WWE's Royal Rumble is now in the rear-view mirror and on the men's side, Roman Reigns emerged victorious and will go onto face CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. However, Reigns as the winner was not always the planned course of action and changes late last year caused WWE to pivot.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Bron Breakker was at one point scheduled to win the Rumble but the injury to Seth Rollins caused WWE to pretty much revamp much of their programs at the top of the card as the original direction was Rollins vs. Reigns for one title and Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk for the other.
After Rollins suffered a shoulder injury that effectively knocked him out of action for an expected six months or more, Breakker was still believed to be headed to a WrestleMania main event first by losing to Punk on the first Raw episode of the year in January, then win the Royal Rumble before getting a rematch against Punk at WrestleMania, which he would have won and captured the World title.
At some point - and as reported - Drew McIntyre entered the picture and ended up getting the title in a somewhat late decision by beating Rhodes. The idea was pitched by McIntyre and supported by Rhodes and now the two will wrestle at WrestleMania, believed to be night one, though there is still a chance that Jacob Fatu could be inserted into the match to make it a triple threat. Punk vs. Reigns is also confirmed for WrestleMania as the night two main event.
Meltzer added that at the time, WWE views Reigns, Rhodes and Punk as their three biggest stars so when the idea of Breakker winning the Royal Rumble was abandoned, the only remaining choices that made sense were Rhodes or Reigns.
