Cody Rhodes Makes Heartbreaking Confession Addressing Randy Orton’s WWE Future
Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes share a rich and complex history in WWE, marked by mentorship, alliance, rivalry, and a legacy deeply tied to both wrestlers’ family roots.
Their journey together began in mid-2008 when The Viper formed a faction called The Legacy, which emphasized multi-generational wrestlers. This faction included Orton himself, along with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr., who are all second-generation stars.
In recent months, this partnership has found a resurgence on WWE SmackDown. Randy Orton has stepped in to assist Cody Rhodes in fighting off bad guys like Drew McIntyre and The Vision.
Their latest tag team outing on SmackDown on October 3, 2025, saw Rhodes and Orton lose to The Brons (Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker) after interference by the World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.
Cody Rhodes Feels Randy Orton Might Retire Soon
Despite this renewed alliance, the WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes recently expressed in an interview with Local 12 that he is uncertain if fans will see this tag team again. He reflected on The Apex Predator possibly retiring soon, paralleling it with John Cena’s announced final year in wrestling.
“When I say we don’t know how much longer we have, a lot of it stems from the fact that John Cena has made it so clear this is it, this is the final year.”
“A lot of wrestlers when they’re saying, ‘Hey I’m out,’ they’re meaning it more than ever, solely because it’s a young man’s game – not that that really affects either of those two guys, but at a certain point, you can step out and say, ‘Hey, this thing is in the best place it’s ever been, wrestling is everywhere across so many different platforms, I can walk away satisfied.’
“John with the record number of championships and Randy actually quite close.”
“I just get the sense we won’t get the opportunity to tag. Good old fashioned, old school tag team wrestling. I just get the sense we won’t get to do that again.”
H/T WrestleTalk