REVEALED: Why WWE Scrapped Plans For Cody Rhodes Vs. Roman Reigns At WrestleMania 42

Stretching back to Survivor Series 2025, when the two talents had a face-off in the closing moments of the pay-per-view, the plan for the main event of WrestleMania 42 was for Cody Rhodes to defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Roman Reigns in what would be their third singles WrestleMania main event against each other in four years.

Those plans were scrapped last week, however, after WWE decided to book Drew McIntyre to defeat Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Title on the January 9 episode of SmackDown.

There was a mixed reaction from fans to the prospect of another Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes match at WrestleMania, and it appears Triple H wasn't completely sold on the match either. According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the plans for the McIntyre title change and the decision to change the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania occurred around 48 hours before the January 9 SmackDown. When Triple H, WWE's Chief Content Officer, looked at the planned direction for the road to WrestleMania 42, he decided doing Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns again and spending months building to the match would lead to audience fatigue.

Cody Rhodes brought up the possibility of Drew McIntyre winning the WWE Championship at the same time as Triple H was looking at the plans, and Cody felt it would be more valuable for him to chase the WWE Title as opposed to going into WrestleMania as champion. Triple H ultimately also decided it would be better for Cody to chase the WWE Title.

The change of plans means Roman Reigns is the odd man out in the WWE Title picture at WrestleMania, according to Meltzer. How WWE plans to book Reigns at the company's biggest weekend of the year is currently unknown.