The planned Wrestlemania 42 main event between Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre has been changed due to the Undisputed WWE Championship changing hands on Smackdown. Cody Rhodes defeated McIntyre in the main event of Smackdown to become a three-time Undisputed WWE Champion. Soon after Cody’s title win, Randy shared a post on X and tagged the newly-crowned champion. “See you next week in Phoenix, Cody Rhodes,” he wrote on X. Orton earned the title opportunity by winning the Elimination Chamber match. Interestingly, Cody was the last superstar to get eliminated from the match.
McIntyre made his presence felt during the main event and he attacked Cody. Upset with McIntyre’s actions, Nick Aldis, the General Manager of Smackdown, gave Cody a title match despite him losing the Elimination Chamber.
At Wrestlemania 42, it will be the second time Cody and Orton will lock horns in a singles match since the American Nightmare’s return to WWE. Cody defeated Orton in the final to become the King of the Ring 2025. He would go on to defeat John Cena at SummerSlam to regain the WWE Championship.
It remains to be seen whether Orton turns heel going into Wrestlemania. He is a 14-time World Champion and will overtake Triple H should he win the title at the upcoming premium live event.
Drew McIntyre’s reign ends
The defeat marked an end to Drew McIntyre’s disappointing 57-day reign as the champion. He had defeated Cody on the second Smackdown of 2026 to win the title. McIntyre lost five back-to-back matches to Cody on live events before the Royal Rumble despite being the champion.
He retained his title against Sami Zayn at the Royal Rumble. He lost another match to Cody after the Rumble. He lost his first televised title defence against Cody on Smackdown.
Jacob Fatu made his presence felt during the main event of Smackdown and he looks set to face McIntyre at Wrestlemania 42. Fatu won the United States Championship at Wrestlemania 41. McIntyre defeated Damian Priest at the previous Wrestlemania.
