10 Best WWE Matches Of Cody Rhodes

Rhodes was by this time the Intercontinental Champion, while Orton still hovered in main event range. In 2011, both men leveled up in terms of their in-ring work (Orton in large part due to his lengthy feud with Christian). This match for Friday Night Smackdown was stipulated as a street fight, with Rhodes' belt not on the line, so you could see the winner from a mile away.

For what it was, the match expertly blended old school territory-style brawling with WWE's serio-comical style of hardcore matches. Orton won after DDTing Rhodes on the floor before RKOing him in the ring, and it's a shame the match was relegated to a quickly-forgettable B-show, because it's one of the better Smackdown matches of recent years.