Cody Rhodes Claims King of the Ring, Earns Title Shot

JEDDAH: At WWE Night of Champions on Saturday, Cody Rhodes triumphed over Randy Orton in the King of the Ring tournament final, securing a highly sought-after world title opportunity at the upcoming SummerSlam.

In a compelling main event, Rhodes endured two RKO maneuvers before Orton attempted to gain an advantage by exposing a steel turnbuckle.

However, Orton’s strategy backfired when he collided with the exposed corner, allowing Rhodes to capitalize with the Cross Rhodes and clinch the pinfall victory.

Both competitors faced challenging paths to reach the final. Randy “The Viper” Orton prevailed against LA Knight, Aleister Black, and Carmelo Hayes in a first-round Fatal 4-Way, subsequently defeating Sami Zayn in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Cody “The American Nightmare” Rhodes bested Damian Priest, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Andrade in his bracket, before emerging victorious against longtime friend Jey Uso in the Raw semifinals.

This year’s King of the Ring tournament offered more than just the traditional crown.

Similar to the previous year, the victor earned a chance to compete for a world title—either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship—at the inaugural two-night SummerSlam event.

Both Orton and Rhodes have recently been involved in title contention. Rhodes’ year-long WWE Championship reign concluded at WrestleMania 41, where John Cena defeated him with assistance from rapper Travis Scott.

Orton, on the other hand, was Cena’s initial challenger at Backlash but was unsuccessful due to interference by R-Truth.

Despite being former allies from their time in the Legacy stable (2008–2010), Rhodes and Orton had to put their friendship aside to pursue championship glory.

With this victory, Cody Rhodes is now the top contender and is widely expected to challenge the winner of the forthcoming John Cena vs. CM Punk match for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam.