Cody Rhodes beats bloodied Randy Orton with a punt kick at Crown Jewel

Cody Rhodes defeated Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match at WWE Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Rhodes sealed the win with a punt kick to the head in the closing moments, leaving Orton bloodied on the mat.

The match at The Venue in Riyadh on Saturday was brutal. At one point the fight spilled into the crowd, where Orton attacked Rhodes with a trash can.

Behind the match lay a revenge story nearly seven months in the making. After his WrestleMania 42 victory, Orton had struck Rhodes in the head, leaving him with a busted eye. Rhodes had waited for payback ever since.

When the brawl moved to the stage, Orton powerbombed Rhodes through a table. Rhodes then fought back, hitting Orton with the steel steps.

Rhodes then took a big risk. With Orton sprawled out on the Arabic commentary team's announce table, Rhodes brought in a ladder and tried to hit a splash. The attempt failed, and Rhodes crashed and burned instead.

Orton tried to take control from there. He attempted to punt Rhodes and keep him down for the count, but missed.

Rhodes then hit Orton with multiple Cross Rhodes. Orton's head clipped the side of the steel steps Rhodes had pushed into the ring, and blood began to drip from the top of his head.

With Orton reeling, Rhodes refused to let referee Charles Robinson continue the count. He then cemented the victory with a punt to Orton's head.

With this win, Rhodes finally did what WWE viewers had waited nearly seven months to see — payback. Rhodes is seen as 'QB1', the one expected to carry the company as its face.

The punt could also signal a change in Rhodes' attitude going forward. Before the match, in an interview with OutKick ahead of Sunday Night's Main Event, Rhodes had responded to Orton's SmackDown promo.

With the Crown Jewel victory, Rhodes closed the chapter on his revenge story, leaving Orton bloodied in the ring.