Cody Rhodes Faces Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 Night 1 With Pat McAfee in Orton’s Corner

WrestleMania 42 is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and ESPN frames the weekend as a return to the kind of WWE storylines that can feel familiar even to fans who “haven't watched a match since John Cena's farewell.”

“The main event of WrestleMania Saturday (Apr”

Cageside Seats

ESPN’s guide places Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton at the center of Night 1, describing “Two multigenerational stars with close to 20 years of history together” and noting that “The Viper is seeking his 15th world title.”

Cageside Seats

ESPN also ties the match’s setup to Orton’s path through the Elimination Chamber, where “Orton's win over a field that included Rhodes earned him a WrestleMania title shot.”

The same ESPN account says the undisputed WWE champion, Drew McIntyre, “entered the chamber and helped cost Rhodes the win,” which then led to Rhodes recapturing the championship on “SmackDown” after losing it to McIntyre in January.

In the build, ESPN describes an “official contract signing” that turned violent, with Orton “beat up and bloodied Rhodes,” and it says Orton later took a “mysterious phone call” that he credited with inspiring the attack.

ESPN identifies that caller as former NFL punter and WWE announcer Pat McAfee, and it adds that musician-turned-in-ring performer Jelly Roll gave Rhodes a pep talk and then got an Orton beatdown for it.

The broader Night 1 schedule is laid out by Fights Around The World, which says “Things kick off with WrestleMania 42 Night 1” with the main event “Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton, with Pat McAfee in Orton’s corner,” and it lists a Saturday date of “April 18” with “Start time: 6:00 p.m. ET / 3:00 p.m. PT.”

The match’s escalation is presented across the sources as a chain of WWE moments that culminated in Pat McAfee’s involvement and a contract-signing attack.

ESPN says Orton’s WrestleMania title shot came from the Elimination Chamber, where “Orton's win over a field that included Rhodes earned him a WrestleMania title shot,” and then it describes Drew McIntyre’s role in the chamber as the turning point: “The undisputed WWE champion, Drew McIntyre, entered the chamber and helped cost Rhodes the win.”

ESPN

ESPN then connects that loss to a later “SmackDown” title match, saying “Rhodes recapture the championship he lost to McIntyre in January,” which set up Orton’s opponent for WrestleMania.

In ESPN’s telling, the feud’s tone shifts at the “official contract signing,” described as “the most dangerous event in wrestling,” where “Orton beat up and bloodied Rhodes.”

ESPN also says Orton was seen taking a “mysterious phone call” on “Raw” after the contract-signing mess, and it specifies that Orton credited the caller with inspiring the attack on Rhodes.

ESPN identifies that caller as Pat McAfee, and it says McAfee incited Orton to violence because the WWE has “gone in a direction that no one likes,” and he wants to bring back “the glory of the Attitude Era.”

Sportsnaut and Cageside Seats both add a specific stipulation from the build, saying that on the “April 10 episode of SmackDown,” McAfee delivered a promo stating that if Orton failed to defeat Rhodes, he would walk away from WWE entirely.

While the Rhodes-Orton match dominates the weekend’s attention, ESPN also situates it inside a larger WrestleMania 42 structure that includes a separate championship main event on Night 2.

“We are in WrestleMania 42 week, and the WWE is everywhere in Las Vegas, NV, as they gear up for their “show of shows” this weekend”

Fights Around The World

ESPN says CM Punk will defend his world heavyweight championship against Roman Reigns in the main event of Night 2, and it frames the Punk-Reigns feud as driven by “the pure, uncut hatred that has fueled the latter feud.”

ESPN ties that hatred to a long history between the two, recalling that in 2012 “The Shield -- Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose -- debuted as the hired goons for Punk,” and it says Punk “claims he set the example for Reigns to follow.”

The same ESPN account quotes Reigns’ response to Punk’s earlier actions, saying Reigns shot back by saying that Punk taught him “what not to do,” while mocking Punk's decision to leave WWE for a decade.

ESPN also quotes Reigns’ WrestleMania selection promo, writing that Reigns said, “I'm picking you because I hate you. I've always hated you. And WrestleMania's going to be the day of my life, because in the main event, you will acknowledge me.”

ESPN’s WrestleMania guide returns to the Rhodes-Orton story by describing how McAfee’s presence has reshaped the match’s alignment, with ESPN saying “we have Cody and Jelly and Randy and Pat all aligned and ready for WrestleMania.”

It also notes that Rhodes himself called the McAfee reveal “the most ill-received thing in the history of wrestling,” quoting Rhodes in an interview with Jimmy Traina on the “SI Media” podcast.

The biggest uncertainty in the Rhodes-Orton story, according to the wrestling reporting cited by Sportsnaut and Cageside Seats, is that Randy Orton may be dealing with physical issues that could force WWE to adjust its WrestleMania plans.

Sportsnaut says that “According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Orton is currently dealing with physical issues that could impact the outcome of his WWE Championship match against Cody Rhodes,” and it adds that the issues could “ultimately prevent WWE from putting the title on him even if that was the plan heading into the weekend.”

Sportsnaut

Sportsnaut then contrasts that possibility with the earlier McAfee stipulation, explaining that the narrative had seemed to point strongly one way because of McAfee’s promise on the “April 10 episode of SmackDown.”

Sportsnaut quotes Meltzer’s assessment that the stipulation made Orton winning “almost completely clear,” writing, “the only result, given that promo, that was almost completely clear is Orton winning.”

But Sportsnaut also includes the complication directly from Meltzer’s report, stating, “We were told that Orton is hurting, so there is a possibility that would change, as it would make no sense for Orton to win if he has to take time off.”

Cageside Seats repeats the same core Meltzer language, saying the Observer reports that Orton is “hurting” right now and quoting, “We were told that Orton is hurting so there is a possibility that would change.”

Both outlets also connect the injury question to WWE’s longer-term booking, with Sportsnaut saying the tag team match “remains on the books to headline Backlash on May 9 in Tampa.”

Across the sources, the same WrestleMania 42 storyline is framed with different emphases, especially around Pat McAfee’s role and what it implies for WWE’s booking.

“The main event of WrestleMania Saturday (Apr”

Cageside Seats

ESPN presents McAfee as the “mysterious phone call” behind Orton’s attack on Rhodes, and it describes how McAfee’s involvement is tied to a desire to reverse WWE’s direction, saying McAfee incited Orton to violence because the WWE has “gone in a direction that no one likes,” and he wants to bring back “the glory of the Attitude Era.”

Cageside Seats

ESPN also treats the Rhodes-Orton main event as the “main course,” while describing the McAfee reveal as something that fans have debated, quoting Rhodes calling it “the most ill-received thing in the history of wrestling.”

Sportsnaut, by contrast, focuses less on the emotional framing and more on the mechanics of the stipulation, saying McAfee’s April 10 promo created a near-guarantee that “the only result, given that promo, that was almost completely clear is Orton winning.”

Sportsnaut then pivots to the injury report from Dave Meltzer, using the phrase “We were told that Orton is hurting” to argue that the stipulation’s logic could be disrupted.

Cageside Seats similarly centers the stipulation but adds a sharper consequence, saying McAfee “will leave WWE forever if Orton doesn’t walk out of WrestleMania as the 15-time world champion and save the business,” and it explicitly asks what happens if Orton can’t win because he needs to take time off.

Meanwhile, Fights Around The World largely sidesteps the stipulation debate and instead provides a practical viewing guide, stating “U.S.: ESPN” and “U.K.: Netflix,” and listing the Night 1 match card including “Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre (Unsanctioned Match).”