A chaotic WrestleMania 42 night one main event resulted in Cody Rhodes walking out with the Undisputed WWE Championship still in his grasp. “The American Nightmare” didn’t walk out unscathed, however.

Per Jackie Redmond on the WrestleMania 42 night two pre-show, Rhodes has not been medically cleared following his title defense against Randy Orton in last night’s main event. Furthermore, after emerging from the bout with smears of blood, Rhodes required three stitches to his face and four staples to the back of his head. BodySlam+ has backed the latter in a report stating that its sources indicated that Rhodes’ busted open head necessitated multiple staples afterward.

As for Rhodes’ glaringly swollen eye, WWE is attributing that to the punt kick that Orton unleashed on Rhodes after the title match. Redmond noted that the damage to Rhodes’ orbital socket was so severe that it is still completely swollen shut, even almost a day later. The timetable for Rhodes’ in-ring return is now “up in the air.”

According to PWInsider, Rhodes’ orbital injury resulted from a punch delivered by Orton, just moments before “The Viper” also RKOed referee Charles Robinson. The swelling to Rhodes’ eye was said to have followed.

Due to the aforementioned injuries, Rhodes’ Sunday appearance at WWE World was cancelled. Whether that will snowball into additional absences on WWE programming has yet to be seen.

Rhodes regained the Undisputed WWE Championship by dethroning Drew McIntyre on the March 6 edition of “WWE SmackDown.” Orton earned the right to challenge him at WrestleMania 42 by winning the 2026 Men’s Elimination Chamber.