When WWE Decided On Cody Rhodes-Randy Orton WrestleMania Finish Revealed

There are more details on WWE’s thought process regarding the WrestleMania 42 Saturday finish between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton.

The main event of WrestleMania 42 on Saturday in Las Vegas saw Cody Rhodes retain the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton in a match where Orton’s ally Pat McAfee was heavily involved.

After the original referee, Charles Robinson, was knocked down, McAfee ran out there in a referee’s shirt and counted a pin attempt for Orton, but it was just a two count. A frustrated Orton dropped McAfee with an RKO in response, and Rhodes hit a Cross Rhodes on Orton, which led to original referee Robinson counting the pin.

Following the match, Orton attacked Rhodes with the WWE Title and also delivered a deadly Punt to the skull of Rhodes.

Leading up to the match, McAfee said he would leave WWE for good if Orton lost the match, and apparently McAfee is sticking to that stipulation. It wasn’t just a storyline for him.

Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer addressed McAfee leaving WWE after the WrestleMania 42 match.

“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.”

WWE Decided On A Cody Rhodes Win A Day Before WrestleMania

On the Monday Night Raw episode on April 20th, following WrestleMania 42, Cody Rhodes was confronted by CM Punk, who lost the World Heavyweight Title to Roman Reigns one night earlier. Rhodes made it clear to Punk that he would defend the title against Punk whenever Punk wanted a shot.

“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.”

It’s not yet known whether Cody Rhodes will defend the WWE Title against Randy Orton again at WWE Backlash on May 9th, but if that were to happen, WWE should announce it soon, since Backlash is just over two weeks away.

On the Raw After WrestleMania, Jacob Fatu confronted his cousin, Roman Reigns, who is the new World Heavyweight Champion. Fatu mentioned Backlash in his promo, so it would appear as if Reigns will face Fatu at Backlash, even though WWE has yet to announce the match.

Jacob Fatu was victorious over Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 42. Fatu was on the SmackDown brand, and it’s not yet known whether he’s officially on Raw.

Also Read: Cody Rhodes Shares “Positive Yet Absurd” Health Update After WWE RAW