In what’s shaping up to be one of the most riveting tournaments in recent WWE history, the 2025 King of the Ring is no longer just about crowning royalty—it could become a battleground for legacy, redemption, and betrayal reborn. As of this past episode of Friday Night SmackDown, both Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton have advanced to the semifinals, and the possibility of these two former allies colliding in the finals at WWE Night of Champions on Saturday, June 28, is rapidly becoming the talk of the wrestling world.
But this isn’t just a potential dream match. It’s a story more than 15 years in the making. This is Legacy versus legacy. This is personal. This is war.
A Brotherhood Forged in Legacy
To understand just how powerful a Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton King of the Ring final would be, you have to go back to 2008. That’s when Randy Orton, already a two-time World Heavyweight Champion and third-generation wrestler, took Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. under his wing to form the faction Legacy—a group of handpicked second and third-generation superstars bred for greatness.
It was more than a stable; it was a philosophy. Orton was the cold, calculating leader. Cody, the hungry upstart son of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, was the tactician. Together, they steamrolled through WWE, engaging in feuds with the likes of D-Generation X and Batista. But what made Legacy so dangerous was also what made it fragile. Ego. Pride. Bloodlines. Orton, ever the viper, always wanted dominance, not equality.
By 2010, the group imploded at WrestleMania XXVI. Orton turned on his protégés and reminded them that Legacy was his tool—not their path to glory. Cody and Ted were left betrayed, used, and discarded. For Rhodes, that moment became a cornerstone in his long, winding journey to the top.
Crossed Roads and Broken Crowns
Fast forward to 2024 and 2025. The legacy of Legacy looms larger than ever. Cody Rhodes fulfilled the prophecy when he won the 2024 Royal Rumble and “finished the story” at WrestleMania 40, becoming the Undisputed WWE Champion by defeating Roman Reigns in a moment that shook the wrestling world.
But the fairytale wasn’t meant to last.
At WrestleMania 41 Night 2, in one of the most heartbreaking main events in WWE history, Cody Rhodes lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to John Cena. That loss didn’t just dethrone Cody—it etched Cena’s name in the history books as the first-ever 17-time world champion, surpassing WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.
Randy Orton’s path to redemption had a similar roadblock. The Apex Predator earned a title shot at WWE Backlash: St. Louis and faced Cena in front of his hometown crowd. The emotions were high, the stakes even higher. But victory slipped through his fingers thanks to an unexpected and ill-timed interference from R-Truth. A venomous opportunity, gone.
Meanwhile, Cena’s heel turn—arguably the most shocking moment of the year—has shaken the WWE Universe to its core. Aligning himself with The Final Boss, The Rock, Cena embraced the darkness for the first time in his 20-plus year career. The bright white knight of the WWE finally sold his soul for gold and glory.
Now, both Orton and Rhodes find themselves in familiar territory—on the outside looking in.
The Crown That Leads Back to Cena
The stakes for this year’s King of the Ring have never been higher. The winner doesn’t just get a throne and a robe. They earn a world title match at SummerSlam, WWE’s biggest summer extravaganza.
And make no mistake, both Randy and Cody want that shot—not just for the title, but for revenge.
If Orton and Rhodes advance to the finals, WWE would have in its hands one of the most emotionally charged showdowns in recent memory. Orton, the original architect of Legacy, against Rhodes, the man who outgrew it. The master vs. the student. The past vs. the present.
For Orton, it’s a chance to show that even at 45, he still has the venom to reign supreme. That Cena’s win in St. Louis was a fluke, not a finale. That he, not Cena, is the standard-bearer of this era.
For Cody, it’s about rewriting the ending. It’s about avenging the loss at WrestleMania and proving that he is the face of WWE. That his dream wasn’t a one-time fantasy. That he didn’t finish the story just to close the book.
The Crown Is the Catalyst
Should the WWE pull the trigger on Orton vs. Rhodes in the finals at Night of Champions, it would be more than just a headliner—it would be poetic.
The ring becomes the proving ground where respect, betrayal, ambition, and heritage all collide. No matter who wins, the story writes itself going into SummerSlam: a redemption arc for either man culminating in a battle with the tyrannical, record-breaking, corrupted John Cena.
But in a tournament built to crown the next king of the WWE, only one man can sit atop the throne.
Will it be Randy Orton, the veteran predator reclaiming what he believes is his divine right?
Or will it be Cody Rhodes, the prodigal prince once cast out of Legacy, now trying to forge his own?
The past is prologue. The future is crown-shaped. And the road to SummerSlam could be paved in legacy, heartbreak, and destiny at Night of Champions.
One match. One crown. One shot at Cena.
Long live the king.
