WWE Rumors on Randy Orton vs. MGK Beef, Bad Blood Card and WrestleMania 42 in 2026

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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Orton/MGK Feud Catching Attention of WWE

The back and forth between Randy Orton and Machine Gun Kelly hasn't gone unnoticed internally in WWE, according to Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp (via H Jenkins of Ringside News).

During an appearance on the Impaulsive podcast, MGK recounted an alleged incident backstage with Orton at SummerSlam in August. He said he confronted the former world champion based on something he had heard secondhand.

Orton appeared to call MGK a liar on X, which elicited a reaction from the rapper:

It's always tough to know what's real and what's scripted in the world of professional wrestling.

The beef between Orton and MGK could be entirely genuine. But involving celebrities in storylines has long been a staple of WWE programming, and this all originates from comments made on the podcast of a WWE performer.

If this wasn't entirely by design, then the promotion may have had a noteworthy feud fall right into its lap.

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WWE Moved Up Bad Blood Start to Avoid UFC 307 Conflict

Bad Blood will get underway at 5:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 5, which is earlier than usual for a premium live event based in the United States. PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson reported that's by design.

Per Johnson, WWE wants to make sure Bad Blood is concluded before the main card for UFC 307 gets underway at 10 p.m. ET.

In a previous era, WWE might have relished the opportunity to take some of the spotlight away from the UFC, which isn't a direct rival but certainly has some fan overlap. Any sort of adversarial relationship fell by the wayside with the merger between the two companies in 2023.

Starting Bad Blood before 6 p.m. ET will ensure it's not only over well ahead of UFC 307 but also that fans might be able to catch some of the preliminary fights.

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Pennsylvania Governor's Office Clarifies WrestleMania Remarks

It turns out WrestleMania may not be making a quick return to Philadelphia.

In a since-deleted video posted to social media, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro listed WrestleMania among the events that will be coming to the City of Brotherly Love in 2026:

After the video was taken down, a spokesperson for Shapiro confirmed that WrestleMania was erroneously mentioned.

"This statement was mistaken, and we apologize for the confusion amid all the incredible events Pennsylvania is excited to host in 2026," Manuel Bonder said, per Fightful's Sapp and Jeremy Lambert. "While WrestleMania won't be here in '26, we look forward to continuing to work with WWE and wrestling fans all across our Commonwealth to bring more great events to PA in the future."

Johnson also reported the sources he spoke to inside WWE "were across the board pretty surprised" by Shapiro's revelation and that a host city for WrestleMania 42 hasn't been decided. Indianapolis could be in the mix given the fact WWE struck a deal with Indiana Sports Corp that will see multiple marquee events take place at Lucas Oil Stadium.

We can probably safely assume Philly isn't a serious contender for WrestleMania 42 at this point. Lincoln Financial Field just staged WrestleMania XL in April, so it would be surprising if the event went back there so soon.

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