Cody Rhodes is making it clear he believes WrestleMania 42 is shaping up to deliver — even after admitting he wasn’t totally sold on the lineup earlier in the build.
While speaking during a conversation on Busted Open Radio, Rhodes reflected on comments he made weeks ago when the WrestleMania card was still coming together. At the time, he used the phrase “sleeper Mania,” something he now says didn’t come out the way he intended. Rhodes explained that the comment happened before many of the matches were officially announced, and once the lineup started filling in, his view of the event changed in a big way.
“Uh, you have Roman Reigns versus CM Punk. Brock—Oba. Yeah. Uh, Stephanie—Liv, Jade—Rhea, it’s coming together. Sami—Trick. Uh, I use the word and I made the mistake, you know, when you do like the interviews, every wrestler, everybody who interviews wrestlers knows this. You say something and you hate how it sounded, but I remember saying a few weeks ago that we got a sleeper Mania here.”
Rhodes went on to clarify exactly what he meant, saying the earlier remark wasn’t meant as criticism of the show — it was simply made before the full picture was clear. Now that the major matches are locked in, he believes the event is built to deliver strong action from start to finish.
“And I think I said that because nobody really knew the rest of the card. But what I meant was we have a very, very, very good bell-to-bell WrestleMania that aims to top the WrestleMania prior and I am very excited about my match and WrestleMania in general.”
As WrestleMania 42 gets closer, the pressure continues to build, especially for Rhodes as he prepares to defend his championship on the biggest stage of the year. Whether the show lives up to expectations or not, one thing is clear — the roster believes the pieces are finally in place.
- Undisputed WWE Championship
Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton - World Heavyweight Championship
CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns - WWE Women’s Championship
Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley - Women’s World Championship
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan - Women’s Intercontinental Championship
AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch - United States Championship
Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams - Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
Penta vs. Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Rusev - Women’s Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way
Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria vs. The Bella Twins vs. The Irresistible Forces - Unsanctioned Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu - Singles Match
Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi - Singles Match
Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor - Host
John Cena confirmed as WrestleMania 42 host
Now the card is loaded, the stage is set, and the stakes couldn’t be bigger. Cody Rhodes says this show is built to top last year — but once the lights hit and the bell rings, there’s nowhere to hide if it doesn’t deliver.
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