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All Hail The New King As Cody Rhodes Beats Randy Orton At WWE Night Of Champions

The American Nightmare has earned his rematch for the WWE Championship by winning the King of the Ring Tournament.
Rick Ucchino|
Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes | WWE.com

One half of the main event of SummerSlam is now set.

Cody Rhodes secured his rematch for the WWE Championship by defeating Randy Orton in the King of the Ring Finals Saturday afternoon at Night of Champions.

The Viper was hampered throughout much of the match-up. He tweaked his back after delivering a top rope superplex to his good friend and The American Nightmare would take full advantage by focusing a majority of his offense on Orton's major weakness.

Randy would continue to fight back. He would connect on two RKO's during the match, including one where Rhodes was flying through the air off a crossbody attempt, but Cody was able to kick out both times.

Orton would then get desperate. In a move that would backfire, he would remove the padding off the turnbuckle to unveil the metal underneath. Cody would be the one to send Randy flying into the exposed steel ribs first, and he followed up with a Cross Rhodes to finally put The Viper away.

During the crowning ceremony moments later, WWE's starting quarterback vowed to get the ball back at SummerSlam.

Winning the King of the Ring crown adds on to Rhodes' already distinguished list of accolades as a WWE Superstar, which includes winning the WWE Championship, Crown Jewel Championship, back-to-back Men's Royal Rumble Matches in 2023 & 2024, the Men's Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championships on several occasions.

The American Nightmare still needs to capture the Men's United States Title to complete what's recognized as the WWE Grand Slam, but it's another run with the pro wrestling's North Star that Rhodes covets at this point in time.

The main event inside of MetLife Stadium on Sunday, August 3 will see Cody Rhodes challenge John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship. The Greatest of All Time knocked off CM Punk in the Night of Champions main event to successfully retain his title.

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Published | Modified
Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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