Cody Rhodes Blasted By WWE Personality For Heelish Move

Cody Rhodes was crowned the King of the Ring for the first time in his career.

At WWE Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, The American Nightmare faced his former Legacy stablemate Randy Orton in the final of the KOTR Tournament.

Both heavyweights gave it their all, with Cody getting the pinfall after hitting a Cross Rhodes on his veteran opponent.

For a few weeks now, reports have surfaced about the former Undisputed WWE Champion turning heel in the near future.

Their Riyadh clash even gave the fans a glimpse of it.

During the match, “The Viper” exposed one of the turnbuckles with the referee’s back turned. However, it was Rhodes who sent Orton ribs-first into the steel before ending the match.

Apparently, not everyone is pleased with the manner in which Rhodes got his victory.

Both he and Orton are babyfaces and share a good mutual relationship.

On WWE RAW Recap, Megan Morant took issue with Rhodes’ sneaky move. While discussing the finish, she said:

I am sad that Cody would do something like that (throwing Orton into an exposed turnbuckle) to his friend. [38:17 onwards]

She also accused him of sparing John Cena by not using the title belt to hit him, but feeling fine about doing what he did to the 14-time world champion.

Cody Rhodes Joins Elite Company After NOC Win

Not only did Cody Rhodes win his first King of the Ring crown, but he has now added yet another feature to his cap.

After his victory, the 39-year-old joins Ken Shamrock and the legendary Harley Race, becoming only the third individual to win the NWA Worlds Championship and the KOTR tournament.

The win also guaranteed him a match against John Cena at SummerSlam 2025.