WWE returns this evening, April 18, 2026, for night one of their two-night premium live event on “The Grandest Stage of Them All,” as WrestleMania 42 Saturday takes place from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV.
The usual show-starting ‘WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together.’ opening signature airs, narrated by Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque. We then shoot to the pre-show panel, where Joe Tessitore welcomes us to ‘Countdown to WrestleMania 42’ live from Las Vegas, NV.
Tessitore is joined by Big E., Wade Barrett and Corey Graves. After some initial back-and-forth banter and introductions, the four talk about some of the matches scheduled for tonight. We take a look at our first of many video packages telling the story leading up to matches on tonight’s show.
Now we return to the panel, where the gang give their thoughts on the iShowSpeed & The Vision vs. LA Knight & The Usos opening six-man tag-team bout. We then see the video package promoting AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Title. Jackie Redmond briefly interviews AJ backstage live.
We see footage of the Liv Morgan “Trouble” music video, and some of the reactions to it on YouTube. The panelists talk about it and then we see Stephanie Vaquer, without any face-paint, walking in a dress as she arrives to the building. The Morgan-Vaquer video package airs after that.
Michael Cole checks in live and talks about the legacy of Hulk Hogan, and how he got to commentate his WrestleMania match against Vince McMahon years ago. We also have a live interview with Cathy Kelley talking to a nervous iShowSpeed ahead of his show-opening WWE in-ring debut.
A portion of Joe Tessitore’s lengthy one-on-one sit-down interview with Roman Reigns airs. Reigns talks about how things between he and CM Punk started off well many moons ago. He talks about how that changed over time. Shawn Michaels joins the pre-show panel live for two segments to talk about a bunch of topics.
As Michaels wraps up his analysis on the Punk-Reigns rivalry, which he compares to his own with Bret Hart in the past, he tags out on the pre-show panel. Tagging in for his spot alongside Tessitore, Barrett and Big E. is none other than new WWE Hall of Fame legend AJ Styles.
After Styles brings up the possibility of Randy Orton just using Pat McAfee before taking him out with an RKO after getting from him what he needs, he checks out from the pre-show panel. We see Joe Tessitore’s sit-down interview with Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque.
The panel checks out and sends us down to the entrance stage. A full choir sings God Bless America to get the evening started. We then cut to the cold open video package narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda for the premium live event portion of tonight’s event.
Host John Cena Kicks Off WrestleMania 42 Saturday
After the cold open wraps up, we shoot inside Allegiant Stadium where Michael Cole welcomes us to WrestleMania 42, presented by Snickers and 2K26. The familiar sounds of John Cena’s theme hits and out comes the host of this weekend’s two-night premium live event on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”
Cena makes his way to the ring in a suit, looking as dapper as ever. He settles inside the ring to a big pop from the live crowd. He gets on the microphone and says he didn’t expect that. He mentions how there has been a lot of talk online and backstage about tonight. He welcomes us to the show and pyro explodes.
iShowSpeed, Logan Paul & Austin Theory vs. LA Knight, ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso
The theme for ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso hits and out he comes alongside “Big” Jimmy Uso. The Usos make their “YEET”-tastic entrance through the crowd, stopping at ringside to slap fives with Michael Cole and Wade Barrett, who are on the call for tonight’s show.
The twin brother duo settle inside the squared circle and their music dies down. The radio screech hits and out in a big pickup truck comes LA Knight. The crowd give him a big pop coming out. “The Megastar” joins his teammates The Usos in the ring and his entrance tune wraps up.
Now the “Humble” theme hits. The Vision logo flashes on the entrance area and we see a front and back split-screen camera shot of Logan Paul and Austin Theory with the WWE World Tag-Team Championships, and their partner, streaming giant iShowSpeed, who is wearing a cape. The screen multiply, Zoom-style, as they walk to the ring.
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with our first match of the evening. LA Knight and iShowSpeed kick things off for their respective teams. Knight immediately goes to work on him. iShowSpeed hits a slam and over-celebrates. He notices Knight stalking and flees to the outside.
The two teams yell at each other as the bell rings. The Usos superkick Logan Paul and Austin Theory out of the ring, leaving a terrified iShowSpeed. LA Knight goes after Speed. Speed hooks a side headlock, but Knight stands up with the headlock applied, taking Speed off his feet.
Speed backflips through a back suplex and backflips off the top rope, landing on his feet. Knight clotheslines Speed down and punches Paul off the apron. Speed catches Knight with a scoop slam and celebrates like he won the match. Knight gets up, looking confused.
Speed blind tags Paul and gets out of the ring. Knight brings the Maverick in the hard way and bounces him off the top turnbuckle. Knight stomps Paul down, as the crowd shouts, “YEAH” with each stomp. “Main Event” Jey Uso tags in, and he climbs to the second rope for the ten punches.
Each punch gets a “YEET.” Jimmy Uso tags in, and the Usos send Paul into the ropes for a double-team back elbow/elbow drop combo. Jimmy picks up a two-count. Jimmy stands Paul up and chops his chest. Jimmy sends Paul into the ropes, but Paul holds on and boots him back.
Austin Theory blind tags in. Jimmy sends Paul over the top rope, and Theory hits him with a rolling thunder dropkick. Theory knocks Jey off the apron and punches away at Jimmy. Paul tags back in. The Vision hits Jimmy with a double-team vertical suplex before getting up and posing to loud boos.
Paul stomps Jimmy, and they point at iShowSpeed. Speed pumps himself up as he tags in. Moments later, we see the finishing sequence, which sees Knight hit the BFT on Speed for the pin. After the match, Paul bosses Speed around more, and it blows up in his face. Speed hits a top-of-the-ring-post splash to Paul through the table. Speed “YEET’s” with the winners.
Winners: LA Knight & The Usos
Unsanctioned Match
Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre
We shift gears and prepare for our second match of the evening. This, like the previous opening six-man bout, airs free on ESPN 2. After this, it’s ESPN Unlimited app only in North America. Jacob Fatu has Samoan fire dancers come out. He comes out behind them in a Samoan Werewolf costume.
He makes his bad-ass ring entrance and settles inside the squared circle, where his music dies down. The familiar sounds of Drew McIntyre’s entrance tune hits the house speakers inside Allegiant Stadium next. “The Scottish Warrior” emerges with a sword from a castle-looking set up, complete with a door dropping down.
As McIntyre is finishing up his ring entrance, before the match is officially started, Fatu bum-rushes him and gets things in this Unsanctioned Match off earlier than expected. Fatu beats down McIntyre at ringside and begins looking for some weapons. He pulls out a toolbox.
The commentators bring up CM Punk using the same style toolbox and its’ inside-goodies on McIntyre in their gruesome Hell In A Cell match in the past. They show McIntyre backing up in fear, as Cole and Barrett suggest he has PTSD. McIntyre ends up taking over, however, moments later.
McIntyre quickly kicks Fatu down and slams the back of his head into the steel scaffolding of the ring. McIntyre hits a guillotine catapult into the steel before setting a table up. McIntyre grabs a phone from his brother and does another WrestleMania tweet mid-match.
McIntyre gets Fatu in the ring and grabs a wrench. Fatu clotheslines him down before sending him into the ropes, but he lowers his head and eats a kick. Fatu fights back and takes McIntyre down with a clothesline before hitting a senton splash. Fatu headbutts away at him in the corner before hitting a running hip attack.
Fatu struts around the ring and gyrates a la Umaga. Fatu ducks a clothesline from McIntyre and hits a pop-up Samoan Drop for a two-count. Fatu grabs a steel chair, but McIntyre leaps toward him with a flying Glasgow Kiss. McIntyre wedges a chair in the corner of the ring. Fatu reverses a whip into the chair, but McIntyre avoids it.
McIntyre catapults him headfirst into the ring post before turning him inside out with an inverted German Suplex. Fatu rolls out of the ring and tries to get to his feet. McIntyre hits the ropes and takes out Fatu with a somersault senton! McIntyre quickly gets Fatu in the ring and starts to count down.
Fatu ducks a Claymore Kick. Fatu drives McIntyre headfirst into the chair wedged in the corner! Fatu immediately follows up with a Mighty Moonsault. McIntyre kicks out. McIntyre manages to grab a wrench and hits Fatu in the knee with it. McIntyre hits him on the head with the wrench and digs it into his forehead.
McIntyre smiles maniacally. McIntyre sets two chairs up seat-to-seat. McIntyre sends him through the chairs with a falcon arrow for a near fall. McIntyre threatens Dan Engler, a favorite target of his, for not counting fast enough. McIntyre pulls Engler’s belt from his pants and swings it around.
Fatu superkicks McIntyre before he can hit him with the belt. Fatu grabs a steel chair and smashes it on his back. Fatu grabs another chair and hits McIntyre with it. Fatu grabs the belt and whips McIntyre’s back with it six times! McIntyre groans in pain with each whip. Fatu nods and smiles.
Fatu grabs the toolbox, but McIntyre stuns him with a Claymore Kick. Fatu barely kicks out. McIntyre is furious with the referee and shoves him. They trade punches from their knees before getting to their feet and going back and forth. Fatu eventually takes McIntyre down with a flurry of headbutts.
Fatu grabs a table, which has some Slim Jim sponsorships on it, and sets it up in the ring. Fatu puts McIntyre on the table and headbutts him. Fatu smashes a chair across McIntyre’s front. Fatu climbs the top rope, but McIntyre throws a chair into his head before smashing it off his back. McIntyre then puts Fatu through a ringside table.
McIntyre rolls Fatu into the ring and sizes up the Samoan Werewolf. Fatu fights back with a pair of superkicks. Fatu grabs the toolbox and cracks McIntyre in the skull with it, knocking him onto the table! Fatu immediately hits a Mighty Moonsault for the victory. The crowd loved it.
Winner: Jacob Fatu
WWE Women’s Tag-Team Championships
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria vs. Brie Bella & Paige vs. The Irresistible Forces (c)
Now it’s time for a four-women’s tag-team title tilt. Out first in a goth outfit with massive wings, is Alexa Bliss. Charlotte Flair’s theme hits and out she comes with even bigger colorful wings. The two head to the ring. In matching outfits next comes Bayley and Lyra Valkyria.
From there, the reigning and defending WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions The Irresistible Forces come out. Nia Jax and Lash Legend come out in all white, with masks on. The commentators point out they are a tribute to new WWE Hall of Fame inductees Demolition, who are shown watching at ringside.
The Bella Twins’ theme hits and the crowd pops as the duo of Nikki Bella and Brie Bella come out. Nikki is on a crutch and holding a microphone. Their music dies down. Nikki says she tried but couldn’t get medically cleared. She wasn’t going to ruin Brie’s WrestleMania moment.
She says with that in mind, to take her place, she called an old friend. The theme for Paige hits and the crowd goes ballistic. Out comes the former AEW star known as Saraya, once again as Paige in WWE. She and Brie, accompanied by Nikki, make their way to the ring as the pop grows.
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. Brie Bella, Lash Legend, Bayley and Alexa Bliss kick things off at the onset. Legend runs over all of them before avalanching Bella. Nia Jax tags in. The Irresistible Forces hit Bayley with a Samaon Drop/big boot combo.
Bliss kicks Jax back and tags Charlotte Flair in. Flair hits a diving crossbody block on Jax and sends her out of the ring. Flair chops Bella before Bayley elbows her in the face. Lyra Valkyria tags in, but Flair goes for a Figure Four. Bella rolls Flair up for a two-count.
Bella uses Valkyria as a weapon against Flair. Bella starts hitting Flair and Valkyria with YES Kicks. Bella then points to Paige. Bella hits Valkyria with an enzuigiri. Flair rolls her up, but Bella kicks out. Jax pulls Bella out of the ring and sends her into the barricade. Lash Legend tags in and slams Bella on the apron.
Flair boots Jax off the apron before turning into a bicycle kick from Legend. Legend poses and taunts Bayley. Flair boots Legend and hits a backbreaker. Bliss tags in and hits a flying tornado DDT on Legend. Valkyria sends Bliss into the corner and forearms her. Bayley tags in and hits a running back elbow on Bliss.
Valkyria tags back in and hits a running corner clothesline. Bayley is back in. Valkyria hits a backbreaker before Bayley hits a flying elbow drop. 1… 2… Legend pulls Bayley off. Bella tries to tag Paige, but Legend slams her into her corner. Legend puts Bella on the top rope, but Valkyria attacks.
Valkyria climbs and attacks Bella. Bliss joins in. Bliss and Valkyria go for a double-team superplex. Legend runs up and powerbombs Valkyria and Bliss down. Bella then takes Legend out with a missile dropkick. Jax tags in, as does Flair. Flair boots Bayley and falls over. Jax headbutts Flair.
Paige, who was forced into an early retirement years ago, tags in for her first WWE match. Paige runs wild on everyone with clotheslines before hitting Bayley with a fisherman’s suplex. The crowd gives her a huge ovation. Legend puts Paige on the apron. The cameraman filming this falls over in an amazing WrestleMania moment.
Paige fights Legend off. Valkryia rolls through a crossbody from Paige and goes for Nightwing, but Paige slides off and hits a Paige Turner. Bayley breaks it up. Jax hits Bayley with a Samoan Drop before going for a powerbomb on Brie. Valkyria pushes Jax and Bella over the top rope.
Legend hits Valkyria with a Lash Extension, but Flair and Paige break it up. Paige and Flair hit Legend with a double-team clothesline over the top rope. Former teammates and rivals Paige and Flair square off to a nice ovation. They go back and forth with forearm shots before Flair chops her down.
Flair goes for a Figure Four, but Paige rolls her up for a two-count. Flair quickly hits Natural Selection and tags Bliss in. Nikki Bella pulls Flair out of the ring and smashes her with her crutch. Flair yells, “Oh shit!” Paige gets her knees up to counter Twisted Bliss. Paige hits the RamPaige. We have new champs. Paige gets emotional.
Winners and NEW WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions: Paige & Brie Bella
WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship
AJ Lee (c) vs. Becky Lynch
We see a second celebrity cameo count, with Cole and Barrett pointing out famous faces in the crowd. The Wonder Years are then introduced. They appear on stage and begin performing Becky Lynch’s theme song live. “The Man” emerges in a giant blue fur coat as pyro explodes.
AJ Lee makes her ring entrance next, coming out to a bunch of mini-AJ Lee’s, little kids dressed up like AJ Lee and skipping like she does. The real AJ Lee skips out with the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship and makes her way to the ring. The bell sounds to get things officially off-and-running.
Lynch kicks her, but Lee quickly reverses a whip and hits an arm drag. Lynch fights up and sends her into the ropes for a dropkick, but Lee holds the ropes. Lee shows her up by sitting on the ropes and rolling her eyes. Lynch angrily charges, but Lee sends her out of the ring.
Lee goes for a crossbody block to the floor, but Lynch catches her and hits a fallaway slam into the LED barricade. Lynch gets Lee in the ring, goes to the top rope, and hits a flying leg drop for a two-count. Lynch avalanches her in the corner and hits a Bexploder for a two-count.
Lynch grabs Lee’s hair and slams her on the mat before the referee admonishes her. Lynch has had many problems with Jessika Carr over the last few months. Lynch takes the top turnbuckle pad off, but Carr stops her. Lynch yells at her, and Carr says she’s insane. Lee rolls Lynch up for a two-count.
Lynch and Lee throw fists in the center of the ring, with Lee coming out on top. Lee knees her back and goes for a tornado DDT, but Lynch throws her off. Lee elbows her in the jaw and clotheslines her. Lee avalanches her against the ropes, but Lynch quickly fights back. Lee sweeps her feet and goes to the top rope for a missile dropkick.
Lee picks up a two-count. Lee counters a Black Widow, but Lee comes back with Sliced Bread. Lee goes for a Shining Wizard, but Lynch counters with a powerbomb for a near fall. Lee has a bruise on her thigh. Lynch goes for a Manhandle Slam, but Lee counters with a wheelbarrow arm drag.
Lee goes for a Black Widow, but Lynch slams her into the turnbuckles before hitting a Manhandle Slam! 1… 2… Lee kicks out! Lynch cannot believe it. Lynch gets Lee in the corner and stomps her down. The referee admonishes her, so Lynch gets in her face. Carr shouts back at her. Lynch shoves her, so Carr shoves her back.
Lynch is furious and charges her, but Carr ducks. Lee hits Lynch with a Manhandle Slam. Lynch kicks out of her own move! Lynch and Lee trade punches from their knees before getting to their feet. Lynch goes for a Manhandle Slam, but Lee counters into the Black Widow! Lynch screams in pain and reaches for the ropes.
Lynch grabs Lee’s hair and pulls her down. Lynch then sneakily pulls the turnbuckle pad off. Lynch pulls Carr in front of her as Lee goes for an avalanche. Lynch smashes Lee’s face off the exposed turnbuckle and hits the Manhandle Slam! The referee didn’t see it. Lynch wins. We have a new champ.
Winner and NEW WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion: Becky Lynch
Gunther vs. Seth Rollins
We see another round of celebrity cameos in the crowd, and then prepare for our next match of the evening. The familiar sounds of Gunther’s theme hits and out comes “The Career-Killer” for his singles showdown against Seth Rollins. He settles in the ring and his music fades off.
Now the theme for Seth Rollins’ hits and out comes “The Visionary” and “The Revolutionary” of WWE, complete with pyro for his entrance. He comes out with all black contact lenses in his eyes, looking like that guitarist dude from Limp Bizkit. He has a Mortal Kombat style face-mask on, too.
After he settles in the ring, things get underway. In the end, Bron Breakker returns, spears Rollins half to death, leading to Gunther choking Rollins out for the win. After the match, Breakker sprints down the long WrestleMania aisle and hits another wicked spear. Paul Heyman comes out and he and Breakker hug.
Winner: Gunther
2026 Class Of WWE Hall Of Fame
The 2026 class of the WWE Hall of Fame are honored. The ring announcer does the individual introductions for each of the inductees, who come out to the top of the entrance stage to soak in love from the massive crowd inside Allegiant Stadium. AJ Styles and Stephanie McMahon got special music entrances.
WWE Women’s World Championship
Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan
Now it’s time for championship action, as we set the stage for our co-main event of night one of WrestleMania 42, which features “La Primera” Stephanie Vaquer defending her WWE Women’s World Championship against Liv Morgan of Judgment Day.
We shoot to the Liv Morgan “Trouble” music video. When it gets to the seated on the chairs part with their backs to the camera, we return live inside the stadium to the sight of Liv Morgan and her dancers doing that part live. She stands up and is thrown around by a guy dancer without a shirt.
The girls then tear her clothes off and she walks to the ring. From there, she settles inside and her music dies down. Epic entrance for Morgan. The theme for Stephanie Vaquer hits and out comes the reigning WWE Women’s World Champion with a grand entrance of her own.
After the bell sounds, Morgan and Vaquer immediately collide and get after it. Vaquer takes the early offensive lead. She hits her Devil’s Kiss spot for a big crowd pop. It isn’t much later, however, that Morgan takes over. Morgan sets up for a Devil’s Kiss of her own, but Vaquer avoids it.
Raquel Rodriguez begins getting involved at ringside, as does Roxanne Perez. Vaquer sends Perez into Rodriguez. She hits a dive onto the floor on both of them, but this allows Morgan to send Vaquer into the steal steps. Back in the ring, Morgan hits a middle rope Codebreaker and an Oblivion for the win. We have a new champ.
Winner and NEW WWE Women’s World Champion: Liv Morgan
John Cena Attendance Announcement & Bianca Belair’s Big Surprise
After opening the show, “The Greatest of All-Time” John Cena also came out before the main event to announce the officially reported WrestleMania 42 Saturday attendance of 50,817. Cena initially announced 50,860, but corrected himself later.
Soon after, the familiar sounds of Bianca Belair’s theme hit and she came out dressed to the nines as “The EST of WWE” made her long-awaited return after spending several months on the sideline due to finger injury issues. She looks emotional.
Belair settled inside the ring, joining Cena, who flashed an ear-to-ear smile at her. Belair got on the microphone and fought back tears. “You know you can’t spell WrestleMania without EST!” She then mentioned how you can’t have WrestleMania without some surprises. She then takes her entrance gear off and reveals a baby bump. She announces that she is pregnant. “The EST is having a baby!”
Undisputed WWE Championship
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton (w/ Pat McAfee)
It’s main event time!
A WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia video package airs to promote next year’s two-night WWE premium live event on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.” After that, we switch gears and get ready for our final match of the evening. The special video for Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton airs to set the stage.
Back live we return, where we hear, “Hey …let’s go!” Pat McAfee’s theme hits and out comes the advocate of Randy Orton to a ton of boos from the Las Vegas crowd. His music dies down and Randy Orton’s “Voices” plays. He takes his sweet ass time walking to the ring. The song plays a few times and the crowd loudly sings the whole time.
Cody Rhodes’ gets a special entrance, as a video plays and we see a few statues on the stage. We see a “Dashing” Cody Rhodes, a Stardust and “The American Nightmare.” Eventually his catchy-ass theme song plays and he emerges in a big gold American Nightmare ring entrance jacket. He heads to the ring and he’s fired up.
Alicia Taylor begins the final formal pre-match ring introductions for this one, however, Pat McAfee yanks the microphone from her and does a custom heel intro for Orton. She then handles the intro for Rhodes. Charles Robinson is the referee for this one. He holds the title up high.
Before the bell, McAfee hops on the mic again and “says one more thing before you ring that bell …” and then cheap-shots Rhodes with the microphone. Orton follows up and beats down Rhodes. Rhodes fights back and takes out McAfee with a Cross-Rhodes for a big pop.
Rhodes follows McAfee out to the floor. He clears off the commentary desk and puts McAfee on it. Out of nowhere, we see Jelly Roll at ringside. Jelly looks at Cody and nods. He hops on the opposing commentary desk. He leaps from that table to land an elbow that puts McAfee through the other. He yells that it’s one-on-one now.
The referee tends to McAfee and calls for help. Medics rush out with a stretcher. McAfee is loaded up on the stretcher as we still await the actual start of our Undisputed WWE Championship main event. Fans sing “Nana nana, hey hey hey, goodbye” as McAfee is helped onto the stretcher.
Finally, with McAfee out of the picture, and Jelly Roll as well, we see Rhodes and Orton in the ring ready to rock and roll. The bell sounds to get things officially off-and-running. Cole and Barrett spend quite a bit of time talking about rumors of Orton having a back injury heading into this match.
Rhodes weathers Orton’s initial onslaught before taking a stretch in control. Rhodes targets Orton’s rumored-to-be-injured back, and Orton sells it, often grabbing his back and generally moving slower. Rhodes stays aggressive, using targeted strikes and working holds to wear down Orton’s purportedly-injured back.
Rhodes uses a half-crab for a lengthy period to keep the Viper grounded on the canvas. Rhodes spends several moments in control, all the while targeting Orton’s lower back. Commentary praises Cody’s aggressive targeting of Orton’s weakness, in fact.
This goes on for several moments, with Orton increasingly showing signs of wear and tear. He’s moving slower, and the frequent covers from Cody are taking a toll on his injured back. Cody looks to climb the ropes at 9:37pm. Orton climbs and chops Cody, causing Rhodes to drop to the turnbuckle crotch-smash style.
Orton takes a few moments, stretching his back, before climbing up after Rhodes. Orton and Rhodes exchange fists, battling on the turnbuckles. Orton finishes the sequence with a beautiful Suplex off the middle turnbuckle. Orton with a series of clotheslines, chaining together moves for his first big offensive streak of the night.
Snap powerslam from Orton. Orton positions Rhodes on the apron and hits his vintage Draping DDT, laying out the champ! The move takes a toll on Orton’s back too, however. Orton wants an RKO but instead of swinging his body and dropping down, he slowly lowers himself down to the canvas and begins to pound it.
This delay gives Rhodes time to avoid the RKO. Rhodes sends Orton out of the ring and looks for a suicide attack. Orton catches him with a big right, shutting it down. Orton takes Cody outside and back drops him across the announce table. Rhodes begins to battle back, taking the action inside after sending Orton face-first into the ring post.
Orton’s busted open. Cody begins to beat Orton’s ass around the ring, stomping mudholes into him and focusing strikes on Orton’s bloody forehead. Cody angrily kicks and stomps at Orton, taunting him with off-mic comments in between strikes. Rhodes with a Disaster Kick, then covers for two. Orton stomps at Orton some more, continuing to maintain his lengthy stretch in control.
Rhodes soaks up the boos as he continues to dominate Orton. Cody sets up, and executes, the Draping DDT on Orton. Cody then spins and drops to the mat, Orton style, pounding it and calling for an RKO. He charges a rising Orton; Orton sends Cody into the turnbuckles, grabs him on the rebound, and hits a Cross Rhodes on Cody! Orton covers for two.
Orton calls for an RKO but Rhodes counters with a backslide attempt. Cody hits an RKO on Orton as he escapes, covering for two. McAfee ends up returning in a referee shirt, right after Orton laid out Rhodes. He goes for the count, but Rhodes kicks out and moments later, gets the win to retain. Afterwards, Orton blasts Rhodes with the title and hits a punt. That’s how night one goes off the air. Thanks for joining us!
Winner and STILL Undisputed WWE Champion: Cody Rhodes