Cody Rhodes successfully retained the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton in the main event of WrestleMania 42 Night One. The match capped off the first night of WWE’s biggest event of the year.
Backstage details have emerged about the championship bout. The build to the match featured the long-time rivalry between Rhodes and Orton.
It was earlier reported that ‘The Viper’ was initially planned to win the title from Rhodes at Mania before plans were altered.
Part of The Chaos
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), Dave Meltzer reported that, as Pat McAfee opted out of the storyline, the decision not to go with Orton as the winner was part of “all the chaos” taking place backstage on Saturday.
Meltzer added that some described the chaos as “like WCW,” although the decision to move ahead with Cody Rhodes was made before Saturday.
The report further suggested that people in WWE believe that McAfee decided to opt out of the storyline not just because of the immense fan backlash but also due to talents publicly expressing their frustration with his involvement in the storyline.
He also noted that following McAfee’s exit, a decision was made to build toward Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk and not go ahead with Randy as champion.