Cody Rhodes Says WrestleMania 42 Will Be One Of The Best EVER! (WWE News)
Reigning WWE Champion Cody Rhodes believes WrestleMania 42 looks strong "bell to bell".
Reigning WWE Champion and company poster boy Cody Rhodes believes this year's WrestleMania 42 has the potential to be "one of the better 'Mania's ever". Cody will defend his title against former mentor Randy Orton on 18-19 April in Las Vegas - Orton won Elimination Chamber, but Rhodes went on to defeat now-former champ Drew McIntyre to set up the match.
Cody told Chris Van Vliet's 'Insight' show that he's hyped for 'Mania 42. Previously, he's shouted down criticism of the build by suggesting that WWE chief Triple H was about to drop "a sleeper 'Mania", but now Rhodes has clarified his comments. He didn't mean that to sound negative, but definitely thinks people will be surprised by what they see from the roster next month.
He also specifically pointed to matches like CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns, Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan and his own battle with Randy as reasons why everyone should get excited.
When discussing how different the bout with Orton feels to other main events since he returned to the company, Rhodes called them "champagne problems". However, this is now the third consecutive year that someone has turned heel on him during the road to WrestleMania - The Rock hammered him in 2024, John Cena went rogue in 2025, and now Randy has viciously assaulted him during a heated segment on SmackDown.
Ticket sales have been slightly down for TKO/WWE compared to last year, but the organisation will still expect to have plenty of bums in seats by the time they roll into Vegas.
Rhodes is predicting a smash hit weekend.