Cody Rhodes Stuns Randy Orton to Retain WWE Title at WrestleMania 42 After Pat McAfee Returns as Ref

Cody Rhodes defeated Randy Orton on Night 1 of WrestleMania 42 on Saturday to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship.

There was a lot to unpack here, beginning with Pat McAfee, who has been in Orton's ear and a confidant for some time, attacking Rhodes before the match even began.

Orton soon joined in, but Rhodes fought one-on-two and got the edge he needed. He sent The Viper flying into the turnbuckle and then hit McAfee with the Cross Rhodes.

Rhodes then got a little help from his own friend, Jelly Roll, who soon leaped off one announcers' table to another, crashing into McAfee with an elbow. McAfee was then stretchered out from the ringside area.

This was a brutal match that left both men bloodied and referee Charles Robinson on the wrong end of Orton's RKO.

With no referee temporarily, Rhodes tried to hit Orton with the Cody Cutter, but The Viper countered with an RKO. However, McAfee then sprinted to the ring with a referee shirt and a neck brace to go for the three-count. Rhodes just kicked out, though.

Then a stunning twist occurred. Orton gave an RKO to McAfee, but Rhodes hit The Viper with an RKO. A woozy Robinson saw the scene and was able to enact a three-count, giving The American Nightmare the win.

Orton wasn't pleased. As Rhodes raised his belt in the air, The Viper grabbed it and hit the champion in the head. He then hit The American Nightmare with a punt, leaving the bloodied winner in the ring and then throwing his belt to the mat.

Rhodes and Orton are longtime friends, dating back to their time together in the Legacy stable from 2008 to 2010, but a massive betrayal set the stage for their match on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

At the Elimination Chamber premium live event in February, the men's Elimination Chamber match came down to Rhodes and Orton with an Undisputed WWE Championship match at WrestleMania hanging in the balance.

Then-WWE champion Drew McIntyre interfered, and amid the chaos, Orton hit Rhodes with an RKO and pinned him to establish himself as the new No. 1 contender.

However, SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis was furious over McIntyre continuously meddling in the business of others, which prompted him to demand that the Scot put the WWE title on the line against Rhodes on the ensuing episode of SmackDown.

The American Nightmare went on to beat McIntyre, making him a three-time undisputed WWE champion, and securing his spot on the WrestleMania card against Orton.

One week later, Rhodes and Orton took part in a contract signing to make their WrestleMania 42 match official. It seemed like business as usual until The Viper surprisingly launched a brutal attack against him.

Orton hit Rhodes with a low blow before busting him open and hitting him with a steel chair multiple times, including crushing his rival's head between a chair and the ring steps.

With that, Rhodes vs. Orton went from friendly competition to one of the most heated rivalries in all of WWE leading up to WrestleMania.

Things got even more personal a couple of weeks before WrestleMania 42 when McAfee got involved by revealing himself as the person Orton had been speaking to on the phone for weeks.

McAfee attacked Rhodes, aligned with Orton and claimed he was trying to help The Viper save wrestling by taking the WWE title from Rhodes.

Country music star Jelly Roll got involved as well by attempting to defend Rhodes, only for Orton and McAfee to assault him as well.

At The Showcase of the Immortals, Rhodes got retribution by prevailing over Orton and denying him the 15th world title reign of his career in the process.