Randy Orton vs. Sami Zayn, King of the Ring Semi-finals on the Friday Night SmackDown

Get to know all about the match between Randy Orton and Sami Zayn.

A legend and a legend in the making competed inside the ring to decide the first man to qualify for the King of the Ring Final. Randy Orton, a 14-time World Champion, fought Sami Zayn, who has made a name for himself in WWE but is yet to win a championship. We had all four King of the Ring semifinalists, Randy Orton, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, and Cody Rhodes, inside the ring before the match.

"It is time for me to finish my story."

It's @SamiZayn's time! 😤#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/6GOUGpwQJo
— WWE (@WWE) June 21, 2025

All of them claimed they would win the King of the Ring tournament. Randy Orton reached the semi-finals of the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Carmelo Hayes, LA Knight, and Aleister Black. Sami Zayn was the first one to qualify for the semi-finals by defeating Bron Breakker, Penta, and Dominic Mysterio.

3 LETTERS! ONE MOVE! RKO! 🗣️@RandyOrton has no worries heading into his match against @SamiZayn!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/aT3NapFW3H
— WWE (@WWE) June 21, 2025

Randy Orton Beats Sami Zayn, Moves One Step Closer to His Dream

Randy Orton defeated Sami Zayn in a hard-fought match and qualified for the King of the Ring tournament finals. He will now face the winner of the match between Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso at Night of Champions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. If Randy Orton wins the King of the Ring finals, he will get a title opportunity at SummerSlam, we know who he’s gonna go after. We would be in for another Randy Orton vs John Cena classic.

.@RandyOrton is not holding back 👊#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/lxsDDua6b2
— WWE (@WWE) June 21, 2025

Coming to the match, Randy Orton and Sami Zayn performed a series of moves on each other. Randy Orton and Sami Zayn were able to give the crowd what they came for, and their match went to the wire. Randy Orton was able to dodge all the Helluva Kick but received a Blue Thunderbomb from Sami Zayn for a two count. Sami was able to counter RKO twice.

.@SamiZayn just gave @RandyOrton a taste of his own medicine! 😮‍💨#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/CD5ohcNwNH
— WWE (@WWE) June 21, 2025

Randy had perfected this move so well that he could use it anytime and from anywhere. There is a reason; this move is now known as RKO out of nowhere. Sami Zayn was just another victim of this move. Randy Orton moved one step closer to another title match for his 15th Championship.

.@RandyOrton is heading to the King of the Ring Finals 🔥#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/xw6YFeU7Wd
— WWE (@WWE) June 21, 2025

Image Credit: WWE.com

Friday Night SmackDown

King of the Ring Semifinals

Night of Champions

Randy Orton

Randy Orton vs. Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn

WWE

WWE SmackDown

Ashish Negi

nfl

wrestling

I am Ashish Negi, and I work as a WWE and NFL writer at The Playoffs. I have 5 years of experience in content writing, and I have written in different domains like Real Estate, but I found my love while writing in sports. I love watching sports and have been a fan of WWE and cricket. I got an opportunity to write full-time on WWE and NFL here, so following the footstep of my hero John Cena, I turn heel on my last company