Major WWE WrestleMania XL Changes Because Of Brock Lesnar
Further update on WWE creative plans after pulling Brock Lesnar from the Royal Rumble.
With Brock Lesnar "withdrawn" from his originally scheduled appearance at the WWE Royal Rumble this past weekend, there's now further news on how the decision not to feature Lesnar at the Rumble has impacted company plans.
That decision not to use Lesnar at the Royal Rumble comes in the aftermath of Janel Grant's lawsuit where Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and other WWE figures are accused of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse between 2019 and 2022. As part of that lawsuit, there's reference to a "world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion with whom WWE was actively trying to sign to a new contract". The Wall Street Journal has since identified that person as Brock Lesnar.
Following up on the news that Lesnar was to be featured in the spot which Bron Breakker had in the men's Royal Rumble and then go on to face Dominik Mysterio - who would've eliminated Brock - at WWE Elimination Chamber in Perth, Australia next month, there's now word on what changes this has caused for WrestleMania XL.
Per Dave Meltzer over at the Wrestling Observer, pulling Brock from the Royal Rumble has caused a "domino effect" of several creative changes for 'Mania XL across the past few days. The belief is that Lesnar was due to face GUNTHER - likely for the Intercontinental Championship - at this year's Showcase of the Immortals.
Where this leaves GUNTHER remains to be seen, and it also remains to be seen whether Bron Breakker will continue to replace Brock Lesnar in future plans. At the Royal Rumble, Meltzer notes that the role Breakker played was exactly what was intended for Lesnar; the eliminations Breakker scored, the people he interacted with, the amount of time he was in the match, the elimination by Mysterio. It could be that WWE formally call Bron Breakker up to the main roster and simply plug him immediately into the creative intended for Lesnar, which would see the second-generation phenomenon face Dominik in Australia and get himself a shot at GUNTHER at WrestleMania XL. For now, that's merely speculation, though.
With Meltzer having used the term domino effect, there's no details right now on which other talents will be having their WrestleMania plans altered by the time the Granddaddy of Them All happens in April. As of now, though, it very much looks like Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns, Bayley vs. IYO SKY, Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley, and CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins are all locked in for WrestleMania XL.