‘I Don’t Know If Words Really Cover The Emotions’ – Cody Rhodes Addresses Randy Orton’s Punt Kick At WWE WrestleMania 42

Published: 17 minutes ago by Jamie Toolan | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago by Jamie Toolan

Jamie has been covering the world of wrestling for four years and currently holds the position of Assistant Editor of WrestleTalk.com. During his time working for WrestleTalk.com he has written and published over 4,000 news and feature articles covering events and happenings from WWE, AEW, TNA and a variety of international and independent wrestling promotions.

‘I Don’t Know If Words Really Cover The Emotions’ – Cody Rhodes Addresses Randy Orton’s Punt Kick At WWE WrestleMania 42

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has addressed former mentor Randy Orton hitting him with a Punt Kick at WrestleMania 42.

This Sunday at WWE Clash in Italy, Cody Rhodes will defend his Undisputed WWE Championship for the first time since his WrestleMania 42 Night One main event win over Randy Orton, a show that ended with “The Viper” striking Rhodes with a punt kick.

Rhodes suffered a gruesome orbital bone injury on the night – with the punt used as a storyline reason for the injury – however, “The American Nightmare” not only walked out of the ring of his own volition, but also appeared on Monday Night Raw the next night, as well as every SmackDown since.

Orton on the other hand has been off TV since WrestleMania 42, with reports suggesting his absence is due to a back injury – something Orton himself recently responded to.

While Rhodes’ physical scars have been there for all fans to see over the past six weeks, “The American Nightmare” has now commented on the emotional toll Orton’s post-match attack had on him.

Speaking with WWE’s Joe Tessitore ahead of his match with GUNTHER this Sunday at Clash in Italy, Cody said:

“I don’t know if words really cover the emotions, in terms of the punt kick happening in the first place. File it away with the Piledriver in terms of a thing that we don’t do anymore and there’s a reason we don’t do it anymore.

Obviously the emotions and the fact that it was Randy Orton, but I think we’d already crossed that bridge as to where Randy was and who Randy has become.

“What I would say is, everything you needed to know about me happens after. I got up and I walked. I didn’t put on some silly, manilla neck brace. I didn’t have myself boarded away. I got up and I walked out and I tried to make eye contact with as many people as I could and let them know two things: (I’m) still the champ, still here, and if that’s Randy Orton’s best shot, and Randy Orton was at his best ever, what does that say?

“And I’ll extrapolate further on the fact that I don’t mean this with arrogance. I’ll be forthcoming and say I’m pretty lucky and I don’t know how much more luck I have.

“I don’t want to speak negatively or sound not confident going into a match with somebody like GUNTHER. But I have been very lucky, and that’s a night where I was lucky to leave with the championship that means the most to our game, but also leave without a concussion, leave without orbital fracture at that. And I was able to show the people, like you said, it’s gonna heal, and when it does, where does that leave me?”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

As confirmed on the May 29 episode of SmackDown, Cody Rhodes vs. GUNTHER will open Clash in Italy, with Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill following it.

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has critiqued Rhodes’ promo on WWE SmackDown ahead of his match with “The Ring General” in Turin this Sunday – click here for full details.