Original WrestleMania 42 Plans For Randy Orton (WWE News)

While he came up short against WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 42 Night 1, WWE had some vastly different 'Mania plans in place for Randy Orton leading up to the Showcase of the Immortals.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that, as recently as this past Friday, Orton was scheduled to beat Cody and win the WWE Title. Meltzer noted that some people he spoke to believed the finish of the match was changed on the day of the show, while a more trusted source was adamant that the decision was made before Saturday morning rolled around.

BodySlam+ adds that a driving factor in this change of plans was WWE having plans to continue the Rhodes vs. Orton rivalry post-WrestleMania. Of course, even though the American Nightmare got the win this past weekend, that was followed by a post-match beatdown from the Viper, with Randy hitting Cody with the WWE Championship and giving him a punt kick. However, given that Rhodes suffered legitimate damage to his orbital socket during the match, it remains to be seen when the two will next get physical.

Elsewhere, PWInsider Elite reports on some other plans that were at one point in place for Randy Orton at this year's Granddaddy of Them All. Rather than facing Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 42, Orton was previously pencilled in to square off with Aleister Black. The story here, as we saw glimpses of on TV earlier in the year, was that Black was trying to goad Randy into a dark place, attempting to get him to snap and prove that he's not changed from the psychotic menace of years gone by. And at WrestleMania, Aleister would've been the one getting the win as a result of Orton hesitating to punt the former NXT Champion.

The Orton vs. Black plans did, however, tie in with Cody Rhodes, as Randy would snap at a later point during WrestleMania Weekend and punt Cody. Those plans were being discussed in January, but WWE obviously opted to go in a different direction. That said, there was a slight similarity in how we saw Pat McAfee drawing out Randy's darker side.