Je'Von Evans: "I'm so sorry."

Randy Orton: "It's okay, you're the F**KING man."

Randy knew those mistakes can really bring down confidence. The way he comforted Je’Von after that botched RKO just shows how damn professional Randy really is pic.twitter.com/rLaQO7E7ww

— Jake Reigns Hive (@left2reigns) November 28, 2025

While speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Evans discussed the mishap…

“No, we didn’t [walk through the spot]. It was literally just us saying, ‘Oh, this is gonna be a cool idea. Let’s do it.’ He was like, ‘You do like the spinny thing, and I catch you.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.’

Thanks to ChrisVanVliet.com for the quote.

The post Je’Von Evans says he was “pissed” about botching the RKO in his first match with Randy Orton appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Meltzer stated the following about Orton…

“Orton was one of those guys who claimed he wasn’t injured and just taking the summer off, but in fact he was injured. He was actually scheduled to beat [Cody] Rhodes at WrestleMania unless they felt his back was going to not allow it. When they realized that was the case, all kinds of plans were changed.”

“I could see Orton screwing Rhodes or [CM] Punk to keep the other out of the WWE title picture because there is no reason for him to return now unless it’s to work with one of those two, and Rhodes being the more likely one would think.”

Owens, who underwent successful neck fusion surgery in July of 2025, has lost weight during his road to recovery.

The post Kevin Owens and Randy Orton expected back on WWE television “very soon” appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

According to WrestleVotes Radio, sources within WWE say Orton is still expected to be in New York this weekend despite his autograph and photo opportunities being removed from the website. The report added that people at Fanatics are also expecting him to attend the event.

WrestleVotes emphasized that it is not reporting Orton will return at Saturday Night’s Main Event, stating that any connection between his expected presence in New York and a possible WWE appearance is purely speculation. It was previously reported that an internal document distributed in June referenced both Orton and Drew McIntyre in connection with WWE SummerSlam 2026.

Despite Randy Orton's autograph and photo opps being removed from Fanatics Fest, @WrestleVotes Radio on @FightfulSelect has learned that he's still expected to be in New York City and in attendance this weekend.

More details on Fightful Select! pic.twitter.com/A6QoMTisjV

— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) July 16, 2026

The post Update on Randy Orton after he was removed from 2026 Fanatics Fest advertisements appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Orton has reportedly been recovering from a back injury while McIntyre took time off to film his part in the upcoming Highlander movie.

As for CM Punk, he is also expected to be back on WWE telvision soon. WrestleVotes noted that all signs are pointing to his return on or by Monday July 6th when RAW emanates from the Allstate Arena in Chicago.

Sources indicate that Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre appear to be on track for a return in time for WWE SummerSlam, @WrestleVotes Radio on @FightfulSelect was told. pic.twitter.com/p8e47soaNA

— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) June 11, 2026

The post News regarding absent WWE stars including Randy Orton as SummerSlam 2026 approaches appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“It’s not a complete mystery. As everybody said I got fired for dumping Randy [Orton] on his head. If you slow that video down, you can see that his neck never comes into contact with the mat. Even just the way that he bumped, he bumped in a manner that lined up perfectly with the camera. So, you can actually see that. He says I dumped him on his head, but you can see the shadow of his neck. His neck is completely flat. From his shoulders to his ass was a complete straight-line flat bump.

The post Mr. Kennedy feels that Randy Orton and John Cena “worked together” to get him fired from WWE appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Orton has been out of action since WrestleMania and Cody has now started a feud with Gunther. In regards to Orton’s absence from WWE television, Meltzer stated the following…

“Back injury. That’s why he’s been gone since WrestleMania and it’s probably why he didn’t win the title. He’s got a back injury and it’s significant. He’s had it for years. It almost ended his career, came back, still there and that’s why he’s been out.” (quote courtesy of WrestlePurists.com)

It was previously noted that Orton was “hurting” heading into WrestleMania. Orton addressed the reports with the following comment via Twitter/X…

“Lmao just milking it guys, leave me alone I’m trying to enjoy my summer before I come back and take that #15.”

Lmao just milking it guys, leave me alone I’m trying to enjoy my summer before I come back and take that #15 https://t.co/dG49ObenGJ

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) May 17, 2026

The post Report: The reason why Randy Orton has been off WWE television since WrestleMania 42 appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Free time is harder to come by these days than cheap gas. It’s a precious commodity that escapes us all as the years roll by and the physical toll piles up. Tomorrow’s a new day, sure, but that doesn’t mean it won’t come with heartbreaking news or an unforeseen obstacle. I began putting this column together in mid-March, and my distracted ass is just now getting around to posting the damn thing. Spare time feels almost unobtainable at the moment, and the same can be said about the minutes and hours ticking down on Randy Orton’s active career.

Despite his debilitating aches and pains, The Legend Killer boasts a body of work at WrestleMania that very few can rival. We can’t currently see him because Randy’s on a John Cena-esque retirement tour and just hasn’t realized it yet, but I wanted to give The Viper his due nonetheless. It’s been a lengthy tale of hits, misses and hissy fits for Orton on wrestling’s grandest stage. This is how they rank according to the multiple voices in my head.

#21. versus Edge in a Last Man Standing Match (WM36)

As a massive Edgehead back in his heyday, it bums me out having to place The Rated R Superstar at the very bottom of my list. While the pandemic era produced some fun and unique stuff on occasion, this hardly qualifies as such. Copeland’s first WrestleMania in nine years was missing more than just fans and background noise. It felt like watching some kid with no imagination playing WWE 2K, and struggling mightily to not snatch the controller away from them Bully Ray style.

Orton and Edge had an entire Performance Center to sift through and utilize as their creative sandbox, yet the former allies opted for a never-ending brawl which lacked any memorable spots or redeeming qualities. And who the fuck decided to give this empty arena snoozer upwards of 37 minutes? You could’ve cut the run time in half, and it still would’ve felt unbearably long.

#20. versus The Fiend (WM37)

Not only was this match somehow worse than their previous Mania meeting, but it perfectly demonstrated how badly Vince had butchered The Fiend character over the year and a half leading up to this. After Orton reduced him to a smoldering pile of shit months earlier, Wyatt resurfaced in Raymond James Stadium just to basically be written off TV for good. Snuffed out with less sizzle than his future tribute band of misfits. Why, it’s sickening really.

Spirit Halloween Bray no-sold a handful of moves, but it ultimately proved meaningless because Randy dominated the entire match. The Fiend was supposed to be this superhuman entity, yet he lost in under six minutes due to a distraction assisted RKO. The cool visuals involving Alexa Bliss are the only thing that saved this from finishing dead last.

#19. versus Joe Hendry (WM41)

Me and my buddy Rey Ca$h spent a decent portion of Mania weekend debating the importance of match lengths, and coincidentally enough, I find this three-minute banger deeply triggering. It served as a nice celebration of Orton’s 20th WrestleMania, gave Joe Hendry some shine on WWE’s brightest stage, as well as the TNA World Title, and created a viral moment in the process. Randy’s open challenge made the best of an unfortunate situation, but did the company make the best of Hendry’s introduction to their audience? Triple H couldn’t have given Joe at least 8-10 minutes to show what he’s fully capable of??? Clearly you can tell which side of the argument I fall on. Forgive me for my shortcomings, Rey!

#18. versus Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship (WM33)

One of those tragic outcomes where the story is top tier, but the match falls way short of expectations. While Bray constantly struggled to string together big wins, seeing him drop the WWE Championship just seven weeks after winning the strap was still more surprising than it should’ve been.

Even with the wonders of modern technology, the supernatural smoke and mirrors nonsense is difficult to pull off without coming across super cringey (hence why Danhausen has such a high ceiling, because he’s taken the whole shtick in the opposite direction). It put a damper on several major matches of Bray’s, including this dud between him and Randy. These two headcases were forced to structure their spots around the insect riddled special effects, which is all that people tend to remember about it. Furthermore, Orton and Wyatt were only given 10:30 to work with, which is blasphemous for any World Title match that doesn’t involve Brock Lesnar.

#17. versus Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship (WM42)

For one reason or another, Randy’s never been able to deliver the type of five-star Mania classic that every wrestler dreams receiving online. Regardless of whether you chalk it up to Orton’s in-ring style, or him simply being a victim of circumstance, I really believed the stars were aligned for The Legend Killer to give the performance of his life this year against Cody. Randy had the perfect opponent, the perfect platform, and best of all, the perfect story. At least he did before the powers-that-be punted it into the section formerly known as the cheap seats.

2026’s Night 1 headliner suffered a full-blown identity crisis. Even with the move to quickly rid fans of the McAfee dilemma, Rhodes and Orton just standing around killing time while they stretchered Pat out killed the vibe instantly. Then Randy’s back is so fucked that Cody was relegated to working heel for the majority of the match. Things finally began to pick up once Orton showed some color, only for McAfee to intervene again, and ultimately cost his boy the belt. Rhodes walked away looking the worse for wear courtesy of the post-bell punt, yet Randy’s the one off TV for said back problems. This long-awaited match was booked like something straight out of Vince Russo-era WCW. It also felt similar to watching HBK versus Austin at WM14, where Shawn was in so much pain that he didn’t care about stealing the show. He was just trying to get through the match.

So in summary, fuck TKO for tampering. Fuck Creative for resorting to AI. And fuck Jelly Roll as well for being the only voice of reason, but still taking part in this thievery.

#16. versus Bobby Roode, Rusev and Jinder Mahal for the United States Championship (WM34)

Your boy SkitZ damn near forgot this fatal four-way ever happened; let alone the fact that Orton walked into said match as the United States Champion. Judging by his caliber of opponents, Randy’s face run had clearly stalled and gotten him stuck in the dreaded midcard shuffle. Anyone between Roode, Rusev and Orton would’ve made sense to go over on the night of, but Vince remained hell bent on pushing Jinder Mahal as part of his Saudi expansion project. The Modern Day Maharaja picked the bones, stole the title and the hot NOLA crowd immediately went mild. Randy couldn’t fire up the fans for this one if his life depended on it.

#15. versus Kane (WM28)

Vinnie Mac called upon two of his trusted veterans to reel the crowd back in following the 18-second snub that was Sheamus squashing Daniel Bryan. The fans were audible with their dissatisfaction throughout the first hour of the show, but Kane and Orton were unfazed by the atmosphere. The pros went to work and quietly pieced together a solid undercard match. One which even saw Randy take a super rare chokeslam from the second rope in a losing effort. The Viper and Big Red Machine weren’t winning any awards for this performance mind you, but it doesn’t belong near the bottom of the Orton barrel either.

#14. versus Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, Jr. (WM26)

While the intention was to conclude the Legacy storyline and help boost the careers of Cody and Ted, the execution came off like a glorified squash for Randy. A vehicle to kickstart his recent babyface turn with a bang whilst doing very little to elevate Rhodes or Dibiase in the short term. The handicap match mentality of Orton’s proteges broke down eventually, and once it did, The Viper wasted little time punting and RKO’ing them into defeat. A rather forgettable WrestleMania for Randy honestly. Going on second with limited minutes to work with prevented this from becoming anything highlight reel worthy.

#13. versus Triple H for the WWE Championship (WM25)

This match was hampered by three eventualities.

1) Randy and Hunter had to follow Shawn and Taker, so the audience was spent and over it by the time the main event finally rolled around.

2) The build to this match turned out better than it had any right being given the opponents and time period. The stipulation Vince landed on for their blowoff at Mania severely limited the match itself. Based on the heightened intensity of everything, HHH versus Orton should’ve ended up battling in a No Holds Barred or Hell in a Cell match. A brutally violent affair in other words. WWE booked themselves into a corner by trying to punish Randy at WrestleMania due to his actions leading up to the event. It came off feeling more like The McMahon family stacking the odds against a rebellious loose cannon chasing the title (hmm ring a bell?).

3) Orton and Triple H faced each other on so many occasions over the previous five years that this matchup was nothing new or exciting. Fans were burnt out on the rivalry, so unless these two pulled off a miracle, it was always destined to be a letdown. And that’s exactly what happened. Plus, the wrong man won.

#12. with Sheamus & Big Show versus The Shield (WM29)

In case you needed any additional proof that Creative threw three big names together to serve as Shield fodder, look no further than the Big Show turning face for this match just to revert back to a heel by the end of it. The seven footer’s allegiance changed on a dime more often than Vince’s manic rewrites.

Rollins, Reigns & Ambrose were the stars of this six-man tag. In their WrestleMania debuts, The Shield pushed the pace while demonstrating the difference in work rate between indie guys and WWE veterans during the early 2010’s. Aside from Randy hitting a couple RKOs before getting knocked out himself by bipolar Big Show, there’s not much to write home about. Ho-hum Mania for the Legend Killer.

#11. Money in the Bank Ladder Match (WM23)

Aka the year Mr. Kennedy won the briefcase and then gave away a surefire World Title reign due to a bad diagnosis. Back when there were only seven or eight matches on the main card, which meant a bunch of big names were thrown into this cluster. We appeared to be heading towards the implosion of Rated RKO at WM23, but ended up having to wait another 13 years to get that big 1-on-1 showdown between Edge and Randy. Given that Orton was a bit player who only contributed in sporadic spots (most notably RKO’ing CM Punk off the top of a ladder), it’s hard to not place the match somewhere in the middle of the pack. Randy’s moments are far and few between, but this star-studded car wreck is highly entertaining regardless, which raises it a couple extra rungs.

#10. versus AJ Styles (WM35)

As was the case with most of AJ’s WrestleMania matches, Orton versus Styles had no business underwhelming, yet it did in 2019. This list has demonstrated just how much Vince loved putting Randy on second during these long ass shows. MetLife Stadium was on the comedown after watching Seth slay The Beast in the opener, meaning The Viper and Phenomenal One had a tough hill to climb in getting the crowd to react to anything. They didn’t wrestle the most compelling match either. These two GOATs gave us better performances before and after this, which makes it all the more befuddling.

#9. with Riddle versus The Street Profits and Alpha Academy for the RAW Tag Team Titles (WM38)

This put a nice bow on the unexpected gift that was Rated RK-Bro. The year-long run they had as a tag team turned into the most comedically lighthearted stretch of Orton’s career. Matt needing to be babysat by The Legend Killer in order to keep his job is wild considering the track record of young Randy.

Alpha Academy and The Street Profits brought the energy and athleticism, capped off by a pair of awesome RKO counters from Riddle and Randy. Hot opener to kickstart Night 2, but also a bittersweet one given that Orton would soon be sidelined indefinitely with a career threatening back injury. The only guy who fell off more over that timeframe was Gable Steveson.

#8. versus John Cena and Triple H for the WWE Championship (WM24)

All hail the age of Orton. My God did Vince love booking his heel World Champion to escape Mania with a win. Randy had evolved as a wrestler though, and he desperately needed some validation following three consecutive losses at The Show of Shows.

Orton, Trips and Cena could wrestle a hundred times, and they’re always gonna fall in that three and a half star range. Nothing subpar, but nothing particularly special either. Sold outing built around a clever finish. The biggest reason why this triple threat didn’t leave more of a lasting impression is due to the overall quality level of WrestleMania XXIV. I mean this was probably the sixth best contest on a nine match card? You better believe I’d put the Belfast Brawl up against Randy’s punt party any day.

#7. versus Kevin Owens and Logan Paul for the United States Championship (WM40)

Ah yes, one of Paul’s three measly title defenses during his nine-month reign as champ. As much as I wanna hate on Logan at Randy and Owens’ expense though, something in me enjoyed this triple threat more than the one that landed right below it.

At the time, this felt like Orton and KO being burdened with Logan Paul duty at Mania when we really just wanted to see Randy and Kevin go at it 1-on-1. A match we’d have to wait another year for, and ultimately still not get, but the reality is that this three-way dance delivers so seamlessly on the rewatch. Thanks to great pacing and a well-executed finishing sequence, Logan’s successful title defense adds depth to one of the best modern WrestleMania’s. The golf cart shenanigans before the bell, along with Randy disposing of IShowSpeed like a Prime bottle, make it infinitely more entertaining than numero ocho.

#6. versus Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle for the World Heavyweight Championship (WM22)

Mr. McMahon shortchanged this triple threat on time due to his match with Michaels going long. The same event Bret Hart no-showed because he wasn’t comfortable appearing following his Hall of Fame Induction across the street. You just know The Hitman would give the Vince/Shawn lovefest a 3 out of 10 then, now, and forever.

On the flip side, I can’t imagine bitter Bret not awarding Rey/Kurt/Randy at least twice as many stars. This co-main event was action packed, and that’s putting it mildly. The time constraints result in them cramming so much into such a short window that it barely allows any of the spots a chance to breathe. A damn shame because if Angle, Mysterio and Orton were given twice as many minutes, this could’ve easily turned into an all-time epic. The Legend Killer seemed on the cusp of winning another World Title, when in reality he was nowhere close thanks to being such a destructive asshole backstage.

#5. with Ric Flair & Batista versus Rock n’ Sock Connection (WM20)

Unless you’re Oba Femi, it’s practically unheard of to land a WrestleMania match of this magnitude right outta the gate. Orton made the most of his minutes, but The Rock and Naitch absolutely stole the show here with their antics and theatrics. Mick and his old buddy did a helluva job putting over the young guys. Foley sold the sudden impact of the RKO perfectly with the finish, and although wrestling fans still heap praise upon the Hardcore Match from Backlash, their overall feud doesn’t receive nearly enough credit. Mick left his imprint on Orton’s career like a well-placed thumbtack. Excellent Mania debut for The Legend Killer, but I’m deducting points due to it being a group effort. Bite me, critics.

#4. versus CM Punk (WM27)

As methodically paced as you’d expect from a method wrestler like Orton, but it never becomes dull or tiresome. The only thing mid about this match is its card placement. One of the few bright spots on a truly shit Mania. I do feel like Punk and Randy had another gear worth exploring that really could’ve boosted them into MOTY territory, but compared to Cole versus Lawler, this might as well have been Savage and Steamboat.

I think both men believed they should’ve been higher on the card that year, Punk especially, and they wrestled like it inside the Georgia Dome. Orton was already an established top star whereas the New Nexus leader still needed to prove himself. Randy wasn’t about to let Punk show him up though. The counter into the RKO surges this sleeper hit forward a few spots.

#3. versus The Undertaker (WM21)

Even after seeing it multiple times over the past two decades, I didn’t realize just how much of a banger the first Orton/Taker match was until this latest rewatch. Amazing flow throughout, with an impressive amount of counters highlighted by two terrific false finishes. The Phenom goes to counter the RKO another time and grabs a handful of Randy’s viper by accident as he’s chucking Orton over the top rope. What a dick move, right?

These were during the days when WWE still held WrestleMania in arenas. The LA crowd was biting on every move, and the noise level is top notch. It didn’t even matter that Randy and Taker went on third. They worked their asses off to try and steal the show. Modern Mania’s could use more undercard gems that deliver to the degree this one did.

#2. versus Seth Rollins (WM31)

The payoff to Orton’s revenge arc with The Authority hit the mark just right. Most people praise this match specifically for the finish, but those folks seem to forget that Randy and Seth killed it for 13 straight minutes leading up to that magnificent moment. Orton and Rollins have always displayed great chemistry, and they packed a ton into said timeframe (including a couple fun spots involving J&J Security). WrestleMania 31 is highly regarded as one of the greatest large scale shows WWE’s ever produced, and that’s because it’s peppered with strong undercard performances such as this beauty. Crazy to think Seth would top arguably the greatest RKO to date later the same night, but it just speaks to the strength of that 2015 card.

#1. versus Batista and Daniel Bryan for the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship (WM30)

Although there was plenty of evolutionary history to dive into between Big Dave, Randy and Hunter, nobody wanted to see that bullshit in 2014. We all had the Daniel Bryan blinders on heading into that WrestleMania, and unless he was factored into those plans, we simply weren’t interested in anything else.

I find this to be the best match in Orton’s entire Mania catalogue because it includes all the essential elements. Not only is every main ingredient accounted for, but it doesn’t suffer from too many cooks in the kitchen as was the case this year. You’ve got an engaging story with a real sense of urgency, a raucous crowd, plenty of time without overstaying its welcome, just the right amount of shenanigans, and most importantly, the execution is spot on. Bryan might’ve been the man of the hour, and deservedly so, but all three men played their parts perfectly. Badass entrance for Orton too with the live performance by Rev Theory.

Annnddddd that’s the way the cookie crumbles, much like Randy’s lower spine. WWE dangling the Cody feud in front of our faces for so long and then failing to deliver the goods just left such a bad taste in my mouth. Can’t imagine how Orton feels having his own body betray him once again at the worst possible time. Randy’s talked about transitioning into a Taker type schedule when his current deal expires in four years, but The Legend Killer might’ve already reached that phase of his career. Let’s hope Orton doesn’t hang around in denial for as long as The Deadman did; chasing WrestleMania moments that his back can’t withstand.

The post IWC Scum — The Hit List of a Legend Killer (Ranking Randy’s WrestleMania Matches) appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“Ted DiBiase owes me $25k. Clip this sh*t and put it out there, maybe he will hear it and pay me,” Orton said during the panel.

pic.twitter.com/oOyDKKe5Ej

— Can you dig it, Sucka? (@wrestleclipsalt) April 21, 2026

The clip was posted on Twitter/X, and within a few hours, DiBiase’s father Ted DiBiase Sr. responded from his verified account…

“Randy Orton, I don’t owe you a dime buddy! I think you’ve been hitting the head once too many times and don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

Orton replied with, “Jr does.”

Jr does https://t.co/njGse5iQnN

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) April 21, 2026

The post Randy Orton says his former teammate Ted DiBiase Jr. owes him $25,000 appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Seeing lots of feedback on Wrestlemania 42 with it mostly being “weak night 1, stronger night 2” and many are even questioning the idea of a 2-night Wrestlemania. I don’t know, those 6-7 hour 1-night Wrestlemania shows were brutal. THAT SAID, these PLEs on ESPN are shoving in so many advertisements, as you’re probably watching like 30% advertisements now.

Here are my takeaways from Wrestlemania 42 and I’ll put them in a is of 10 to keep it convenient.

#1 – Pat McAfee heel turn meant NOTHING for Wrestlemania 42
Told you so that it was BAD BOOKING to randomly turn Pat heel and have him join Randy Orton, whom he had zero connection with previously and ditto for Cody Rhodes. All news reports show that it was Pat’s agent, Ari Emanuel (also the President/CEO of TKO) forcing the issue following Pat signing him to become his agent during February. Pat was so out of place and acting as if a wrestling mark was out there to be a heel manager. He attacked Cody to start the match but then got his arse handed to him to put on a stretcher job. He later returned in a referee shirt (WTF??) to interfere further, but then Randy Orton turns on him?!? Wait, what was the point of Pat McAfee turning heel? Orton would then lose the match anyway.

After the match, Randy Orton punted Cody Rhodes and legitimately injured Cody. That’s BS and hopefully TKO tightens the bolts to ensure something like that doesn’t happen again. Cody’s eye may be permanently damaged by that or could have been.

#2 – Happy for Paige, though confused about the Women’s Tag Title situation
Paige is one of the best women’s talents and it’s a shame that her relationship with Alberto Del Rio shook up things for her personally and professionally. That said, she’s still young and she looked fantastic in that ring on Saturday. The crowd gave her flowers, too, and it was a nice moment to see her winning. However, that Wrestlemania 42 match was supposed to be the coronation of the Bellas winning the tag titles and not just Brie & Paige. This possible snap judgment decision to give them the belts kind of rubs the shine off of the Bellas winning the tag titles if Brie already won the tag titles.

#3 – Retirement for Alexa Bliss? Is AJ Lee gone?
Alexa Bliss posted a big THANK YOU on his social media accounts and I think her big tribute to Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania was also a “goodbye” to the business. I think this is it for her, as she might be stepping back to be a mother full-time or possibly have more children. In my opinion, the WWE used her incorrectly since that MASSIVE Royal Rumble 2025 return in which her pop blew the roof off of Lucas Oil Field’s stadium (I was there, it was LOUD). HOWEVER, I do appreciate that her teaming up with Charlotte Flair helped repair Charlotte internally and allowed Charlotte to find the joy in pro wrestling again.

After her match with Becky Lynch, AJ Lee announced that she’d be stepping away from the ring too… She’s been in and out of the ring since her return, so taking long breaks is common… But I think she accomplished all she wanted to with a comeback and just wants to chill with a normal life. I wouldn’t be surprised that CM Punk, too, steps back and maybe considers starting a family with AJ Lee. Why not?

#4 – CM Punk was amazing.
That’s a 47-year old dude out there in the Main Event of Wrestlemania 42 and I’m so proud of him, as he finally headlined the big show and CRUSHED IT with a 5-Star Match with Roman Reigns. Best part was CM Punk selling the effects of the match, as he should because he took multiple Superman punches + a shot with the steel steps as he was hanging upside down from the top rope on the outside. That moment when he collapsed during the GTS meant everything. CM Punk just delivered Roman his BEST Wrestlemania main event match and remember, Roman has many of them in his holster. Punk delivered huge and cemented himself as an all-time great.

Honestly with CM Punk, where does he go now? He came back, proved that he could be a professional in a reasonable setting, and headlined Wrestlemania which was his goal during the 2010s when he walked out of the WWE. I would not be surprised if he retired, knowing that he righted the wrongs of his prior WWE career and also proved AEW wrong with this amazing second WWE run.

#5 – Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi
Very happy that Oba Femi won and if I were WWE, I’d place a rocketship onto his arse and light that thing on fire to push him to the top. THAT SAID, I really didn’t like how the match went, specifically the complete no-sell of the F5 by Oba. Sorry, but that move ended the Undertaker’s streak and defeated many people in the WWE. It barely hurt Oba, who went on to Chokeslam and then Powerbomb Lesnar with barely any effects of that move. Other than that gripe, I’m glad that Brock Lesnar did business here and put the younger guy over.

And then, Brock Lesnar retired… Those fans in that Las Vegas stadium really felt that and in return, Lesnar got emotional as he was unlacing his boots and hugging Paul Heyman. Since 2012, Lesnar has dominated our lives as pro wrestling fans and in my opinion, Lesnar was the “saving grace” from the 2010s being even worse than what they really were with Vince McMahon’s creative micro-managing.

I still think he’ll wrestle Gunther at SummerSlam and possibly defeat him there, but I’d be perfectly content with Lesnar retiring here. Him hanging it up after losing to Oba makes Oba’s win even more impressive. “I made Lesnar retire”. That’s much different from Gunther defeating Goldberg or Cena because you knew their retirements were coming up. This was more of a random decision, as Lesnar just retiring sells the fact that he knows his time is now up and cannot defeat a monster like Oba Femi.

#6 – Jade Gargill experiment is over.
Look, I won’t deny that Jade looks like a million bucks. She’s beautiful and sculpted like a god. I’ll never deny that… But damn, was she built with 2 left feet? For as hard as both AEW and WWE worked, they tried and tried to make her a professional wrestler but it just did not stick. This goes to show you how natural talent makes a great wrestler and not fully the promotion with its smoke & mirrors. Rhea Ripley bounced all over that ring to sell whatever Jade sent to her, but to anyone watching for a long time, we know what’s going on and know which wrestlers understand how to work.

#7 – No surprises at all.
Many were expecting surprises, including myself, for both Cody/Orton or Punk/Roman and we got nothing… The Rock still hasn’t shown up yet and wasn’t behind Pat McAfee. Once again, this “TKO Era” likes to present surprise appearances throughout the year but craps the bed when it comes to its top show Wrestlemania.

#8 – Concerns over wrestler safety.
I’m surprised that TKO doesn’t show more concern for wrestler safety… There were crazy moments in that Ladder Match and then the “punt” by Randy on Cody could have caused permanent damage to Cody’s sight. There are ways to make things look convincing without, ya know, actually harming another wrestler. Night #1 was a bummer with a bad main event between Cody and Orton, thanks to stupid interference from Pat McAfee, and then to have Cody get legitimate injured was the crap icing on the cake.

#9 – 50,000+ fans still isn’t bad.
I thought that the Las Vegas football stadium looked full and the crowd seemed loud. Getting 50,000 at those high ticket prices is still an accomplishment. AEW’s top show, All In, has less than 20,000 tickets sold in Wembley this year and that’s with cheaper ticket prices. All In last year only did around 22,000 last year and again, with cheaper tickets. History will show that the WWE raised ticket prices too high for Wrestlemania 42 and probably should have gone to another city rather than burning out Las Vegas for a second year. However, all things considered, they still sold over 50,000 tickets and that crowd was still hot.

But damn, quit price gouging loyal WWE fans, TKO. You have all of that TV revenue money, Saudi money, getting Las Vegas to pony up for another year, having Fanatics ripping off fans for merchandise… Bunch of greedy bastards. Think about this, folks… All of this WWE and UFC revenue pouring in and these idiot executives at TKO still have $4 billion in debt. Now, I realize that every company utilizes Commercial Loans to finance things rather than burning through cash but Endeavor itself had over $7 billion in debt before a private equity firm, Silver Lake, bought them to restructure that very debt. That tells me there is more greed within Endeavor and TKO than even we know.

#10 – Roman is champ again, don’t blow it.
Since Wrestlemania 40, Roman Reigns has only wrestled TWELVE TIMES… For both 2024 and 2025, Roman disappeared for 3 months following Wrestlemanias and then would often be barely available during some of the fall months. Yes, I totally agree with the concept of “less is more”, but at least appear and do something. Brock Lesnar made more frequent appearances with his part-time contract than Roman has for the past 2 years.

Even during 2023, Roman would disappear for months as World Champion which is why RAW created its own World Heavyweight Championship to counter that extended absence.

I’m NOT saying to wrestle every single RAW or Smackdown, or perform on every single PLE. Cody Rhodes did that and over-exposed himself since Wrestlemania 40. What I’m saying is show up for the actual paying WWE fans in attendance and tuning in on television.

What is hurting the NBA right now? Players taking nights off, even when they are fully available to play. This “load management” stuff has devalued seeing the NBA live and in-person, along with destroying viewership numbers for regular season games (good lord, what did NBC and Amazon just over pay for?).

Roman is champion again and instead of taking blocks of months off, just fly him in for an appearance… How hard is it to fly him on a private jet just to cut a promo?

Again, I’m not asking for him to WRESTLE at every RAW/Smackdown or perform at ever single PLE… Make appearances and make your presence felt.

WWE, in my opinion, has suffered since Wrestlemania 40 because BOTH Roman Reigns and the Rock disappeared after teasing they’d finally wrestle. The friction from their egos being on the same Bloodline team and then Roman losing at Wrestlemania 40 should have set things in motion. But noooooo, Roman takes 3 months off and Rock only appeared 1 more time during 2024. Then, the opening show of RAW on Netflix was a total joke and Roman honestly hasn’t recovered since.

Now is the time to re-establish Roman as the #1 wrestler for the WWE and we need to see him just a little more… Not saying wrestle every night, but good lord, is it asking much to perform on at least half of the PLEs and maybe show up to 1 or 2 shows per month? That fits well into the “less is more” concept.

Overall, Wrestlemania was “meh” for Night 1, and pretty good for Night 2. Overall, good show despite the struggling hype and TKO meddling to get there.

Wrestlemania 42 reminded me of how much TKO sucks with the sponsors everywhere, 3-4 minute advertisement breaks, and the over-produced show.

*********************

THE LAST WORD

60 minutes for a Hall of Fame speech for Stephanie McMahon.

Tell us how much of a mark of yourself that you are without telling us that you’re a mark for yourself.

Look, Stephanie McMahon was a good on-screen character for her time… I thought her 1999 work as the victim of the Undertaker’s scheme was good and then I liked her teaming up with Triple H through 2000. After that, it was total hit or miss with her often being a dominant heel that never “got hers”. She kept away from any babyfaces retaliating against her, aside from Ronda Rousey beating her up at Wrestlemania in that mixed tag match.

She had a long tenure as EVP of Creative from late 2000 through late 2013. Lots of issues with that time, too… Yes, she did hear John Cena rapping on the back of the touring bus and then incorporated that onto WWE television… But her creative almost got him fired throughout 2002 before that! So many issues with the 2000s WWE, from letting Triple H run RAW into the ground from 2002-2003 to being agitating to Paul Heyman when he was running a successful Smackdown show. The way that women were treated was terrible under Stephanie, as we endured 3 Minute Warning and Divas Search under her creative watch. Ironically, it was her husband Triple H who took better care of female wrestlers creatively.

She didn’t deserve 60 minutes and it’s a CRIME that WWE made fans sit through her speech early in that show.

The FACT is that Stephanie McMahon would NEVER be a character, let alone an executive, if her name wasn’t “McMahon”. This Communications major would probably be working in a marketing department somewhere or maybe a news reporter for a TV channel. Instead, she was pushed to the very top because of her name. Don’t get me wrong, she has some talent… She grew up around the WWE and understood how to cut a promo or generate heat as a character. However, her ego often got in the way and she never let anyone one-up her as the opposition (besides Rousey).

Meanwhile, Sid Eudy is a “legacy” inductee to the Hall of Fame and he received less than 2 minutes of a video on that show. What a joke. Sid was a two-time WWE champion and became said champion because WWE’s pushed Shawn Michaels FAILED to draw as World Champion. Sid won at Survivor Series 1996 because HBK was tanking and then regained the title when HBK “lost his smile”. Sid helped the WWE safe face back then when they needed a credible champion. Yeah, I know, “scissors Sid” or “softball Sid”, but at least Sid didn’t compare his family to the victims of 9/11 like Stephanie McMahon did.

Triple H is too nice of a husband… He restored her confidence by putting her back on WWE shows and now this 60-minute Hall of Fame speech. But come on, quit self-glazing yourselves. WWE’s Attitude Era was built on the Rock and Steve Austin’s characters and whatever they did. FACT is that WWE houseshow attendance began to slide after Austin left to have neck surgery during November 1999 and then RAW’s viewership began sliding after Wrestlemania 16 before it joined TNN. Then from 2000 through 2004, RAW’s viewership kept sliding with Triple H dominating that show as the champion of that brand.

If you want to make a good argument about “getting rid of Triple H”, the past 2 Hall of Fames would be your argument. They are kind of rewriting history from their 2000s and 2010s transgressions, which is a shame because Triple H legitimately saved the WWE from itself during June 2022 when he took over during a very complicated time with Vince McMahon’s bad office behavior towards women being fully exposed.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post MR. TITO: My Top 10 Takeaways from WWE Wrestlemania 42 in Las Vegas, NV appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Meltzer stated the following during Wrestling Observer Radio…

“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.”

BodySlam+ also stated that Orton was originally slated to win the title but that plan was altered in the final weeks leading up to the event. It was added that since WWE intended to continue the feud between Cody and Orton after WrestleMania, they instead used a post-match angle to advance the storyline in that direction rather than going through with the title change.

We have updates on Cody Rhodes, Liv Morgan, and the Undisputed WWE Championship now on Bodyslam+https://t.co/E58cCV3GMd pic.twitter.com/ccM7qIT2WO

— BODYSLAM.NET | WWE & AEW Wrestling News (@BodyslamNet) April 19, 2026

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