Updated

Updated · Fox News · Nov 7

Cody Rhodes Punts Randy Orton to Win Crown Jewel Last Man Standing Match After 7 Months

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Nov 7

Cody Rhodes Punts Randy Orton to Win Crown Jewel Last Man Standing Match After 7 Months

Q: Why did Cody Rhodes refuse the easy count-out and choose a final punt instead, and what does that reveal about WWE’s plans for him?

Cody Rhodes stopped the count because WWE wanted the win to mean more than survival. By refusing the easy count-out and delivering Orton’s own punt, Rhodes completed the revenge story in the most personal way possible: he did not just beat Orton, he chose to answer Orton’s signature cruelty with the same weapon that had injured him after WrestleMania 42. That finish also addressed the key question WWE had been building for weeks — whether Rhodes would finally cross the line. The searched reporting makes clear that this was meant to show a harder, more ruthless version of Rhodes after months of pressure to prove he had the edge expected of a top star. In storyline terms, he was not satisfied with a technical victory while Orton could still claim he had not been truly put down. At the same time, the broader reporting strongly suggests this is not an outright heel turn. Multiple backstage reports say a full turn is “not in the cards” right now, in part because Rhodes remains one of WWE’s biggest babyfaces and strongest merchandise sellers. The likely direction is more nuanced: WWE appears to be evolving Rhodes into a more dangerous, less hesitant hero rather than abandoning his babyface role. So the punt was both payoff and signal — payoff for a months-long blood feud, and a signal that WWE plans to sharpen Rhodes’ character by giving him a darker edge without fully changing who he is.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Nov 7

Cody Rhodes ended a seven-month revenge arc in Riyadh, beating Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match with a decisive punt to the head after stopping the referee’s count.
The finish came after Rhodes hit multiple Cross Rhodes, with Orton’s head clipping steel steps and opening a bloody gash that left him reeling.
Their brawl escalated across the arena—Orton powerbombed Rhodes through a table on the stage, while Rhodes crashed through an attempted splash from a ladder onto the announce table.
The match paid off Orton’s post-WrestleMania 42 attack that left Rhodes with a busted eye, and the punt may mark a harder edge for Rhodes going forward.