Cody Rhodes Escalates Randy Orton Feud, Fuels Heel Turn Speculation

The slow-burn tension between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton took a sharper turn on the September 25 edition of SmackDown, with both men trading barbed words in dueling segments that have reignited long-standing speculation about a possible Cody Rhodes heel turn.

Orton, after pushing his way into the same kind of backstage sit-down interview opportunity Michael Cole had previously given Rhodes, used the platform to call Rhodes “compromised.” Orton argued that Rhodes has softened himself over the years in pursuit of mainstream popularity, and questioned whether Rhodes actually has the violent edge he displayed in a hot-mic moment last week, when Rhodes was overheard vowing to kick Orton’s head off his shoulders.

Rhodes answered that challenge directly in a subsequent in-ring promo, and it was far from his usual inspirational tone. Calling himself “the King of unwinnable positions,” Rhodes said the vow wasn’t a bluff, promising that he would in fact go after Orton’s head — and adding, ominously, that he couldn’t guarantee Orton would be the only target. Rhodes closed the segment with a lingering, quiet look out at the crowd before leaving the ring, a moment that read as a deliberate departure from his usual crowd-pleasing exits — especially set against his tense stare-down with CM Punk on the entrance ramp.

What makes this stretch of storytelling notable is the amount of connective tissue building underneath it. Rhodes has spent much of his current WWE run being placed in situations with no clean way out, and Orton’s “compromised” framing gives that struggle a specific, personal wrinkle: the suggestion that Rhodes has been performing a hero rather than truly being one. It’s the kind of psychological hook that can justify a shift in character without requiring a single dramatic swerve.

It also revives a thread from Rhodes’s AEW run, where he once brought back a darkened hair color as a nod to DC’s “Death of Superman” storyline — a reference that didn’t land cleanly for audiences at the time. The bones of that idea are still there for the taking: a hero worn down by being taken for granted, symbolically “killed off,” and forced to confront a harder version of himself before any eventual return to form. With Orton serving as a built-in rival and catalyst, WWE has the runway — and arguably the audience patience — to let that kind of arc breathe in a way a crowded AEW schedule never quite allowed.

Whether this actually culminates in Rhodes turning heel remains to be seen, and WWE has teased variations of this tension before without pulling the trigger. But between Orton’s pointed insults, Rhodes’s darker promo delivery, and the still-simmering Punk dynamic, there’s more smoke here than usual. If Triple H is finally ready to let Cody Rhodes explore his character’s edges, the pieces are being laid out in real time on SmackDown.