As the road to WrestleMania 42 heats up, Cody Rhodes has spoken about his long and personal history with Randy Orton. The current WWE Champion recently shared how Orton helped shape his career and why he hopes his former mentor will now see him as an equal.
Both wrestlers share a deep history. Rhodes’ first-ever televised match was against Orton in July 2007 on RAW, where he lost. The two were also part of the stable The Legacy alongside Ted DiBiase Jr. from 2008 to 2010, where Orton mentored Rhodes. In 2013, Rhodes had one of the biggest matches of his early career against Orton. Interestingly, the WWE Champion had to put his career on the line for the match.
Lately, the tables have turned, and Rhodes is now the face of the company.
Cody Rhodes Reflects On His History With Randy Orton Ahead Of WrestleMania
During his recent appearance on Complex Graps, Cody Rhodes talked about his relationship with Orton. He explained that his respect for The Viper started long before they ever worked together in the ring.
Rhodes said he was a big fan of Orton when the latter was rising in WWE as a third-generation star. Rhodes recalled how impressed he was with the way Orton was presented at that time. He also noted how highly people in the company spoke about his potential.
However, when Rhodes later joined WWE’s main roster, their relationship changed. Instead of just being a fan, he started building a real friendship with Orton. During that period in Orton’s career, Rhodes said he sometimes found himself supporting him through different moments. Rhodes also said that one thing about Orton that never changed was his ability to teach wrestling.
Now, years later, Rhodes will once again face his former mentor at WrestleMania 42. He sees it as a moment in the journey between a student and a mentor. Moreover, he isn’t sure Orton has ever truly looked at him as a complete equal inside the ring.
“I’ve fought him a few times, but you want him to see you. And I don’t know, in all the times I’ve ever wrestled Randy, even at King of the Ring, I don’t know if I’ve ever wrestled him and had him look across the ring and see me. And I think for this year, for Wrestlemania 42 main event, Allegiance Stadium, I hope he sees not just the person he helped get ready, and the person he helped groom for the industry and train, whether… I liked it or not, and the person he helped guide, but also the person who’s there to beat him,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes also shared that he feels confident going into the match. But he said that confidence isn’t only because Orton once mentored him. Instead, he believes he is currently at the best point of his career.
“I would say I have the upper hand. Not because he’s the person who trained me. I’d say I have the upper hand just because I’m right in the thick of the prime of my career. Not saying he’s not, but I feel like I’m tapping in every time I’m out there and do something that I didn’t know I could do or challenge myself to, and this is just in ring alone,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes also believes that the big question Orton must ask himself before WrestleMania is whether he still believes he is the best.
Still, he admitted that Randy Orton remains one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the industry and could still surprise everyone.
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