Whoever wins at WrestleMania 42, Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton are reportedly set to square off again at Backlash in May.
In February, Randy Orton won the Elimination Chamber to secure a shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42. At the time, it looked like The Viper would be facing Drew McIntyre for the gold. However, Cody Rhodes recaptured the title from McIntyre just over a week later on SmackDown, setting him on a collision course with his onetime mentor.
The road to WrestleMania has seen Orton turn on Rhodes and align with a returning Pat McAfee, who is acting as Orton’s manager. As well as attacking The American Nightmare, Orton has also taken out country star Jelly Roll, who had tried to bring the 14-time World Champion to his senses.
Now, it has been reported that the story will continue past WrestleMania, and all four men will be involved in a Tag Team Match at Backlash. According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the current plan is for McAfee and Orton to take on Rhodes and Jelly Roll at the event.
“McAfee will team with Orton against Rhodes & Jelly Roll coming out of WrestleMania and be a key match at the Backlash PPV on 5/9, at least as of plans that were confirmed to us by multiple people and were still in play at press time.”
Jelly Roll has experience in Tag Team matches, having teamed with Orton in his first bout at SummerSlam in August. The pair took on Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre in a losing effort, with Jelly Roll taking the pin after Paul hit him with a Frog Splash.
Pat McAfee Planning “Huge Surprise” For WWE SmackDown Ahead Of Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton
Pat McAfee has promised a surprise for the April 10th episode of SmackDown. After praising Randy Orton as the man who would save the wrestling business and prevail over Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania, the former commentator teased that he would be making an announcement during the show.
