During the main event of WWE WrestleMania 42 Night One on Saturday, Cody Rhodes successfully defended the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton. However, the buildup to the match and the match itself faced heavy criticism due to the involvement of Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll.
Fans, industry veterans, and even WWE talents expressed their dissatisfaction with the direction taken. As reported by PWMania.com, there were initial plans for Orton to win the title from Rhodes at the event, but those plans changed.
According to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, McAfee’s decision to step back from the storyline contributed to the chaos backstage on Saturday. Some described this chaos as reminiscent of WCW, although the decision to keep the championship with Rhodes had already been made before the event.
The report also notes that many people within WWE believe McAfee opted out of the storyline not only because of the backlash from fans, but also because of public concerns expressed by talents about his involvement in the feud.
Following McAfee’s exit, a decision was made to build towards a match between Rhodes and CM Punk rather than proceed with Orton as the champion. Rhodes and Punk later teased a future matchup on Monday’s episode of RAW.
