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Randy Orton’s Heartbreaking Admission On RKO’ing Cody Rhodes At WWE Elimination Chamber

By Harikesh Shekhar • Published Mar 01, 2026 10:19 EST
Randy Orton WWE
Randy Orton goes off on John Cena and Kevin Owens: SmackDown highlights, March 7, 2025 (Image via YouTube/@WWE)

Randy Orton struck at the right moment to claim his spot at the WrestleMania 42 main event, but it came at a price.

Orton was among the six men who battled it out at Elimination Chamber on Feb 28 to try and seal the opportunity to face WWE Undisputed Champion Drew McIntyre for his title at WrestleMania 42.

Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton were the only two men left towards the end after the four others were eliminated, but before they could wrestle it out, Drew McIntyre interfered and attacked Cody in an attempt to thwart his chances of winning and facing him at the Show of Shows.

However, he received an RKO from Orton and a Crossroads from Rhodes. But the Apex Predator saw an opening and RKO’ed his long-time friend Cody Rhodes and pinned him for the win.

Randy Orton Shares His Thoughts On Laying An RKO On Cody Rhodes

Randy Orton was seen speaking after the match, reflecting on what had unfolded.

The Viper acknowledged his long-running friendship with Rhodes and said that he didn’t like RKO-ing him, but then again, he knew what he had to do to earn his spot in the main event on the grandest stage of them all.

WWE shared the video on their X account.

In a heartbeat, I made that decision to drop Cody with an RKO. Now he’s a long-time friend. I hate doing it, but do I really hate doing it?

No, I don’t. I’m going to WrestleMania. I’m main-eventing WrestleMania.I deserve to be in the main event at WrestleMania.

But it’s not all gloom for Rhodes, however, as later during the post-show, SmackDown GM Nick Aldis set up a title match between Rhodes and McIntyre for next week’s SmackDown as a punishment for McIntyre’s actions.

Also read: WWE Creative Slip Up Gets Exposed After Drew McIntyre Vs Cody Rhodes WWE Title Match Announcement