WWE Replacement For Cody Rhodes Due To WrestleMania 42 Injury

WWE

At WrestleMania 42 Night One, Cody Rhodes defeated Randy Orton to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship.

After the win, Rhodes was attacked by Orton, who blasted him with the WWE Title and then delivered a Punt Kick to the head.

Following the event, it was revealed that Cody suffered a severe orbital injury due to the bout and post match attack. This opens the question if the company will need a replacement for Rhodes as a top star and Undisputed WWE Champion coming out of Mania.

Here are eight WWE replacements for Cody Rhodes due to his WrestleMania 42 injury.

8. Randy Orton

While he is coming off a loss at WrestleMania 42, Randy Orton is someone who could easily step in to replace Cody Rhodes.

The 14-time world champion fought hard to get the elusive number 15 at “The Show of Shows,” but due to his relationship with Pat McAfee, he was unable to get the job done.

After his Punt Kick to the head of Rhodes, this could open the door for Orton to waltz in and capture the Undisputed WWE Championship.

“The Legend Killer” has what it takes to dethrone Rhodes or even win the vacant WWE Title if Cody is forced to relinquish the gold following WrestleMania 42, and given that he was reportedly originally planned to win the gold at WrestleMania 42, this seems the likeliest and most logical outcome if Rhodes is out.

7. Drew McIntyre

Back on the March 6 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, Cody Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre to win the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Since then, McIntyre has been embroiled in his rivalry with Jacob Fatu heading into WrestleMania 42.

Then at Mania, Fatu defeated McIntyre in an Unsanctioned Match. However, “The Scottish Warrior” could regain his momentum by rebounding with a win after “The Show of Shows.”

McIntyre replacing Rhodes now that he might be injured coming out of Mania would make sense and start to rehab him from the series of losses that he has gotten lately.

6. Royce Keys

On the April 17 pre-WrestleMania 42 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, Royce Keys won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

After this huge victory, Keys could have what it takes to find himself with a bigger spot on the card on the blue brand.

The former Powerhouse Hobbs has the experience, strength and presence that could see him launched to the stratosphere moving forward.

With his friendship and history with Cody Rhodes from their time in AEW, it would make sense if Keys was given the ball to replace “The American Nightmare” and look for revenge on Randy Orton following Mania.

5. Jelly Roll

Another individual who has remained close to Cody Rhodes on the road to WrestleMania 42 is Jelly Roll.

The Grammy Award winner tried his best to counteract and take out Pat McAfee ahead of Rhodes’ showdown with Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 Night One.

Despite McAfee coming back out to play the referee role, Jelly did do damage to the former NFL punter with an elbow drop through the commentary table.

Whether it be a temporary fix or something he might have to do a little longer, Jelly could replace Rhodes and be the one to enact revenge on his former tag team partner Orton at the upcoming WWE Backlash 2026 event.

4. Aleister Black

Coming out of WrestleMania 42, news circulated that the Pat McAfee involvement in the Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton feud wasn’t the original pitch.

PWInsider reported that Aleister Black was the original idea for the person to be in Orton’s ear in the build to WrestleMania.

For weeks leading into WWE Elimination Chamber 2026, Black was getting in Orton’s head and trying to bring out the real “Apex Predator” again.

After he has been seen in various backstage segments during the Undisputed WWE Championship program heading into Mania, it would be logical to see Black replace Rhodes and take on Orton in the aftermath of “The Showcase of the Immortals.”

3. Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn has been entrenched into the Undisputed WWE Championship picture throughout 2026.

After losing to Drew McIntyre in a title match at WWE Royal Rumble 2026, Zayn has been showing his frustrations in a major way, especially in his interactions with his “friend,” Cody Rhodes.

Seemingly angered by Cody consistently getting opportunities that he feels he deserves, Zayn has teased a heel turn that came to fruition during his feud with Trick Williams that culminated at WrestleMania 42.

Following his United States Championship loss at Mania, Zayn could find himself right back into the main title scene, replacing Cody Rhodes if he is unable to compete following his injury.

2. Trick Williams

At WWE WrestleMania 42 Night Two, Trick Williams defeated Sami Zayn to win the United States Championship.

This felt like a culmination of the rise of Williams since being called up to the WWE main roster at the start of 2026.

After winning his first singles title on SmackDown, there should be nothing stopping Williams from reaching even further heights.

If Cody Rhodes is sidelined for a long time with his injury following Mania, WWE would be hard-pressed to find another young star more ready for the main event picture on the level of popularity and poise of Trick right now.

1. Jacob Fatu

Another WWE star who picked up a major victory at WrestleMania 42 was Jacob Fatu.

Putting his rivalry with Drew McIntyre to bed, “The Samoan Werewolf” picked up a massive win in an Unsanctioned Match on Mania Night One.

Now that McIntyre has been removed from his focus, Fatu can set his sights back on the Undisputed WWE Championship.

If Cody Rhodes is now out of the way with his injury, Fatu might just be the best possible options to replace him and should be ready to become the Undisputed WWE Champion in short order.

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• wwe
• WrestleMania
• Cody Rhodes
• WrestleMania 42

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