New details on Cody Rhodes defeating Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 | Exclusive
Backstage chaos on the Saturday of WrestleMania 42 was described as “like WCW.”
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer addressed the decision to have Cody Rhodes defeat Randy Orton in the night one main event of WrestleMania 42 on Saturday, April 18.
Meltzer wrote that after Pat McAfee opted out of continuing with WWE, the decision not to go with Orton as champion was part of “all the chaos” taking place behind the scenes on Saturday. However, he also noted that the decision to have Rhodes win the match had been made before Saturday.
Meltzer also noted that the belief in WWE was that it wasn’t just the negativity from fans that led to McAfee opting out, but the response from WWE talent as well.
“I don’t know if he gave a reason but the belief in WWE was that he didn’t like the negativity of the fans, not the heel heat, but the negativity, plus even worse, the negativity of the angle from so much of the talent,” Meltzer wrote.
Meltzer wrote that there were WWE talent who felt Rhodes and Orton had a strong storyline dating back to Orton serving as Rhodes’ mentor in Legacy, and that McAfee and Jelly Roll being involved took away from the stronger story.
“So when (McAfee) asked out, the decision was made to go in the direction of Punk vs. Rhodes as a big match (perhaps for SummerSlam although I don’ t know that) and thus not go with Orton as champion. There were those who said the decision was part of all the chaos taking place behind-the-scenes on Saturday before the first show and the call was made the day of. However, those in the know, confirmed the chaos, even saying it was like WCW, but we were told the decision to go with Rhodes over Orton was made prior to the day of the show.”
Punk and Rhodes were involved in an angle on Raw this past Monday, teasing a possible title match between the two.
The full edition of today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter is available to subscribers.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.