It’s the WrestleMania 42 world title match built on 20 years of history — two second-generation superstars who debuted in the same era of WWE, who built a successful faction based on their famous surnames, and who went on to become world champions in their own right.
The last time these two men stepped into the ring alone together, a friendly encounter back at the King of the Ring finals in June, WWE commentator Michael Cole remarked on the sheer amount of backstory between the men. It was that kind of psychological backdrop, he suggested, that elevated the match above others. Almost a year later, Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton do battle again as the main event of WrestleMania 42 Night 1, this time for the WWE Undisputed Championship — i.e. for real.
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Yet weirdly, there’s been much less focus on that rich history between the two men on this year’s road to WrestleMania. Instead, we’ve had segments on “SmackDown” dominated by celebrity cameos: Namely, Jelly Roll and Pat McAfee.
What exactly is going on?
When it comes to wrestling folklore, WWE is usually more than happy to get high on its own supply, giving us more callbacks and Easter eggs that you can handle. But this time around, not so much.
It’s particularly weird given that Orton is one of the few men on the modern roster to have a direct link with Rhodes’ Hall of Fame father, Dusty Rhodes, too — a man whose name has taken on a near-mythical status in recent years with Cody Rhodes’ title arc.
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If anything, it was Orton who practically invented the idea of disrespecting Dusty Rhodes to rile up his son. Back in 2007, he slapped Dusty during Cody’s first-ever backstage segment on “Raw,” thus challenging the newcomer to stand up and defend his father’s honor.
That culminated in Orton even having a one-on-one match with Dusty Rhodes — a man almost 40 years his senior — at the Great American Bash. The colossal age gap didn’t stop the encounter from doing what it was supposed to do — provide a chance for Cody to run in and save his dad from Orton’s infamous punt kick.
Like a lot of wrestling plotlines, it can sound a little corny in shorthand. But given the heat Cody’s rivals have gotten from even mentioning Dusty Rhodes over the years, you’d think it might have gotten a mention of late. Instead, it’s been radio silence.
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Neither has WWE seen fit to revisit “The Legacy,” the influential faction Orton and Rhodes formed together back in 2008 alongside Ted DeBiase Jr., another rookie talent with a famous wrestler for a father. It might not be one of the greatest factions of the 21st century, but it does at least provide some context as to why this current match nearly two decades later matters so much.
Rhodes himself has spoken about how working with Orton was formative for him during his earlier years, giving him the chance to play a supporting role in “The Legend Killer’s” upper card feuds. In an interview a few years ago, he spoke about the time he and DiBiase Jr. helped Orton fend off Triple H and win the Royal Rumble in 2009.
Randy Orton in action against Cody Rhodes during “SmackDown” in San Jose, California.
(Eakin Howard via Getty Images)
“I’ll never forget the Royal Rumble when he won, pointing at the WrestleMania sign and just thinking, ‘I want to be like him,’” Rhodes said in the build-up to 2023’s Survivor Series, when he and Orton were set to team together — along with a few others — to take on the Judgment Day. Around the same time, Rhodes directly referenced The Legacy during a promo.
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It was the implosion of The Legacy — a prerequisite for all wrestling factions — that gave Rhodes his first ever proper WrestleMania match: A three-way dance with his former teammates at ‘Mania 22. Again, you think that might be mentioned: Orton could easily talk about how his opponent might not have ever made it to the grandest stage of them all without him.
Orton could also mention how it was his attempts to steal Cody’s first-ever proper WWE title — the Intercontinental Championship — that led to the latter finally unleashing the ruthless side that would one day become “The American Nightmare.”
Remember that image of Rhodes being legitimately busted open after being attacked by Orton in 2011? Sure, it was well over a decade ago, and there will likely be a significant chunk of the Netflix audience who might not have even seen it. But surely, it would still resonate given the obvious parallels with Orton’s recent ambush on Rhodes in March, which also left the champion covered in his own blood.
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For whatever reason, WWE has chosen not to lean too heavily on that kind of history. That has prompted some speculation that the ‘Mania match will focus less on Rhodes vs. Orton per se, but more on laying the groundwork for some kind of broader storyline act, potentially pitting the forces of WWE — including Rhodes, Punk etc. — against McAfee’s Team TKO.
Who knows, maybe they just think we have short attention spans, and they’re going to hit us with an absolutely stellar promo package Saturday recapping the whole backstory. Though even if WWE does decide to downplay the Rhodes-Orton backstory, you can bet it won’t be far from the minds of the fans — or indeed from the two men in the ring.
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Both Orton and Rhodes trained together, forged WWE careers in the same era, and then went on to exceed the accomplishments of their fathers. Putting them together in a world title program builds on literally two decades of wrestling folklore, and the emergence of two of WWE’s best-known modern champions.
As anyone who has long wanted this match to happen can tell you, that sort of thing matters — whether you choose to mention it or not.