Bron Breakker Was Originally Set to Win Royal Rumble

Bron Breakker’s WrestleMania 42 moment was real—until it wasn’t.

According to a detailed report from Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Breakker was originally booked to win the 2026 Royal Rumble and go on to defeat CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship on WWE’s biggest stage. The plan was part of a broader strategy developed after Seth Rollins suffered an injury at Crown Jewel.

“The injury to Rollins caused changes, as they went with Punk as champion with the idea of a three step program with Bron Breakker getting a title match on the Raw Netflix anniversary show and losing, coming back and winning the Rumble and then facing and beating Punk for the title at Mania,” Meltzer wrote.

The creative arc would have built Breakker into a made man: take a loss to Punk on RAW’s Netflix debut, rebound with a Rumble win, and cap it all off by dethroning Punk at WrestleMania. But the landscape shifted again. Meltzer reports that Drew McIntyre advocated for a win over Cody Rhodes in their “Three Stages of Hell” match—citing his repeated losses to Rhodes as justification. Rhodes reportedly supported the idea, which reshaped the title picture entirely.

“Enter McIntyre, who pushed the idea that since he had lost multiple times to Rhodes, that it would be better for him to win the title in the already announced Three Stages of Hell match,” Meltzer noted. “Rhodes was on board with that idea.”

The result? McIntyre holding the WWE Championship, with the WrestleMania spotlight now shifting toward Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk and McIntyre vs. Rhodes.

“When the decision was made, they had to scrap Breakker winning the Rumble and the choices were either Rhodes or Reigns,” Meltzer added.

Breakker’s moment wasn’t just delayed—it was erased entirely in favor of reshuffling top-tier storylines around the company’s biggest names.