Below are a couple of top WWE news stories of the day, featuring Randy Orton and WrestleMania 41.
• At WrestleMania 41, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens will collide in a grudge match that will serve as the culmination of a feud that has been brewing since the 2024 Crown Jewel PLE.
The feud began when Orton sided with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, whom Owens accused of betraying him. Then on the November 8th episode of SmackDown, Owens dropped Orton on his head with a Piledriver, leaving The Viper out of action until the Elimination Chamber PLE on March 1st, where Orton returned and took out Owens following his Unsanctioned Match against Sami Zayn.
In a rather surprising statistic, Orton hasn’t won a single PLE match since his return at Survivor Series 2023.
Orton lost a Fatal 4-Way match for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Royal Rumble 2024, which also involved AJ Styles, LA Knight, and then-champion Roman Reigns, followed by losing the titular match at Elimination Chamber: Perth.
He also lost the United States Championship triple threat match involving Kevin Owens and Logan Paul at WrestleMania 40; a tag team Street Fight at Backlash: France, where he teamed with Owens in a loss to the Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga.
A loss to GUNTHER in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament at King & Queen of the Ring in Saudi Arabia, a six-man tag team match at Money In The Bank where he teamed with Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens in a loss to Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, and Tama Tonga, and a loss to GUNTHER in the main event of Bash In Berlin, which was contested for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Only time will tell if this unfortunate streak continues, or if Orton will return to his winning ways at premium live events next month.
Also Read: Randy Orton Reveals Which Night Of WrestleMania 41 Will Feature His Match
• As revealed on the March 28th episode of Friday Night SmackDown, the highly anticipated triple threat match between Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and CM Punk will officially main event Night 1 of WrestleMania 41 on Saturday, April 19th.
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship will close out the second night of the Showcase of the Immortals.
With both main events now confirmed, this WrestleMania will be the first since 2018 in which neither Royal Rumble winner will headline, leaving this year’s winners, Jey Uso and Charlotte Flair, in an interesting spot.
The last time neither Rumble winner headlined the biggest show of the year was at WrestleMania 34, where Men’s Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura challenged AJ Styles for the WWE Championship, and Women’s Royal Rumble winner Asuka challenged Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship (now Women’s World Championship).
Interestingly enough, neither of them won their respective title matches that year. This year, Jey Uso will challenge GUNTHER for the World Heavyweight Championship and Charlotte Flair will challenge Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women’s Championship.
