Cody Rhodes to face former WWE Champion at WrestleMania 40 and take revenge for being betrayed 14 years ago? Exploring the chances

With the recent WWE return of The Rock, there is no clear answer on who Cody Rhodes might face at WrestleMania 40 if not Roman Reigns.

Randy Orton is on a quest for revenge against Roman Reigns and The Bloodline for putting him on the shelf for 18 long months. However, The Viper doesn't have the perfect track record when it comes to being nice to others. A ghost of his past could come back to haunt him by taking revenge for what happened 14 years ago.

Randy Orton headed the faction called Legacy, which included Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. However, the faction imploded after The Viper turned on Rhodes and Dibiase. Amid a six-man tag team bout, Orton hit a DDT on Rhodes and delivered an RKO to Ted DiBiase. On that eventful night, the former WWE Champion betrayed the very group he formed.

While things are amicable between Orton and Rhodes since The American Nightmare returned, it is possible that the former AEW star has not forgotten how Orton used him. With Roman Reigns possibly facing The Rock at WrestleMania 40, Cody needs a strong angle for the show, and revisiting his rivalry with The Legend Killer might be the perfect option. He could do so by costing Randy Orton his potential match against Reigns at the Royal Rumble PLE.

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Bully Ray believes Randy Orton should face Cody Rhodes at WWE WrestleMania 40

During a recent edition of Busted Open Radio, WWE legend Bully Ray highlighted that a championship match between The Rock and Roman Reigns might not sit well with fans, as they wouldn't be thrilled to witness The Brahma Bull competing for the title. So, he proposed an alternative scenario where The Tribal Chief would lose his championship before The Show of Shows.

''So, if he [The Rock] goes to WrestleMania, it has to be against Roman. And if it is against Roman, you can't have the championship on Roman. That means you have to put it someplace else. Who better than Randy right now, who's chasing that 16-time record to tie it and possibly beat it? And then you do Randy versus Cody, where Cody can finish the story against somebody that means a lot to him. There's a nice story built into Cody and Randy also.'' said Ray.

Regardless of whether The Rock vs Roman Reigns takes place for the Universal title or not, it is clear that Randy Orton would be the perfect choice for Cody Rhodes' WrestleMania 40 opponent.