Cody Rhodes’ Bloody Aftermath from Vicious Randy Orton Assault on SmackDown

WWE has updated the fans on the damage caused to Cody Rhodes from that unhinged Randy Orton beatdown on SmackDown.

Cody Rhodes’ Bloody Aftermath from Vicious Randy Orton Assault on SmackDown

Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton on SmackDown [via- WWE]

Cody Rhodes has now bled three times on the trot in the home stretch of WrestleMania. The fans witnessed his longtime friend Randy Orton inflict one of the most jarring beatings in recent memory on him during this week’s SmackDown.

WWE has now posted a couple of aftermath images of a somber-looking Rhodes. As one could see below, the ‘American Nightmare’ is seen sitting on a chair with blood smeared across his face. His white shirt that’s torn open is making ‘The QB1’ look as if he had just been massacred, which, to a point, he indeed was.

But how did it all go wrong for him? Looking back on the exchange of words that Rhodes had with Orton, he talked about taking the weight off the shoulders of ‘The Viper’, as even Rhodes knew that the 14-time world champion had those voices in his head starting to take over him.

This came after Orton solemnly said that it was supposed to be easy for him considering Drew McIntyre was on his radar for chasing his 15th world title at WrestleMania 42. However, the fact that he was now forced to be staring down at his brother-like friend was eating Orton up from the inside.

‘The Apex Predator’ was seemingly convinced that the only way to go about things to become a world champion once again was to channel that vicious side of his that he hadn’t exposed on WWE programming in a very long time. As soon as Rhodes unknowingly permitted ‘The Legend Killer’ to be exactly what he’d been holding back of late, it prompted the 45-year-old to maul ‘The Prodigal Son’.

And now that Orton has embraced being the villain of this story, he’d leave no stone unturned in making the WWE title his own. ‘The Viper’ started to gaze at that belt since after Cody Rhodes had won it from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL. It just took him almost two years to pull the trigger on the man he never wanted to harm.

The fans appear to be overwhelmed for Rhodes vs. Orton based off that one segment that was indeed a nightmare for the former AEW EVP. They’re already arguing about this match being worthy of going on last at WrestleMania on Sunday instead of Saturday. The onus is now on Roman Reigns and CM Punk to show if they can top that.

Mark Henry raves about Randy Orton turning heel by brutalizing Cody Rhodes on SmackDown

The Randy Orton heel turn has the entire wrestling fraternity in high spirits. It’s almost like the St. Louis-born wrestler has turned the clock back. Sharing his thoughts on it on the Busted Open Radio podcast, Mark Henry said he’s extremely delighted with seeing Orton resorting to being ‘The Viper’ once again. ‘The World’s Strongest Man’ highlighted that this version of Orton is menacing and unpredictable at the same time.

Mark Henry on Randy Orton turning heel
Mark Henry over the moon with Randy Orton turning heel on Cody Rhodes [via- WWE]

Henry later went on to point out that a number of wrestling veterans like Bob Armstrong, Orton’s father “Cowboy” Bob Orton, and Jesse Ventura might be even more proud and all smiles with the way Randy Orton dismantled Cody Rhodes on SmackDown.

The former AEW talent scout said so, as he firmly believes that those legends have always had a knack for gangster-type figures in wrestling, who go by the theory of someone who knows he could be good but chooses to be bad.

Henry also affirmed that the fans have historically resonated more with aggressive characters, as they want them to wreak havoc in the ring, and that’s exactly what Orton has sided with. It would be worth mentioning that Aleister Black was lobbying for ‘The Viper’ to evoke his darker side a few weeks ago.

Did those interactions with Black play a role in influencing Orton and making it easier for him to make the decision to snap? WWE could double down on that story in the upcoming days.

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