The King of the Ring tournament final at Night of Champions took a difficult turn for Randy Orton, whose history of back problems became the central focus of his match against Cody Rhodes. The Viper appeared to suffer a significant injury to his lower back, a development that dictated the remainder of the contest.
Minutes into the match, Orton executed a superplex from the top rope, a maneuver that visibly caused him immediate and clear pain upon landing. This moment shifted the dynamic of the bout entirely. Rhodes adopted a more aggressive strategy, specifically targeting Orton’s lower back and drawing a negative reaction from the Riyadh crowd. Throughout the rest of the match, Orton was noticeably hampered, selling the injury with every move.
This on-screen injury is a direct callback to the legitimate, career-threatening spinal fusion surgery that sidelined Orton for 18 months between 2022 and 2023. The use of his real-life medical history added a layer of dramatic realism to the match’s narrative, portraying Orton as a compromised veteran fighting through immense pain. There have been no reports of Orton suffering a new, legitimate injury; the situation was a storytelling device.
The storyline injury ultimately played into the finish. The American Nightmare capitalized on the damage, using an exposed turnbuckle to set Orton up for the Cross Rhodes to secure the victory and the crown. With the win, Rhodes will now challenge for the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam, while Orton’s path to the event is now uncertain due to this storyline injury.