WWE’s creative roadmap for WrestleMania 42 and the Royal Rumble underwent a series of changes following an injury to Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel.
According to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the original plan for the Las Vegas event was set to feature Rollins vs. Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk as the primary main events. However, once Rollins was sidelined, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H was forced to pivot, initially selecting Bron Breakker to win the 30-man Rumble match.
The initial strategy following the Rollins injury was to position CM Punk as the World Heavyweight Champion and initiate a “three-step program” with Breakker. This plan would have seen Breakker lose to Punk during the Raw Netflix anniversary show on January 5, only to return at the Royal Rumble to secure the victory and eventually defeat Punk for the title at WrestleMania.
“The injury to Rollins caused changes, as they went with Punk as champion with the idea of a three-step program with Bron Breakker getting a title match on the Raw Netflix anniversary show and losing, coming back and winning the Rumble and then facing and beating Punk for the title at Mania,” Dave Meltzer wrote.
The trajectory changed once again when Drew McIntyre advocated for a shift in the Undisputed WWE Championship storyline. McIntyre reportedly proposed that he should defeat Cody Rhodes in their Three Stages of Hell match to capitalize on his momentum. Rhodes was reportedly on board with the idea, which caused the scrapping of the plan for Breakker to win the Rumble.
“Enter McIntyre, who pushed the idea that since he had lost multiple times to Rhodes, it would be better for him to win the title in the already announced Three Stages of Hell match. Rhodes was on board with that idea. When the decision was made, they had to scrap Breakker winning the Rumble, and the choices were either Rhodes or Reigns,” Meltzer continued.
With the original plans discarded, Roman Reigns secured the Rumble victory and has officially challenged CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. Meanwhile, Bron Breakker is expected to work with a returning Seth Rollins, who is scheduled to be medically cleared in time for their confirmed clash at WrestleMania.
