WWE appears to have quietly made a major shift to its planned WrestleMania 42 card.
On Wrestling Observer Radio at F4WOnline.com, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE altered its WrestleMania direction last week, with previous plans no longer locked in.
While the updated card has not been finalized, one notable takeaway is that a long-rumored Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns match is now looking unlikely for the show.
Instead, one scenario being discussed internally is a potential triple threat involving Drew McIntyre, Rhodes, and Jacob Fatu for the WWE Championship, though that bout may ultimately take place somewhere other than WrestleMania.
“WrestleMania changed on Wednesday of last week, which was when they made the decision to go with the McIntyre title win,” Meltzer said. “So that wasn’t decided until Wednesday. I don’t know what the new matches are, although they may be doing a three-way with McIntyre, Jacob Fatu, and Cody Rhodes.”
Meltzer stressed that even that idea is far from set in stone.
“That may not necessarily be at Mania, but that’s kind of — that’s not even 100 percent, but I was told that that’s kind of like, it’s a possibility. The Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns thing is probably not happening. But whatever it is, the Mania plans were changed on Wednesday when they made the decision to change the championship.”
At this point, there’s no confirmed explanation for why WWE pivoted so late in the planning process.
Meltzer speculated that the company may be looking to freshen things up creatively, avoid predictability, and establish Drew McIntyre as WWE Champion heading into WrestleMania season.
WrestleMania 42 takes place from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV. on April 18 and April 19, 2026.
