It was hinted at during No Escape, and now it’s happened: Cody Rhodes regains the WWE Title on Friday Night SmackDown and will face Randy Orton at WrestleMania.
The big twist on the road to the most important event of the year had been hinted at – now it’s complete: Cody Rhodes is WWE Champion once again and will face his mentor Randy Orton at the mega show WrestleMania 42 next month.
Just under two months after his surprise title loss to Drew McInytre in Berlin, the “American Nightmare” rectified the situation on the latest edition of the TV show Friday Night SmackDown: In a turbulent duel, he won the belt back from the “Scottish Warrior,” securing it for the third time. The “Dream Match” against Orton, under whose wing the young Rhodes once took his first major steps in WWE, will follow on the weekend of April 18 and 19.
Friends. Rivals. The Main Event.@CodyRhodes vs. @RandyOrton for the Undisputed @WWE Championship at WrestleMania. @espn in the US | @netflix internationally pic.twitter.com/gHozK1fbeo
— Triple H (@TripleH) March 7, 2026
WWE SmackDown: Cody Rhodes dethrones Drew McIntyre
Orton had secured the title shot last weekend in the title match of the No Escape (Elimination Chamber) show – with the help of McIntyre, who had intervened in the match to Rhodes’ disadvantage. Angered by his behavior, Nick Aldis, who serves as General Manager of SmackDown, ordered the title match that has now taken place.
This confirms the suspicion that WWE’s WrestleMania plan has long been the “dream match” between longtime rivals Rhodes and Orton, and that McIntyre’s surprise title win in Berlin at the beginning of the year was just an interlude on the way there. This fits in with a report launched at the time by the Wrestling Observer that McIntyre’s title win was the result of a last-minute change of plan to make the title action “less predictable” before Mania.
WrestleMania 41: Will it remain a duel?
Once again, the up-and-coming Jacob Fatu played a role in the recent title change, having unintentionally contributed to McIntyre’s title win in Berlin with a misdirected attack on his arch-rival. Now he prevented McIntyre from knocking Rhodes down with a chair – and thus helped the son of the legendary Dusty Rhodes to overpower McIntyre.
AND NEW!!!@CodyRhodes is heading to WrestleMania as the NEW Undisputed WWE Champion!!! pic.twitter.com/zM3uz8X6m7
— WWE (@WWE) March 7, 2026
So it now looks like McIntyre and Fatu will also face off at WrestleMania, while the title fight between Rhodes and Orton – as a singles match – has already been officially confirmed. The contract signing has been announced for the upcoming SmackDown. The question remains whether the ceremony will go according to plan or whether the match will possibly be expanded into a four-way match with McIntyre and Fatu.
