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Why Randy Orton Changed Shirt Colour During WWE SmackDown Segment

By John Canton • Published Mar 14, 2026 12:35 EDT
Randy Orton RKO WWE
Randy Orton called out former Legacy stablemate, Ted DiBiase Jr., in a new interview - Source: WWE.com

Randy Orton wore a different colour shirt during his WWE SmackDown attack on Cody Rhodes.

The WWE Elimination Chamber win by Randy Orton set him up to challenge for the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 42. Since his good friend Cody Rhodes won back the WWE Title on the March 6th edition of SmackDown, that meant Orton will face Rhodes at WrestleMania 42.

On the road to WrestleMania, Orton has been wearing a blue version of his “RKO Everybody” shirt, as you can see in this photo from SmackDown on March 6th.

However, there was a change when Randy Orton went to SmackDown in Phoenix on March 13th for the contract signing with Cody Rhodes.

Instead of blue, Randy Orton was dressed in a black RKO Everybody shirt that Orton has worn in the past, but not recently. The reason for that is that Orton turned heel on SmackDown in a vicious attack on Rhodes that left the WWE Champion Rhodes a bloody mess.

Randy Orton Dressed In Black For A Reason

According to TC of Wrestlevotes on X, Orton made the switch to a black shirt because of the heel turn. It was a subtle move from The Viper.

Just texted with a WWE staffer backstage at #SmackDown who said there was intention behind Randy Orton wearing the black “RKO Everybody” shirt rather than the royal blue shirt we have seen him wearing as of late.

Little details like that go such a long way in storytelling.

The next WWE PLE is WrestleMania 42 on April 18 & April 19 in Las Vegas. Here’s the lineup so far:

  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns
  • WWE Undisputed Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton
  • WWE Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan
  • WWE Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley

There will be more matches added in the weeks ahead.

WrestleMania 42 will STREAM LIVE Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, 2026, at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT on ESPN in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.