Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton will settle their feud in a Last Man Standing match at WWE Crown Jewel on Nov. 7. The show takes place at Riyadh Season Stadium in Saudi Arabia. General Manager Nick Aldis made the match on the Oct. 23 SmackDown. The two men share 18 years of history and seven months of hostility.
Cody Rhodes And Randy Orton Go Back To The WWE Legacy Days
In 2008, Orton formed The Legacy, a faction built around Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. The group backed Orton through three WWE Championship reigns in 2009. The Legacy members met in a triple threat match at WrestleMania XXVI on March 28, 2010. Orton won that bout by pinning DiBiase after an RKO.
The former stablemates landed on the same side years later. Orton returned from an 18-month absence at Survivor Series: WarGames on Nov. 25, 2023, as the fifth member of Rhodes’ team. On the Oct. 3, 2025, SmackDown, the pair lost a tag team match to Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed of The Vision. Reed scored the pin on Orton.
The 2026 Feud Started With The WWE Elimination Chamber
Orton won the men’s Elimination Chamber match on Feb. 28 to earn a title shot at WrestleMania 42. Rhodes took the Undisputed WWE Championship from Drew McIntyre on the March 6 SmackDown. Orton attacked Rhodes on SmackDown one week later.
Rhodes retained against Orton on Night One of WrestleMania 42 on April 18 with a Cross Rhodes. Orton attacked after the bell and closed the show standing over Rhodes with the title belt in hand. WWE television did not see Orton again until SummerSlam on Aug. 1.
By then, the championship belonged to CM Punk. Sami Zayn won it at Night of Champions on June 27 by rolling up Rhodes in a triple threat with Gunther, and Punk beat Zayn on the July 6 Raw. At SummerSlam, Orton came through the crowd during Rhodes’ title match against Punk and hit an RKO. Punk won with a GTS.
The Punt Has Become Part Of The Cody Rhodes Story
The punt has hit Rhodes at two WrestleManias. Orton used it during the WrestleMania XXVI triple threat and again after the bell at WrestleMania 42. Rhodes lined up the same kick late in the Sept. 6 headliner of Sunday Night’s Main Event at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Orton raised both hands, Rhodes paused, and referee Eddie Arango stepped between the two. Orton landed low blows on Arango and Rhodes, then won with an RKO, as referee Charles Robinson crawled back in to count.
Baron Corbin interrupted a Rhodes promo on the Oct. 16 SmackDown, and the two had an impromptu match that ended in a disqualification when Orton interfered. Orton missed a punt at Rhodes on the outside, and Corbin blocked a Rhodes attempt on Orton. The show ended with a super Cody Cutter and a punt from Rhodes to Corbin, as Orton watched.
Randy Orton Knows The Last Man Standing Rules
Orton has 14 world titles to his name. One of those reigns began with a Last Man Standing win over Triple H at No Mercy in 2007. Triple H beat Orton under the same rules at One Night Stand on June 1, 2008, and Orton broke his collarbone in the loss.
Punk fell to Orton in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules on May 1, 2011. At WrestleMania 36 in April 2020, Orton lost under those rules to Edge at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Edge stopped the referee’s count and ended the match with a Con-Chair-To.
Cody Rhodes Chose The Stipulation
On the Oct. 23 SmackDown, Orton took credit for drawing the punt out of Rhodes and doubted the move would be aimed at the man who provoked it. Rhodes demanded a fight on the spot, and Orton turned the offer down. Aldis then booked the match for Crown Jewel.
Once the match was set, Rhodes asked for Last Man Standing rules, and Orton accepted. A Last Man Standing match has no pinfalls. A wrestler wins by keeping the opponent down through a referee’s count of ten.
On June 5, 2022, Rhodes wrestled Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell in Rosemont, Illinois, with a torn pectoral muscle. The injury left the chest and upper arm bruised deep purple. Rhodes still won with a sledgehammer shot after two Cross Rhodes.
End Of My Cody Rhodes WWE Rant
WWE Crown Jewel features two championship matches, and the Last Man Standing match carries the deepest roots. Rhodes and Orton have shared a faction, a WarGames team, and a tag team. Seven months of attacks, punts, and low blows have wiped all of that away. A match with no pinfalls is the right ending for a feud built on cheap finishes.
Orton has the experience. Last Man Standing wins and losses against Triple H, Punk, and Edge fill a long résumé. Rhodes has the motive, the punt, and the stipulation of choice. Riyadh gets the strongest story on the card, and the match has every chance to steal the show.
