first punt
Rhodes and Orton main evented Night 1 of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 18. McAfee was at the center of a chaotic match, and Rhodes retained the title with a final Cross Rhodes. But Orton got the last word: after the match, he hit Rhodes with the belt and punted him in the head, standing over him as the show went off the air.
That punt is the key to the whole story. Orton has used it for years to take out legends, and now he had used it on Rhodes himself.
SummerSlam, Atlanta and the road to Crown Jewel
Rhodes lost the title in June, but Orton was not done. At SummerSlam, Orton hit Rhodes with an RKO during his Undisputed WWE Championship match with CM Punk, costing him his shot. On the August 14 SmackDown, Orton jumped Rhodes before his match with Sami Zayn, and the two brawled all over TD Garden in Boston.
That led to a rematch at Sunday Night's Main Event in Atlanta on September 6. With the referee down, Orton hit a low blow and another RKO to beat Rhodes, his first one-on-one win over Rhodes in this feud.
Then, on the October 16 SmackDown, Rhodes showed he was willing to go to Orton's level and punted Baron Corbin, who is now out indefinitely. On October 23, Orton said Rhodes would hesitate if he ever had the chance to punt him. Rhodes called Orton a coward, listed the people Orton has punted over the years, including his own father, Dusty Rhodes, and added the Last Man Standing stipulation for Crown Jewel. Orton accepted.
Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton head to head
Counting every televised match where they have been on opposite sides, including tag team and multi-person matches, Orton leads Rhodes 29–12 on WWE TV and Premium Live Events, according to our records. Most of those Orton wins came in the early years, when Rhodes was the young guy. Since 2025, it is much closer: Rhodes won the King of the Ring final and the WrestleMania 42 main event, and Orton won at Elimination Chamber and in Atlanta.
You can see the full numbers, year by year, with our Compare tool: Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton.
Last Man Standing: new for Cody, familiar for Orton
Crown Jewel will be Cody Rhodes' first televised Last Man Standing match of his career. Randy Orton, on the other hand, has been here five times on Raw and Premium Live Events:
- No Mercy 2007: beat Triple H for the WWE Championship
- One Night Stand 2008: lost to Triple H in a WWE Championship match
- Raw, June 22, 2009: a draw with Triple H
- Extreme Rules 2011: beat CM Punk
- WrestleMania 36 (2020): lost to Edge
That is two wins, two losses and a draw. Orton knows exactly how to pace a match like this, and that experience is something he will lean on. For Rhodes, it is one more first in a rivalry that has given him plenty of them.
Our take: who wins at Crown Jewel?
Last Man Standing is the right match for this story. There is no pinfall to steal and no referee to distract, so Orton cannot win with a low blow or a quick RKO. He has to keep Rhodes down for ten.
Prediction: Cody Rhodes wins. The whole feud has been building to one thing, Rhodes finally punting Orton, the move Orton has used on Dusty and on Rhodes himself. Rhodes already punted Corbin to show he will do it. The cleanest ending is Rhodes hitting the punt and Orton not beating the count. A long, brutal match, and the end of the story for now.
For the full Crown Jewel card and the rest of our predictions, see our Crown Jewel 2026 preview, and for the latest on whether the show stays in Riyadh, see our Crown Jewel status update.
