Randy Orton is working through injuries ahead of his WrestleMania 42 match with Cody Rhodes, and Dave Meltzer says that while Orton is still expected to win, nothing is locked in for Saturday night. Meltzer said on the 4:45 mark that if Orton does not come out on top, “It Randy doesn't win, it's an injury thing,” adding, “But Randy's absolutely supposed to win, yes.”
That matters because Orton’s status now sits at the center of more than one WWE plan. Pat McAfee has been insisting he will leave WWE entirely if Rhodes wins, while WWE is reportedly looking to pair McAfee with Orton in a tag match against Rhodes and Jelly Roll at Backlash in May. Orton added to the storyline last Friday when he attacked Jelly Roll on SmackDown.
The current read is that Orton is supposed to beat Rhodes, but the injuries have created a real off-ramp if WWE decides to protect him instead. That leaves room for a shift in the post-WrestleMania direction, especially if the company wants to keep the Rhodes-Orton thread alive long enough to carry into Backlash in May.
Another WrestleMania 42 program is also being watched for signs of a turn. Sami Zayn is set to defend the Intercontinental Championship against Trick Williams on the second night of WrestleMania 42, and BodySlam.net reported that WWE creative is weighing a double-turn between the two. The report says Zayn is a natural babyface who can also work as a compelling heel, but that the reaction around him is not positive right now.
Zayn’s setup has been built around familiar hard facts: his lopsided record against Drew McIntyre and the reality that he has never been a world champion in WWE. That makes the title defense against Trick more than a routine championship match. It is a chance to reset both men, and possibly to do it in a way that changes how fans are meant to feel about Zayn when the show ends.
Orton’s injuries may decide one outcome on Saturday night, but they also ripple forward into May, where WWE already appears to have a tag match in mind. If Orton cannot go the way the company planned, the entire Rhodes-McAfee-Jelly Roll picture could shift with it.
