4 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (25 Sept - Results & Review)
2. Randy Orton’s “Uncompromised” Rebuttal
Last week, Cody Rhodes waited on the cameras to stop rolling before pulling Michael Cole in to say he wouldn’t hesitate to kick Randy Orton’s head off his shoulders next time. That was a rare oversight by "QB1" - he got caught red-handed on social media when his own boss posted the footage like some gossipmonger saying, 'Look at this! Look at this!'.
Come this week's SmackDown, Orton fired back by demanding Cole interview him too. In the end, it wasn’t so much an interview as a ticked off promo by Randy, and a good one. He asked Michael if he thought Rhodes would actually go through with things. Cole said no, and Orton agreed. However, the slow burn towards heel Cody continues.
Randy did great here. His smoothness on the mic during the back 9 of an epic career has been noticeable; promos, by his own admission, were once one of the weakest parts of Orton's act, but he's worked hard to change that and fans are seeing the fruits of that labour in 2026. Whilst sitting down with "Mike", Randy delivered all of the necessary lore and asked the right questions about whether or not Rhodes has it in him to match Orton's own menace.
It's a shame that WWE felt the need to piggy back on this promo with a lesser one from Cody later inside the ring, but that has already been moaned about in the 'Downs' section. In the 'Ups', we've got to give Mr. RKO all the praise for how he tackled business. He was on fire.