WWE’s Original WrestleMania 42 Plans For Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns Before Pivot

Cody Rhodes vs Roman Reigns was originally the plan for WrestleMania 42 — and it may have even taken place inside Hell in a Cell.

According to Dave Meltzer in the March 13, 2026 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE’s creative plans for the Undisputed WWE Championship shifted repeatedly over the past few months. While the current plan is for Rhodes to defend the title against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42, that was far from the original plan. Meltzer reported that, barring any last-minute changes, Rhodes vs. Orton is expected to remain a straight singles match rather than a multi-man bout.

“Barring a late decision change, Rhodes will defend the title against Randy Orton, and it’s pretty much a lock that it will be a singles match rather than a three-way or four-way match.”

According to the report, this direction came after weeks of speculation and shifting ideas around the title match. One earlier concept reportedly had Rhodes facing Roman Reigns again, potentially inside one of WWE’s most dangerous stipulations.

“This ends weeks of speculation and changes when it came to that title, which originally was scheduled for Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns, possibly in a Hell in a Cell match.”

There were also reports that another possible WrestleMania direction could have involved Drew McIntyre defending the championship against Rhodes in a Hell in a Cell match.

“There were reports this week that when the match was going to be McIntyre defending against Rhodes at Mania, that it would have been a Hell in a Cell match, which does make sense as it would have been the fourth singles meeting on a major show in the past several months.”

However, sources within WWE told Meltzer that while Hell in a Cell was discussed heavily for a Rhodes vs. Reigns match, it was never firmly locked in as an official plan.

“Those in WWE that we asked said that there was never a serious thought or plan, but Hell in a Cell was heavily discussed for Rhodes vs. Reigns before the decision to change everything after the injury to Seth Rollins and the decision to put the title on McIntyre.”

Once those changes happened, WWE began exploring the idea of Rhodes facing Randy Orton instead. But even that direction reportedly went through multiple revisions internally. According to the report, the match began to take shape once WWE decided Orton would win the Elimination Chamber earlier this year.

“We were told the idea of Rhodes vs. Orton came up, was the direction and then that was changed four different times since it was first brought up. But it has been largely the direction since the plan for Orton to win the Chamber match, which we were told was made the first week of February.”

Because Rhodes was always expected to remain in the championship picture, WWE’s decision to eventually have him defeat Drew McIntyre on television was tied to that same timeline.

“Given Rhodes was never going to be out of that position, the Rhodes over McIntyre on television decision had to be made at the same point.”

Meltzer also noted that WWE television subtly began setting up the possibility of Orton challenging for the title once commentary started referencing his historic championship resume and his pursuit of John Cena’s record.

“The television mentioning of Orton as a 14-time champion and going after the John Cena record would date to the original idea being at least under consideration for Orton, as prior to that he wasn’t the pick.”

After several creative pivots, WWE finally landed on Rhodes vs Orton as the Undisputed WWE Championship match for WrestleMania 42 — even though the original vision for the show looked very different.

Do you think WWE should have stuck with Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42, or is Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton the better match? Let us know your thoughts.