The Viper had widely been known as one of the most vicious heels that ever existed in the division. The 44-year-old worked best with the cruelest motives and the stealthy demeanor toward his opponents. It was widely expected that Orton would be back from his knee injury to get on the nerve of Cody Rhodes, but the trickiness of the booking knows no rules. He rather returned to help the American Nightmare in his battle against the new Bloodline. With Kevin Owens joining them, the trio oozes out the vibe of ideal faces, salvaging their lives in front of a Samoan troop. But in the last few weeks, if we closely look in his eyes, all we can spot is greed for the Undisputed world title of Rhodes. Whenever the former AEW star gets going with the subject of defending his title, Orton’s heel side subtly comes into play.

The signs got even more evident with the former villain being unable to take his eyes off the gorgeous world championship belt shining on Rhodes’ shoulder tonight on SmackDown.

Will the ferocious of Randy Orton really come out during the six-man tag team match at MITB tomorrow, with a massive betrayal to his blonde-haired teammate? While we have to wait a few hours to know the answer, presuming a ‘yes’ for the answer might be a logical jump.

Randy Orton has a 16-year-old story to finish with Cody Rhodes

Orton and Rhodes’ close working routine dates back to late 2008, when the promotion brought The Legacy into existence. The faction represented many legendary wrestling families with the likes of Sin Snuka, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, and Randy Orton. While all four men were officially part of the group, the driving force of the stable was the Cody-Rhodes-Randy Orton duo. Despite a commendable run together, some cracks inside the group started to float to the surface, eventually hitting a saturation point during WrestleMania 26. Orton doomed his former allies, Cody Rhodes and DiBiase, in a legendary triple-threat match.

The bad blood between them might not be flown out fully yet. Orton stripping Rhodes of his coveted title might be the perfect end of their story.

What’s your take on Randy Orton’s teased heel turn for MITB 2024? Let us know in the comments.