Cody Rhodes is the 2025 WWE King of the Ring.
Rhodes defeated Randy Orton in the opening match of WWE Night of Champions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
With the win comes a match for the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam.
Orton was selling a back injury for much of the match. The pair’s friendship was also part of the story of the encounter as Orton had Rhodes teed up for the punt kick at one point, but hesitated to deliver it.
Orton then appeared to have a change of heart, leaning into heel tactics by bringing a chair into the ring. This was a distraction to allow him to remove a turnbuckle pad while the referee got rid of the chair.
However, it was Rhodes who benefited as he pushed Orton into the buckle, allowing him to deliver the CrossRhodes for the pinfall win.
In a post-match interview with Byron Saxton, Rhodes vowed to “get the ball back” from either John Cena or CM Punk at SummerSlam.
