Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes’ path toward WrestleMania took another volatile turn on Friday night, with an unexpected casualty caught in the middle of the chaos.

Orton picked up a win over Matt Cardona on SmackDown after Cardona issued a challenge earlier in the evening. But the focus quickly shifted moments later when Rhodes arrived at the arena on his tour bus and headed straight to the ring. The longtime rivals immediately came to blows, sparking a wild brawl that security and WWE officials struggled to contain as both men repeatedly broke free to continue the fight.

Eventually, they were forced into opposite corners, but the situation escalated again when Jelly Roll, who had earlier scored a win over Kit Wilson, made his way out in an attempt to calm things down. His intervention backfired. Orton broke loose once more and dropped Jelly Roll with a sudden RKO, leaving him laid out in the ring before calmly exiting with a smile as the show came to a close.

The tensions between Orton and Rhodes have been building for weeks. Orton blindsided Rhodes two weeks ago, turning on his former ally and leaving him bloodied. He later claimed Rhodes’ encouragement to embrace his best self for WrestleMania pushed him to listen to the voices in his head instead. Despite efforts from Jelly Roll to mediate, Orton doubled down on his aggression last week by attacking Cardona.

Adding another layer of intrigue, Orton has recently been shown having phone conversations with an unknown individual. Before the closing segment on Friday, he told the mystery person that he would see them soon, hinting that there may be more to his actions than meets the eye.

• Orton defeats Cardona before chaos erupts with Rhodes
• Rhodes and Orton brawl as security fails to restore order
• Jelly Roll attempts to intervene but is taken out with an RKO
• Orton continues his ruthless streak ahead of WrestleMania
• Mystery phone calls tease another influence behind Orton’s actions