Randy Orton Just Changed Cody Rhodes’ Road to Money in the Bank
Cody Rhodes was seconds away from qualifying for WWE Money in the Bank when Randy Orton pulled the referee from the ring. Kevin Owens took the final spot instead, but the bigger story was clear: Cody and Orton’s rivalry is no longer just costing them matches — it is changing their paths through WWE.
Cody Rhodes had Kevin Owens beaten.
Cross Rhodes connected. The referee dropped to the mat. And for a moment, Cody appeared to have secured the final place in the 2026 Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
Then Randy Orton reached into the ring and pulled the referee out.
That single act changed everything.
Kevin Owens eventually defeated Johnny Gargano to qualify for Money in the Bank, while Cody was left outside the match entirely.
But the biggest story coming out of SmackDown was not simply who earned the final spot.
It was how far the rivalry between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton has now gone.
Cody entered the night trying to find another route toward a world championship. Orton made sure that route disappeared.
Cody was one count away
The final men's Money in the Bank qualifying match featured three wrestlers with very different motivations.
Kevin Owens wanted another opportunity to return to the championship picture.
Johnny Gargano was looking for perhaps the biggest singles opportunity of his WWE main-roster career.
Cody Rhodes wanted a path back to the top.
For Cody, Money in the Bank represented something particularly valuable. Winning the briefcase would give him a guaranteed World Championship opportunity at a time and place of his choosing.
And late in the match, he appeared to be one three-count away from getting the chance to win it.
Cody hit Owens with Cross Rhodes and went for the pin.
That was when Orton appeared.
Instead of attacking Cody directly, Orton pulled the referee from the ring before the three-count could be completed.
It was not simply an attack.
It was sabotage.
Cody made a choice — and it cost him
What happened next was just as important.
Cody attacked Orton and sent him into the ring post.
He could have returned immediately to the match.
Instead, Cody turned his attention back toward Orton.
He prepared to deliver the Punt.
Johnny Gargano interrupted him with a dive to the outside, and suddenly Cody had lost control of both his emotions and the match.
Back inside the ring, Gargano nearly defeated Owens with One Final Beat.
Owens survived.
Moments later, Owens hit Gargano with the Pop-up Powerbomb and scored the pin while Orton prevented Cody from getting back into the ring.
Kevin Owens was going to Money in the Bank.
Cody Rhodes was not.
Orton started the sequence, but Cody's reaction helped finish it.
That distinction matters.
Orton has found Cody's weakness
This rivalry has increasingly become about something deeper than two established WWE stars fighting each other.
Orton knows Cody.
He knows his history.
He knows how much becoming champion means to him.
And, perhaps most importantly, he knows how to make Cody stop thinking about the championship long enough to think about Randy Orton instead.
That is exactly what happened on SmackDown.
Orton did not need to defeat Cody in a match.
He only needed Cody to become angry enough to abandon the match that mattered.
For a wrestler who has built so much of his modern WWE identity around finishing his story, Cody suddenly allowed another man to rewrite it.
Money in the Bank moves on without Cody
The result also completed a fascinating Men's Money in the Bank field.
CM Punk.
Kevin Owens.
Bron Breakker.
Trick Williams.
Je'Von Evans.
Penta.
There is no obvious type of winner among them.
Punk and Owens bring decades of experience.
Breakker represents overwhelming physical power and one of WWE's most heavily promoted stars of the new generation.
Trick Williams has already proven capable of carrying championship-level attention.
Je'Von Evans offers explosive athleticism and enormous upside.
Penta may be the most unpredictable presence in the entire match.
One of those six men will leave Money in the Bank with a contract that can instantly change WWE's championship landscape.
Cody Rhodes will have to watch without one.
This may be bigger than the briefcase
Missing Money in the Bank is significant.
But WWE may have just made the Cody-Orton rivalry more important than the ladder match itself.
There is history between them that WWE does not need to manufacture.
When Cody first arrived on WWE television as a young wrestler, Orton was already an established world champion. They later stood together as members of Legacy, with Cody positioned as one of the younger wrestlers following Orton's lead.
Their careers eventually moved in completely different directions.
Cody left WWE, reinvented himself and returned as one of the company's biggest stars.
Orton remained one of the defining WWE performers of his generation.
Now they are no longer mentor and protégé.
They are obstacles in each other's way.
And on SmackDown, Orton proved he could hurt Cody without pinning him, submitting him or even officially entering the match.
He simply took away something Cody wanted.
Kevin Owens now has the final ticket to Money in the Bank.
Randy Orton made sure Cody Rhodes does not.
And after what happened on SmackDown, Cody may care far more about getting his hands on Orton than getting his hands on a briefcase.