WrestleMania 42 Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton Undisputed Title WWE 2K26 Gameplay

WrestleMania 42, also promoted as WrestleMania Vegas, is an upcoming 2026 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It will be the 42nd annual WrestleMania and will take place as a two-night event on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19, 2026, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. Originally set to take place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 11 and 12, WrestleMania 42 was relocated back to the Las Vegas Valley and pushed back a week due to the financial success of 2025's WrestleMania 41, with Las Vegas offering a higher bid to again host the event. This will be the third WrestleMania in the Las Vegas area, including WrestleMania IX in 1993, and the second consecutive held at the venue, marking only the second time WrestleMania will be held at the same venue in consecutive years. This will be the first WrestleMania to livestream on the ESPN streaming service in the United States and the first WrestleMania to air live on ESPN's linear channels, as the first hour of each night will also air on ESPN2 and ESPN, respectively. Retired WWE wrestler John Cena is set to host the event. At Elimination Chamber, SmackDown's Randy Orton won the men's Elimination Chamber match to earn a title match for his own brand's Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42. On that week's SmackDown, Cody Rhodes won the championship, confirming his status as the defending champion. Over the prior few months, a match between the two had been teased, especially with their history together as former members of a stable called The Legacy. The two had been good friends since Rhodes returned to WWE in 2022. However, during the contract signing on the March 13 episode of SmackDown, a conflicted Orton viciously attacked Rhodes, turning heel for the first time since 2021, with Orton determined to win his 15th world championship. In the weeks following Orton's betrayal, he was constantly on the phone receiving advice from a mysterious person, who was revealed to be Pat McAfee on the April 3 episode. McAfee then stated that he believed that WWE was going in a direction that nobody liked, and that Orton would save the business. Later, McAfee stated that if Orton lost, he would leave the professional wrestling industry forever. The match was later confirmed for Night 1. #WWE #WWE2K26 #WrestleMania42 #CodyRhodes #RandyOrton #PatMcafee