In a shocking turn of events, Randy Orton secured himself a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42 by winning the men’s Elimination Chamber match on Saturday night in Chicago. The reason why has now emerged.
‘The Viper’ pinned Cody Rhodes, following a distraction from Drew McIntyre, to claim the victory in a match that also involved Logan Paul, Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans and LA Knight.
The decision to have Orton win the match was a surprising one, given that he had only won two PLE matches since his return to the company at Survivor Series 2023. Prior to the bout, Rhodes had been a strong favourite to give his hand raised.
While all signs pointed towards Cody winning and challenging McIntyre for the WWE Championship, Orton’s victory has now scuppered that potential bout. However, it does not mean that Rhodes won’t be involved in the WrestleMania title match.
The WWE Championship Picture For WrestleMania 42 Explored
Per multiple reports, WWE recently ripped up its previous plans for WrestleMania 42 in response to lower than anticipated ticket sales. The underwhelming demand was blamed internally on a lack of excitement for the card that the company was expected to present during the two-night event at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on the 18th and 19th of April.
McIntyre and Rhodes have been feuding over the WWE title since September of last year and many assumed that their feud had come to an end when Drew defeated Cody to win the gold in January’s Three Stages of Hell match in Berlin, Germany. That did not turn out to be the case, though, as their rivalry continued afterwards.
A recent report from Wrestlevotes confirmed that WWE’s plan for the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 42 was “shaping up to be anything other than a singles match”.
In booking Orton to win the Elimination Chamber by pinning Rhodes, WWE instantly established a new foe for both Drew and Cody.
Randy Orton Won’t Receive A One-on-One WrestleMania Title Match
Despite Orton winning Saturday’s Elimination Chamber match, he is highly unlikely to get a one-one bout with the Scottish Warrior.
A recent report from Wrestlevotes stated: “The expectation is a five-pack or even a six-pack challenge. It’s wild to think that Aleister Black, Jacob Fatu, and Sami Zayn could all be part of the WWE Title match at WrestleMania. Whether it’s a four-man, five-man, or even six-man, but it certainly won’t be a one-on-one match.”
By giving Orton the victory, the company instantly added an unexpected element of intrigue to the WWE Championship picture at WrestleMania. The match that was once expected to headline WWE’s biggest show of the year – McIntyre vs Rhodes – will instead take place on this week’s edition of SmackDown.
In theory, the winner of the match will go on to face Orton at WrestleMania, but it would be no shock to see the likes of Fatu, Black or Zayn added to the championship bout. Assuming that the eventual title match features more than four participants, it will officially be the biggest main event in WrestleMania history.
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