Tag: Randy Orton

Jacob Fatu praises Jelly Roll’s WWE work ethic

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Jacob Fatu had high praise for Jelly Roll’s backstage enthusiasm and work ethic when training for his WWE in-ring debut.

Speaking in an interview with Bootleg Kev, Fatu reflected on the musician’s eagerness and passion for the industry while training. He detailed an instance when Jelly Roll cleaned the ring after practice wrapped up.

“You see cats come in all the time and just get it in. You seen the transformation in him. But it was more than that,” Fatu said.

“When I got out the ring with this guy from training, and it wasn’t just me, shout out to [NXT wrestler] Stacks and the other homie. But it was what he did after. It’s what he did afterward. I already knew, bro. I knew the background. It’s the sh*t that he did afterwards. When you get done training, you gotta clean the ring, sweep it, spray it down. We all sweaty up in there.

“And I seen this man, he went up to the homie and said, ‘Nah, nah, nah, nah, let me clean it. Tell me what I gotta do.’ And he’s not making a scene about it. I’m tucked off with the other homies. But I’m watching. Bro just cleaned up the whole ring. Did what he had to do, wiped his feet, but also seen the love and the passion.”

Fatu added that his own fondness for the industry doesn’t stem from his family’s legacy but because it unites people from different backgrounds and walks of life. 

“Professional wrestling, that’s what I love about this, not only ‘cause my family’s in it. Not only ‘cause we are one of the dopest families up in it,” Fatu said. “But what I’ve seen, what I love about it is professional wrestling brings different colors, different cultures, different background. Professional wrestling brings us all together.”

Last year, Jelly Roll teamed up with Randy Orton against Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul at SummerSlam, taking part in his first-ever pro wrestling match. The musician was trained by The Undertaker, Kevin Owens, Michelle McCool, and Fatu. 

On the March 13 edition of SmackDown this year, Jelly Roll returned to feature as a special guest on Miz TV. Kit Wilson interrupted the segment to mock the musician. A week later, Wilson had another showdown with Jelly Roll in slam poetry which backfired. A match between Jelly Roll and Wilson is now set to take place on SmackDown this Friday.

Meanwhile, Fatu has been locked into his own rivalry with Drew McIntyre that looks set to culminate at WrestleMania 42.

FREE B&V: Smackdown, Collision, Bryan works Relentless Wrestling!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

The Bryan & Vinny Show is back with an unplanned FREE edition of the program, and we’ve got a lot to talk about! Bryan was gone all weekend at Relentless Wrestling in Spokane and has tons of stories, and Vinny is here to fill us all in on what happened on both Smackdown and the first hour of Collision Saturday! A fun show as always, so check it out, and if you love it, sign up through whatever service you’re watching or listening on and get 85 different shows every single month just like it! EIGHTY FIVE, for just pennies per day! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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WOL: Heel Randy Orton is back

Posted on by Andrew Zarian

On the Sunday Wrestling Observer Live, Andrew Zarian talks about Randy Orton’s heel turn over the last two weeks on SmackDown, leading up to next month’s WWE WrestleMania.

He explains why this is one of the better angles they have done in a while and how it will help the match at Mania.

He also talks about Toni Storm being off TV indefinitely, what pivot AEW will make, and whether it will lead to Mercedes Mone coming back as a babyface.

He also elaborates on his report this week that Tama Tonga was fined for filming backstage footage at SmackDown last week.

Plus, the passing of Dennis Condrey, Dynamite ratings, and a Ronda Rousey update.

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube

Wrestling Weekly: AEW Revolution fallout, big steps on the road to WWE WrestleMania

Posted on by Victor Sosa

Les Thatcher and Victor Sosa are back on Wrestling Weekly to talk another incredible pay per view for AEW with some really interesting booking decisions that bled into the follow-up Dynamite.

The guys also discuss some major twists and turns on the road to WWE WrestleMania for Randy Orton and Oba Femi and why Gunther might need to hitch a ride to Mania.

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

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Randy Orton mystery caller angle continues on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A mystery caller continues to have the ear of Randy Orton.

After a scuffle with Matt Cardona earlier in the show, Jelly Roll convinced Orton to make things right both with Cody Rhodes, who he assaulted the week before, and Cardona. But later,Orton was seen on the phone with a mystery caller, telling the person on the other line that he would “fix” the situation. After calling out Cardona and apologizing, Orton snapped again and assaulted Cardona, wrapping his arm around a chair and stomping on it.

Orton explained his actions earlier in the night, saying that he attacked Cody Rhodes last week because Rhodes told him to be the best version of himself. Orton took that to mean to let the voices in his head control his actions, and that’s why assaulted and bloodied Rhodes. Backstage, Orton got confrontational with Cardona who seemed unpersuaded. Their confrontation ended up with Orton shoving Cardona to the floor and calling him a “mark a** stooge indie nerd.”

Before confronting Kit Wilson, Jelly Roll talked to Orton, saying the Orton he knew had a beautiful soul who cared about his family and the business. He convinced Orton to make things right with Cardona, though his words ultimately proved unsuccessful.

Fight Game: Is Oba Femi’s time now?

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and Garrett Gonzales return with a brand-new Fight Game to discuss some of the most interesting topics in pro wrestling.

We gave out our thumbs up and thumbs down before talking about the very violent AEW Revolution main event and wonder if the violence has become too much.

We also talked about the WrestleMania main event angle with Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton and discuss why the psychology was really good, but also how it felt a little too rushed at the same time.

We finished up the show with our new Observe This segment talking about stories from Dave Meltzer’s 1985 Observer Book. We focused on Mid-South on WTBS, AWA faking a title change, and all of the Barbarians there were in wrestling in March of 1985.

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WOR: RAW report, more on Revolution, Ospreay’s neck, Wembley and Mania sales!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the death of Davey Coates, referee Dallas is going home, Wembley ticket sales and Will Ospreay’s health status, WWE discounting Mania prices, the New Japan Cup, CMLL, ratings, the RAW report, more on AEW Revolution, and all the news! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: Davey Coates passes away, OVW referee Dallas Edwards released from hospital
4:40: AEW All In presale starts soon, Will Ospreay got cleared on February 25
13:39: WWE does 3:16 sale for tickets including WrestleMania 42
20:52: NJPW Cup updates, CMLL notes, ratings
29:40: No mention of Hulk Hogan during the Academy Awards, Alberto El Patron boxing match, Nate Diaz fight added to Rousey/Carano card
38:41: More reactions to AEW Revolution, WWE Raw recap

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Randy Orton appearance added to WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Randy Orton will be live on SmackDown this Friday.

Orton was announced for the show shortly after he made an appearance on Raw. In what was originally announced to be a live interview, Orton instead seemed uninterested, choosing to talk to someone on the phone instead to talking to Michael Cole. When he was finished, he cut off Cole again and said he changed his mind about doing an interview. He instead said he had been in contact with someone who reminded him of who he was: a killer. He finished by telling Cole that “wrestling has more than one royal family,” referencing Cody Rhodes’ theme song.

On SmackDown last Friday, Orton viciously turned against his former friend, ripping off his shirt and smashing steel steps against Cody’s head, bloodying him up. Officials tried to separate the two but Orton emerged with a steel chair, smashing it against Cody’s head that was propped up by the steps. The closing moments saw Orton sit on the chair inside the ring, holding the WWE Championship as officials continued to check on Cody.

WWE SmackDown (March 20)

  • Randy Orton will appear
  • Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Kit Wilson calls out Jelly Roll
  • Women’s Tag Team titles: Nia Jax & Lash Legend defend against The Bella Twins
  • Motor City Machine Guns vs. Fraxiom

WWE seemingly confirms WrestleMania 42 main events

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

WrestleMania 42 is about a month away — and it looks like we now know the main events for each night.

On WWE’s official ticketing website, it’s indicated that Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton’s WWE Championship match will be taking place on night one of WrestleMania 42 on Saturday, April 18. A graphic for that match is used for night one of Mania on the WWE.com schedule. Subsequently, CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship is the graphic displayed for night two on Sunday, April 19.

These would be the expected main events for both nights of WrestleMania, though WWE has not officially announced the match order yet.

Punk vs. Reigns was confirmed for WrestleMania shortly after Reigns’ Royal Rumble victory. During the build, issues between the two have been heightened with Punk bringing up Reigns’ late father Sika Anoa’i. That then led to a confrontation between Punk and The Usos taking place on Raw last week.

The Rhodes vs. Orton match was confirmed when Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre on the March 6 episode of SmackDown to regain the WWE Championship. Orton had already earned a WrestleMania title shot through his win at Elimination Chamber — and he turned heel last Friday by bloodying Rhodes ahead of Mania.

WrestleMania 42 is being held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. On the WrestleMania page of WWE’s website, the graphics for Punk vs. Reigns and Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley both have a blue color scheme. The Rhodes vs. Orton and Stepanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan graphics have an orange color scheme. It’s not known if that means those matches will be taking place on the same night.

There are five matches officially announced as of now:

WWE WrestleMania 42 card — 

  • World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk defends against Roman Reigns
  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Randy Orton 
  • WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill defends against Rhea Ripley 
  • Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer defends against Liv Morgan 
  • Brock Lesnar open challenge (opponent TBA)

WOR: Huge AEW Revolution report, Randy Orton turns heel, more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about as we go very in-depth on AEW Revolution, the mostly pros but some cons in what was maybe AEW’s best PPV of all time, plus notes on the Randy Orton heel turn on Smackdown, WrestleMania, Rey de Reyes, the OVW referee injury and more! A really packed show so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: Fallout from AEW Revolution, Dave’s pre-show notes
20:25: AEW Revolution rundown
1:15:34: Randy Orton heel turn on WWE SmackDown
1:19:13: WWE Raw lineup, AAA Rey de Reyes notes, Al Snow statement on OVW incident

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Did Randy Orton just save WrestleMania 42? | Column

Posted on by Ian Carey

It took a bit, but WrestleMania 42 now looks to have a good WWE title match booked.

To review, the original plan was a third WrestleMania main event with Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns. Few seemed enthused about that idea. Then it was going to be Rhodes vs. McIntyre again, possibly with Jacob Fatu added. I didn’t sense much excitement for that idea either.

What WWE ultimately landed on, however, is a storyline they’ve had in their back pocket since Rhodes returned to the company. The mentor/mentee relationship combined with Orton feeling he “needs” to win the title was just sitting there waiting for them. Why it was ever a question they’d do anything else is anyone’s guess.

Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton on WWE SmackDown

“Randy, I’m not your son, and I’m not your brother, but I have always been proud to be your boy,” Cody Rhodes.

The dynamic between Orton and Rhodes in the closing segment of the March 13 SmackDown was really interesting.

Rhodes implied that what he expected from him and Orton main eventing WrestleMania was a respectful babyface vs. babyface main event. He mentioned that he expects to get the “Legend Killer,” but seemed to feel that would only happen after the bell rang, and not a moment before.

Rhodes said:

“I’m sure you’re hearing the voices in your head, and when the bell rings that’s what I expect. That’s what they expect. We get to watch the best Randy Orton has ever been. Randy Orton who just won a stacked Elimination Chamber. And I know when the bell rings that I get the Legend Killer. That I get the youngest World Champion in company history.”

“I know that we get the master of the 3 most dangerous letters in all of WWE. But that’s when the bell rings. And after the main event of WrestleMania, when the last bell rings, I want you to know I will always love you.”

Just two old pals heading into WrestleMania having respectful promo segments with each other is what Rhodes believed would take place.

But Orton knew that signing the contract meant he’d have to treat Rhodes like anyone else standing between him and the championship, regardless of their history.

“I don’t think you understand, Cody. I need this. I need that. But this wasn’t supposed to be hard. This was supposed to be easy. Drew was supposed to be out here,” Orton said.

“How am I supposed to….”

He was all but apologizing to Rhodes for what he was about to do.

This was the best thing to happen to the WWE title picture in months, including the two recent title changes.

Poor, vulnerable Jelly Roll

“Jelly Roll is a braver man than most,” – Wade Barrett

The absolute cherry on the sundae of the segment, however, came when Jelly Roll got involved. Because we needed that one extra step to solidify that Orton is a bad guy now. He needed to do something dastardly to a seemingly helpless victim, and somehow a Grammy Award-winning country music singer/rapper was picked for the role.

Jelly Roll played his role well too. I felt for the guy. He walked up to Orton literally saying, “I’m your friend” and was shoved to the ground. I hope none of you reading this ever have a friend reject you like this. For shame, Randy Orton. Don’t you just want to see Cody beat him at WrestleMania now?!

The full segment from the March 13 SmackDown is available below:

WOL: Why was Cody Rhodes so annoying on WWE SmackDown?

Posted on by Jim Valley

It’s the Saturday Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.

OVW referee Dallas Edwards released a positive message from the hospital regarding his unfortunate, dangerous and scary incident at OVW in Kentucky on Thursday.

On Friday’s WWE SmackDown, was Cody Rhodes being annoying on purpose during the contract signing with Randy Orton? He was so syrupy sweet and nice to Orton, so it was no wonder part of the crowd booed him. Is this the direction to WrestleMania or just for the angle?

Also, Jim talks about Rey de Reyes night one on Saturday and who is leaving AAA: Dom or Vikingo?

Plus, CMLL, New Japan Cup, AEW Collision, Jelly Roll, Danhausen, Kit Wilson and lots more. Another packed Saturday so here we go.

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Randy Orton brutally attacks Cody Rhodes on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

What started as a cordial contract signing turned into a bloody assault.

Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes met in the main event segment of Friday’s SmackDown to sign the contract for their upcoming WrestleMania title match. Rhodes signed but Orton hesitated, telling Rhodes that he didn’t realize how much he needs the WWE title. Rhodes replied saying he knew that the best version of Orton would be at WrestleMania when the bell rings, and would always love him.

The two shared a hug, but Orton immediately snapped and smacked Orton’s head on the announce table, following that up with a low blow. He threw Rhodes into the announce table and smashed the WWE Champion in the face with steel steps, bloodying him up. Orton propped up Rhodes’ head with the steps on the announce table, shoving Nick Aldis and Jelly Roll who tried to intervene.

Orton initially left as officials went to check on the battered champion. But Orton wasn’t done as he emerged through the crowd, got on the announce table and smashed a chair into Rhodes’s head, causing further harm. The last moments of SmackDown saw Orton re-enter the ring, sit on the chair that he had just used to assault Rhodes, and held onto the WWE Championship as the show faded to black.

The WWE title match for WrestleMania had been up in the air in recent weeks, becoming more settled when Rhodes won the title from Drew McIntyre last Friday. Orton earned the WrestleMania title match after winning the Elimination Chamber last month.

WOR: AEW Revolution preview, live experience from San Jose

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back on Wrestling Observer Radio discussing the major stories from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

We talked about being live at AEW Dynamite in San Jose and previewed Sunday’s AEW Revolution card.

We also talked about:

  • Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes
  • Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano
  • CMLL
  • New Japan Cup
  • Where the name WrestleMania came from

Click here to listen (subscription required) or watch on YouTube

WWE Women’s Tag Team title match added to SmackDown lineup

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

WWE announced two new matches for the Friday, March 13 edition of WWE SmackDown.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Lash Legend will defend their titles against Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair on the show.

Also added to the lineup, Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga will face Uncle Howdy and Erick Rowan.

Already announced for Friday’s show are a MizTV segment with Jelly Roll, Jade Cargill vs. Michin, and a contract signing for Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42.

Tonight’s show is set for the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The updated lineup is below:

WWE SmackDown (March 13, 2026):

  • Contract signing between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton for their WrestleMania 42 title match
  • Nia Jax & Lash Legend (The Irresistible Forces) defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles against Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair
  • Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga vs. Uncle Howdy & Erick Rowan
  • Jade Cargill vs. Michin
  • Miz TV returns with Jelly Roll as a special guest