The upcoming King of the Ring final between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes at Night of Champions has a clear prize: a World Championship Match at SummerSlam. However, wrestling analyst Sam Roberts has proposed an alternative, and far more unexpected, outcome for the summer event.
Speaking on the RAW Recap podcast, Roberts outlined a scenario that begins with Goldberg challenging Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12. Roberts speculates on a potential Goldberg victory, followed by Randy Orton defeating Cody Rhodes to become the 2025 King of the Ring. This path would lead to an Orton vs. Goldberg main event at SummerSlam.
Maybe Goldberg lies, cheats, and steals [to defeat Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship]—I don’t know, it’s possible. But now, what if Randy Orton beats Cody Rhodes [and] becomes King of the Ring; he fights Goldberg at SummerSlam. Stranger things could happen.
The theory also addresses the fact that Goldberg’s match against Gunther is being billed as his last. When co-host Megan Morant pointed this out, Roberts suggested a world title win could change the WWE Hall of Famer’s plans.
But Goldberg said this is his last match, Morant noted.
But then, he would also be the [world heavyweight] champion, Roberts replied.
To reach the tournament final, Orton defeated Sami Zayn on the June 20 episode of WWE SmackDown, while Rhodes secured his spot by overcoming Jey Uso on WWE RAW. The two will face off at Night of Champions on June 28.
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