WWE’s Original Plans for Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 Revealed

Randy Orton’s WrestleMania 42 plans almost looked very different — and it didn’t originally involve Pat McAfee at all.

According to PWInsider, new details reveal that the role ultimately played by Pat McAfee at WrestleMania actually replaced an earlier creative pitch involving Aleister Black and Randy Orton.

It was noted that WWE originally planned a much darker storyline centered around Black psychologically pushing Orton to embrace his old “Apex Predator” persona again. The idea was built around Black targeting Orton in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, trying to prove that Orton hadn’t truly changed.

“A pitch for Orton's WrestleMania role back in January involved SmackDown star Aleister Black tormenting Orton, trying to bring out the old Apex Predator version of Orton.”

From there, the story would’ve escalated into a WrestleMania weekend bout, with Orton struggling internally and hesitating to fully embrace his darker side. The planned match between the two would’ve ended with Orton holding back at a key moment — specifically refusing to use his signature punt kick — ultimately costing him the match.

“The idea was that if Black succeeded, it would prove Orton had never changed or evolved and was still the old Orton deep inside. We are told the idea was that Black and Orton would face off Mania weekend, with Orton would hesitate to use his punt kick and likely lose.”

But the story wasn’t supposed to end there. The pitch included a major post-match angle that would’ve tied directly into Cody Rhodes. While it’s unclear how far this version made it through WWE’s creative process, parts of it clearly survived — just in a different form.

“But then later attack Cody Rhodes as a Wrestlemania angle, using the punt to bring back the old Apex Predator and prove Black right all along. It's unclear how far the pitch progressed through WWE's creative process, but echoes of the original plan appear in Pat McAfee's role, including the return of the Apex Predator and Orton punting Cody with the kick at Wrestlemania.”

In the end, Pat McAfee’s involvement — including the chaos before the bell and the post-match fallout — effectively replaced Black’s role in the story.

“So, at some point, McAfee's role effectively replaced the pitched version featuring Black.”

So, the WrestleMania angle fans saw still carried the core idea of Orton reverting back to his most dangerous self, but the path there changed completely. Instead of a slow psychological breakdown led by Aleister Black, WWE pivoted to a more chaotic angle with Pat McAfee — while still landing on the same end result: the return of the Apex Predator.

Do you think WWE should’ve stuck with the original Aleister Black storyline, or did the Pat McAfee version work better for WrestleMania? Let us know your thoughts.