Cody Rhodes is making it clear he believes WrestleMania 42 is shaping up to deliver, even after admitting he wasn't totally sold on the lineup earlier in the build. The Undisputed WWE Champion walked back his earlier "sleeper Mania" comment during an appearance on Busted Open Radio.
Rhodes reflected on comments he made weeks ago when the WrestleMania card was still coming together. At the time, he used the phrase "sleeper Mania," something he now says didn't come out the way he intended.
The comment happened before many of the matches were officially announced. Once the lineup started filling in, his view of the event changed in a big way.
"You have Roman Reigns versus CM Punk. Brock—Oba. Stephanie—Liv, Jade—Rhea, it's coming together. Sami—Trick. I used the word and I made the mistake, you know, when you do like the interviews, every wrestler, everybody who interviews wrestlers knows this. You say something and you hate how it sounded, but I remember saying a few weeks ago that we got a sleeper Mania here," Rhodes said.
Rhodes Clarifies His WrestleMania 42 Expectations
Rhodes went on to clarify exactly what he meant, saying the earlier remark wasn't meant as criticism of the show. It was simply made before the full picture was clear. Now that the major matches are locked in, he believes the event is built to deliver strong action from start to finish.
"And I think I said that because nobody really knew the rest of the card. But what I meant was we have a very, very, very good bell-to-bell WrestleMania that aims to top the WrestleMania prior and I am very excited about my match and WrestleMania in general," Rhodes stated.
Rhodes is set to defend his Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42. He won the title on March 6, 2026 by defeating Drew McIntyre on SmackDown in Portland, Oregon.
The card also features CM Punk versus Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship, Brock Lesnar versus Oba Femi, and multiple other championship matches across both nights.
Full WrestleMania 42 Card
The confirmed lineup includes Jade Cargill versus Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women's Championship, Stephanie Vaquer versus Liv Morgan for the Women's World Championship, and AJ Lee versus Becky Lynch for the Women's Intercontinental Championship.
Sami Zayn will defend the United States Championship against Trick Williams. An Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match features Penta, Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, Je'Von Evans, and Rusev.
Additional matches include a Women's Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way, an unsanctioned match between Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu, and Dominik Mysterio versus Finn Balor. John Cena is confirmed as the host for WrestleMania 42.
As WrestleMania 42 gets closer, the pressure continues to build for Rhodes as he prepares to defend his championship on the biggest stage of the year.
