Summary

WWE originally considered having Randy Orton beat Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42.

Rhodes ultimately retained the WWE Championship in the pair's WrestleMania 42 main event, but Dave Meltzer said the plan at one point called for Orton to leave the show with the title instead.

Quote from Dave Meltzer

Meltzer said:

"Randy was supposed to win. I know that the finish to Cody winning did not, there's, you know, there's a lot of chaos the morning of the show. So I asked about that. Did that finish change the morning of the show? And there are people who said yes, but someone who I would trust more than anyone said no. No, it was decided before yesterday morning."

Why Cody Rhodes stayed champion

The plan changed in the final weeks before WrestleMania 42. A separate account also said WWE still intended to continue the Rhodes-Orton rivalry after the event, so the post-match angle advanced the feud instead of sending Orton out with the championship.

Keeping the title on Cody Rhodes meant the Rhodes-Orton issue could continue past WrestleMania 42 without a title change on the first night.

Randy Orton stayed in Cody Rhodes' title picture

Randy Orton being discussed for a WrestleMania title win shows WWE viewed him as more than a one-night challenger for Cody Rhodes. Even after the loss, Orton remained part of the championship picture because the feud continued after the match.

For Cody Rhodes, the change kept the championship on him and left the Orton feud unresolved. Rhodes left WrestleMania 42 with the belt and with a ready-made rival still attached to the title scene.

Sources

Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.