Any physical contact before September 6 could cost both men future WWE Championship opportunities
Summary
– Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton cannot touch each other before September 6
– Nick Aldis threatened to take away future WWE Championship opportunities
– Rhodes and Orton will settle their rivalry at Sunday Night’s Main Event
Nick Aldis has ordered Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton to keep their hands off each other until Sunday Night’s Main Event on September 6. During the August 21 episode of WWE SmackDown, Aldis warned that either man could lose any future opportunity at the WWE Championship if they became physical before their scheduled match in Atlanta.
The confrontation began with Sami Zayn demanding another WWE Championship opportunity and complaining that his recent chances had fallen apart. Zayn argued that Randy Orton had no business interfering with his number one contender’s match after previously losing to Rhodes. Still, the situation quickly shifted when Rhodes demanded that Orton come to the ring so they could settle their issues immediately.
Orton eventually appeared and reminded Rhodes that they already had a time and place to fight. He promised to beat Cody in front of his family at Sunday Night’s Main Event, while Rhodes questioned why they needed to wait another two weeks. Aldis immediately stepped between the rivals and made it clear that he was finished watching their feud put officials, fans, and his show at risk.
Aldis then issued his strongest warning yet, telling both men that any physical contact before September 6 would mean they would never receive another WWE Championship opportunity. Orton accepted the condition and said he would not jeopardize his goal of becoming a 15-time world champion. Still, he continued to provoke Rhodes by questioning whether Cody had the ruthlessness needed to finish him truly.
Orton argued that Rhodes would not have been able to use the steel chair he raised during their previous confrontation because Cody has always been the good guy. Rhodes fired back by reminding Orton of the bloodshed and attacks he had already endured before warning that Orton was making a dangerous assumption about what Cody was willing to do. Rhodes closed by promising that even if Orton wins a 15th, 16th, or 17th world championship, the man who eventually kills the legend of the Legend Killer will still be Cody Rhodes.
