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Randy Orton, defeated by Cody Rhodes in the main event of night one of WrestleMania 42 on April 18 in Las Vegas, was actually scheduled to leave Allegiant Stadium with the Undisputed WWE Championship.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the original plan for the match was a victory for The Viper, which would have earned him his 15th world title of his career. The change, however, was not a last-minute decision.
“Randy was supposed to win. There was a lot of chaos the morning of the show, I asked did the finish change the morning of the show, and there were people who said yes, but someone who I would trust more than anyone and would know said ‘No, it was decided before yesterday (Friday, April 17) morning.'”
“On Friday night in San Jose (April 10), Randy was winning at that point.”
Fightful Select and BodySlam+ also corroborated the same information, highlighting that the initial intention was to make Orton champion, but the plans were changed in recent weeks, largely motivated by the fact that WWE had already decided the rivalry would continue to Backlash on May 9 in Tampa, Florida.
According to Meltzer himself, Rhodes is expected to team with Jelly Roll to face Orton and Pat McAfee in a Tag Team Match at the event.
With McAfee’s self-imposed stipulation to never appear in WWE again if Orton didn’t win, and the RKO he took from his own partner in the final moments of the match, the previously reported plans are left completely up in the air.
Rhodes, even after leaving Las Vegas with the title, still suffered a Punt Kick from Orton after the defeat.