Seth Rollins’ Injury Led To Major WrestleMania 42 Changes

The original plans for WrestleMania 42 reportedly looked very different before Seth Rollins‘ injury forced a series of creative changes that reshaped the main event picture.

According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the initial plan centred around the company’s four biggest stars: Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and Seth Rollins. The original blueprint called for Rollins to defend the World Title against Reigns, while Rhodes would defend the WWE Championship against Punk in a rare babyface versus babyface clash.

“The final two main events have changed twice since the year’s plans were made,” Meltzer wrote. “The basic idea is the four biggest stars in the company were and are Reigns, Punk, Rhodes and Seth Rollins. So the plan was for Rollins to defend the world title against Reigns… Rhodes would then defend the world title against Punk.”

Plans reportedly shifted after Rollins suffered a torn rotator cuff. The company then pivoted to a storyline involving Punk and Bron Breakker, with the idea of Breakker challenging for the title, winning the Royal Rumble, and eventually defeating Punk at WrestleMania to establish himself as a top star.

“The injury to Rollins caused changes, as they went with Punk as champion with the idea of a three step program with Bron Breakker,” Meltzer wrote, noting the goal was to position Breakker as the leading full-time star.

That direction was later dropped following input from Drew McIntyre and Rhodes. Meltzer reported that McIntyre pushed for a title change in their three-stages-of-hell match, with Rhodes in agreement. Paul “Triple H” Levesque ultimately sided with them, feeling a Rhodes versus Reigns rematch would be too predictable.

As a result, the WrestleMania 42 main event picture changed again. Reigns is now set to face Punk after winning the Royal Rumble on January 31, while McIntyre is expected to defend the WWE Championship against Rhodes, provided Rhodes secures the opportunity at Elimination Chamber.

“Reigns, Rhodes and Punk are viewed right now as the three biggest stars, so essentially McIntyre was getting Breakker’s spot in the title picture,” Meltzer wrote.

When Will Seth Rollins Return From Injury?

There has been no confirmed timeline for Seth Rollins’ return from injury. However, Rollins has spoken in the past about how his injury would take around four to six months to recover from, and given that he suffered the injury in October 2025, six months onwards would land in April, just in time for WrestleMania.