We're heading into one of the most unpredictable WrestleMania builds for several years, and WWE's plans for the Show of Shows' return to Las Vegas continue to evolve.
According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque who made the call to pull the plug on Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns III.
"The way it was explained is that Paul Levesque [Triple H] took another look at the [Royal] Rumble-to-Mania planned direction and decided that doing a Rhodes vs. [Roman] Reigns match for the third time in four years, and spending months building that direction, would lead to audience fatigue," he revealed.
The American Nightmare may have also had some input, as his discussions with management led to all parties concluding that he would be better off chasing the Undisputed WWE Championship heading into WrestleMania rather than holding the title before the PLE for the second year in a row.
"Rhodes brought up McIntyre at the same time and asked for advice on whether it made sense," Meltzer wrote, "and if he would be more valuable chasing than defending, and eventually decided that chasing would be better."
As of now, Reigns is reportedly "the odd man out of the WWE title picture," so we don't know what's in store for the OTC at the Showcase of the Immortals.
However, Rhodes does currently factor into plans for the Championship, as does the newly crowned Drew McIntyre and the returning Jacob Fatu.
"The two ideas for Mania at this point are a three-way for the title with Rhodes, Fatu and McIntyre, or just McIntyre vs. Rhodes," Meltzer explained. "The straight match is easier because there has to be a single winner at the Rumble and at the Chamber (for CM Punk or whoever the other champion is), so Rhodes winning the Chamber (could be Rumble but my gut is Chamber makes the most sense) would get him in."
Rhodes and McIntyre have been feuding for a while, so the biggest challenge for WWE will be maintaining interest in that feud for the next three months. For what it's worth, we've heard that McIntyre vs. Fatu is another idea being considered, with the idea being to crown the former Bloodline member on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
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