A massive shift in creative direction has reportedly occurred for WWE’s biggest event of 2026, with the trilogy bout between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns potentially being scrapped. Dave Meltzer reported on WrestleMania Observer Radio that the internal plans for WrestleMania 42 changed dramatically on Wednesday, January 7, coinciding with the decision to have Drew McIntyre defeat Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
According to the report, the victory for “The Scottish Warrior” on the January 9 episode of SmackDown in Berlin effectively reset the main event picture for the April event. “This whole WrestleMania changed on Wednesday of last week when they made the decision to go with the McIntyre title win,” Meltzer said. “That wasn’t decided until Wednesday… the Cody Rhodes-Roman Reigns thing is probably not happening.”
Prior to this shake-up, the working plan following Survivor Series was to headline WrestleMania 42 with the third chapter of Rhodes vs. Reigns. The match had been heavily teased following the Men’s WarGames match, where the two stars stood on opposite sides of the cage. However, the unexpected title change has seemingly erased months of long-term storytelling that pointed toward a rematch at Allegiant Stadium.
Meltzer noted that while nothing is 100 percent confirmed, new discussions have floated the possibility of a Triple Threat Match for the championship. “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 said. “That may not necessarily be at Mania… but I was told that’s kind of like a possibility”. Jacob Fatu played a critical role in McIntyre’s victory in Berlin, interfering to cost Rhodes the title and aligning himself with the new champion.
Current plans for the road to WrestleMania 42 will come into sharper focus following the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event on January 31 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As of today, Drew McIntyre is expected to defend his newly won Undisputed WWE Championship at the event against a new challenger from the tournament field that will be decided at Saturday Night’s Main Event. WrestleMania 42 is scheduled to take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, airing live on Netflix.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Wrestling Observer Radio with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can subscribe to the Wrestling Observer at f4wonline.com.
