WWE Legend Drops Bold Truth: Why Randy Orton’s Betrayal Just Saved WrestleMania
When Randy Orton turned on Cody Rhodes and left him laying after that contract signing, the wrestling world gasped. But according to Matt Hardy, that shocking moment wasn’t just a great TV angle—it was absolutely necessary.
Speaking on his Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy podcast, the TNA veteran broke down why The Viper’s vicious heel turn was the spark this year’s WrestleMania main event desperately needed.
Let’s be honest: Cody vs. Randy is a massive match on paper. But as Hardy pointed out, it was missing that white-hot edge—that personal hatred that makes you feel like you have to watch. Then Orton struck.
“I like the angle with Cody and Randy, because I felt like we needed something,” Hardy explained. “It was a WrestleMania match, and they really needed some sort of spark to try and make a white-hot reason to be invested in this match.”
Hardy emphasized that putting Orton back in his natural habitat—as a ruthless heel—was the key. We’ve seen this side of Randy before, but when you layer it with the history between him and the Rhodes family, the attack felt visceral.
“The fact that Randy turned heel, people like Randy as a heel,” Hardy said. “He got vicious; they have a history. And they really made it look and feel personal.”
But here is where things get interesting. Hardy suggested that WWE might be playing a much deeper game than we realize. While everyone assumes this is a simple story of the heroic champion facing the evil challenger, Hardy hinted that the company might be keeping their options wide open.
He floated the idea that WWE could have multiple endings planned, including a scenario that nobody is talking about: a potential double turn.
“You are going to have a lot of people in the building that are going to be cheering for Cody, obviously,” Hardy noted. “But I feel like you could also create an environment where you could do almost a perfect double turn if you chose to do such as well. They might even have a couple of different game plans. They might have an A plan and a B plan, maybe even a C plan for this match.”
Hardy was quick to clarify he isn’t predicting that outcome, but he admits the door is wide open. If the crowd starts to turn on The American Nightmare between now and showtime, the company has the flexibility to flip the script entirely.
One thing is clear: the buzz is back. What felt like a predictable title defense now feels like the most unpredictable match on the card. Whether it ends with Cody standing tall, Randy celebrating a championship, or a shocking role reversal, Hardy believes the injection of real-life animosity was exactly what the doctor ordered.
