Randy Orton to beat Cody Rhodes at WWE Night of Champions for blockbuster reason? Exploring the possibility

WWE Night of Champions 2025 is right around the corner, and the card is stacked with six blockbuster bouts, including Queen and King of the Ring Tournament finals. Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes will clash horns for the KOTR crown and earn a world title shot at SummerSlam. Orton and Rhodes are gunning for John Cena's Undisputed WWE Title.

With all that has been happening in the Stamford-based promotion lately, chaos is guaranteed at the Night of Champions 2025. WWE has been heavily billing the Orton and Rhodes bout as a classic 'Mentor vs. Prodigy' match-up.

The American Nightmare is a massive favourite to win as he has unfinished business against John Cena. The Last Real Champion dethroned Rhodes using his heel antics at WrestleMania 41.

In a shocking outcome, however, The Viper might capture a historic win over Cody Rhodes at Night of Champions, and punch his ticket to SummerSlam 2025 against arch-rival John Cena.

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Randy Orton winning the King of the Ring Tournament could have multiple reasons, including the need to keep things unpredictable and crafting a big box office spectacle for the first-ever two-night SummerSlam.

Orton’s win would open doors for WWE to book a blockbuster Triple Threat bout involving Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and John Cena. This bout is a bigger contest on paper than a singles bout featuring any of the stars mentioned here.

The above proposed angle is purely speculative, and nothing has been confirmed yet.

Cody Rhodes' return early to WWE is for one reason

Speaking on the latest edition of Busted Open, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley revealed that The American Nightmare was called back early to the Stamford-based promotion due to fans’ love, forcing the company to bring him in earlier than expected.

"Because he disappeared for a while, and absence makes the heart grow fonder. And the cheers that I heard for Cody Rhodes last night remind me of that the fact that I think the people don't want to see this guy leave again. It's always good for somebody to get out of the people's eyes for a little while... I think that they brought him back quicker," Dudley said.

It will be interesting to see what plans WWE has in store for Cody Rhodes in the future and whether he wins the KOTR Tournament to go after Cena and his title.

About the author

Nayan is a WWE News and Features writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. After completing his bachelor's degree in Mass Communication from Poddar International, he began working as a YouTube script writer. Nayan then transitioned to Pinkvilla as a combat sports writer. He gained valuable experience there before finally coming under the banner of Sportskeeda.

Within 1.5 years, Nayan has written over 1,000 articles, interviewed MFN promotion owners, and conducted a Twitter campaign that gained over 50k retweets and more. He puts fact-checking and mindful journalism above everything by applying a three-check method, where he tries to verify reports from reliable sources and cross-check whether other major publications have covered them.

Looking back at his association with pro wrestling, Nayan recalls being hooked on the sport after watching Shawn Michael vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. Since then, the product has been an inseparable part of his life.

Apart from The Heartbreak Kid being Nayan's favorite wrestler for his confidence and charisma, he is also a fan of Brock Lesnar due to The Beast's "work speaks louder than words" attitude.

Nayan can be found performing mixed martial arts and reading true crime in his free time.

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Edited by Harish Raj S