Ric Flair reacts to Cody Rhodes retaining WWE title vs. Randy Orton during WrestleMania Night 1 main event

Cody Rhodes retained his WWE Championship against his mentor, Randy Orton, on Saturday night in Las Vegas during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. The match received a mixed reaction online, however, it received a glowing reaction from one of the greatest of all time: ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair.

“One Of The Greatest Matches I’ve Seen In The Last Few Years,” Flair wrote on X. “Congrats To @CodyRhodes But There Is No Winner Or Loser! @RandyOrton, You Were Spectacular! You Both Represent So Well At The Highest Level. I Have So Much Respect For You Both!”

Flair’s connection with the pair goes back decades. Flair and Orton were faction mates in Evolution alongside Batista and Triple H in the early 2000s, and Flair had a classic rivalry with Cody’s father, Dusty Rhodes, during the 1980s. After all, Dusty’s infamous Hard Times promo was a message directly toward Flair.

It’s clear Flair holds these two future Hall of Famers to a high standard, and they delivered in his eyes. That hasn’t appeared to be the consensus opinion, however.

Fans have been critical the heavy use of celebrity influence in WWE during the lead up to WrestleMania. In the main event — the WWE Championship match — included appearances from both Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll. McAfee was shoehorned into the storyline after being revealed as Orton’s mystery advisor and Jelly Roll was used as a voice of reason for Orton. The two teamed up last year in Jelly Roll’s WWE debut.

Outside of the interferences, Rhodes vs. Orton were given 23 minutes to work — nine minutes longer than any other match on the card. They told a classic, violent story that left both men bloody by the time the match was over.

Rhodes eventually pinned Orton with a Cross Rhodes clean in the middle of the ring. After the match, however, Orton attacked Rhodes, beating him down with the WWE Championship before the show went to black.

It was an anticlimactic ending to what looked to be a babyface ending to Night 1. Based on Flair’s reaction, he’s choosing to focus on what happened in the ring. This featured exciting near falls and strong storytelling.

While Night 1 left a lot to be desired as a whole, it doesn’t appear that the story of Rhodes and Orton is over. Notably, the next WWE premium live event will be Backlash next month in Tampa — where Flair resides.