Just eight weeks after losing the Undisputed WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes was back on the mountaintop. Rhodes regained the title on Friday’s episode of SmackDown at the Moda Center in Portland, but there’s some bad news along with it.
After a little bit of assistance from Jacob Fatu, Rhodes was able to hit the Cross Rhodes on McIntyre to become a three-time Undisputed WWE Champion. The American Nightmare is now set to defend the title against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42.
It’s a match full of history since Rhodes and Orton were once part of Legacy. The expectation is that it will likely be the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania, while CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship is the main event of Night 2.
Rhodes’ Win Wasn’t Well Received
For the third consecutive WrestleMania, Rhodes will be in the main event for the fifth time. He previously main evented Night 2 of WrestleMania 39, Night 1 and 2 of WrestleMania 40 and Night 2 of WrestleMania 41.
The WWE Universe made the #WeWantCody go viral in 2024, but it seems like it’s the opposite this time around. The video of the full match between Rhodes and McIntyre on SmackDown has 160,000 dislikes and counting against 34,000 likes, with 1.2 million views.
It’s not good news for WWE, since they already had trouble selling out WrestleMania 42 with less than two months to go before the biggest event of the year.
Fans Compared Rhodes to Hulk Hogan
After Rhodes’ big win, some fans on X came up with a clever comparison to express their displeasure with the result. They started comparing The American Nightmare to Hulk Hogan due to another massive push.
“Cody Hogan, we’re tired of your story,” a fan tweeted.
Another one wrote, “Cody Hogan has to have the belt or he doesn’t draw a dime. Another nepobaby. Cody is a bum.”
There was also a fan who edited a photo of Rhodes with Hogan’s iconic mustache and balding blonde hair.
Hogan’s politicking during the peak of his career is the stuff of legend. He was the face of WWE for years under Vince McMahon. Rhodes has backstage influence as the company’s QB1, but it’s unlikely to affect booking since WWE is under a different owner.
WrestleMania 42 match card
In addition to Rhodes vs. Orton for the Undisputed WWE Championship and Punk vs. Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship, there are three other matches at WrestleMania 42.
Liv Morgan chose Stephanie Vaquer as her opponent for WrestleMania after winning the Royal Rumble. They will battle it out for the Women’s World Title.
Meanwhile, Rhea Ripley became the No. 1 contender for Jade Cargill’s WWE Women’s Championship after winning Elimination Chamber.
Brock Lesnar has an Open Challenge for WrestleMania 42, though no one has yet accepted it. With what happened to Paul Heyman last week on Raw, Seth Rollins is a possible opponent.
LA Knight drove Heyman to the ambulance, so he’s another option, especially after reports last month about him being the initially planned opponent for The Beast.
WWE Get Bad Cody Rhodes News After Title Win on SmackDown