Randy Orton took his rivalry with Cody Rhodes to an ugly, deeply personal level on Friday’s WWE SmackDown. Unable to lay a hand on the champion, the Viper went after Rhodes’ family with vicious verbal attacks.
The no-contact stipulation was put in place by General Manager Nick Aldis on the August 21 edition of WWE SmackDown. Aldis ruled that whichever man initiated physical contact before Sunday Night’s Main Event on September 6 would permanently forfeit their shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship.
During Friday night’s segment, Orton did everything he could to bait Rhodes into throwing the first punch. He asked whether Pharaoh, Cody’s beloved dog, had died and whether his daughters had to bury him in the backyard of their home in Atlanta. Then Orton turned his sights on Rhodes’ mother.
“Are you gonna make sure your trailer park trash mother is gonna be sitting front row when I beat your ass?”
Orton also referred to Brandi Rhodes as a “trashy ass wife” and kept goading Cody to swing on him, knowing the punishment Aldis had laid down.
Rhodes refused to take the bait. Cody fired back by accusing Orton of looking for a way out of their match, then went after the reputation of Bob Orton, Randy’s father, before walking out of the ring.
The Sunday Night’s Main Event showdown will be a rematch of their WrestleMania 42 clash from April 18, when Rhodes defeated his former mentor and retained the Undisputed WWE Championship.