WWE is gearing up for its biggest period of the year with the Royal Rumble taking place at the end of the month in Saudi Arabia before the Road to WrestleMania begins and ending with WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas in April.
While an earlier report suggested that WWE had locked in plans for WrestleMania, a new story in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week suggested that the company has changed direction as far as the main event is concerned.
Originally, WWE was looking to run back Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns for the third time as the main event on one of the nights. However, the Observer reports that WWE's Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque has "soured" on having the same match three out of the last four years.
Editor Dave Meltzer wrote that Levesque took a look at his Rumble-to-WrestleMania planned direction and ultimately decided that moving forward with another Rhodes vs. Reigns match and spending weeks building up to that direction would lead to audience fatigue. Meltzer wrote that the last minute decision to have Drew McIntyre win the WWE Undisputed title was a part of the change in course.
The report adds that the new idea for a potential WrestleMania event has two options: McIntyre against Cody Rhodes for the title or a triple threat match between McIntyre, Rhodes and the recently returning Jacob Fatu. It was stated that Roman Reigns will now be the "odd man out" of the title picture but he is scheduled to return at the Royal Rumble and his direction for 'Mania will no doubt start clearing up after the event.
The report also noted that the title change from Rhodes to McIntyre was supported and in fact, pushed for, by both competitors with the thinking that having Rhodes chase the title into WrestleMania was a better, fresher story than him going to the event trying to defend it.
