WWE Considering "Just About Everything" For WrestleMania XL

WWE has been forced to make major changes to the original 'Mania XL line-up.

by Andrew Pollard
Bron Breakker GUNTHER Seth Rollins Drew McIntyre Jinder Mahal
WWE

While WWE clearly had certain plans cemented in place for WrestleMania XL, some of those plans have been thrown up in the air in the past week.

As per WrestleVotes, WWE management is currently taking its time in deciding which direction to go for 'Mania XL, with "just about everything" being considered right now - including moving certain superstars higher up the card than originally intended.

Of course, the CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins match at WrestleMania XL is now off the table, with last night's Raw seeing Punk reveal that he suffered a torn triceps at the Royal Rumble. Likewise, Rollins himself is dealing with a torn MCL and a partially torn meniscus. Should the World Heavyweight Champion make it the Showcase of the Immortals, it remains to be seen who'll fill that CM Punk void, with Drew McIntyre and GUNTHER a couple of obvious favourites for that spot.

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As for Brock Lesnar, plans called for him to be a part of the men's Rumble last weekend, where he'd have had the exact role that Bron Breakker did. That means Lesnar would've been eliminated by Dominik Mysterio, in turn setting up Brock vs. Dominik at WWE Elimination Chamber from Perth, Australia. At WrestleMania XL, Lesnar would've then faced GUNTHER, likely for the Intercontinental Title. It's known at this stage whether the original Brock creative will simply be switched to Breakker, with Bron facing Mysterio and then going on to challenge Der Ring General.

All of those Lesnar plans changed last week, with Brock identified by The Wall Street Journal as the "world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion with whom WWE was actively trying to sign to a new contract" as part of Janel Grant's lawsuit brought against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and others for sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Lesnar was subsequently "withdrawn" from that scheduled Royal Rumble appearance.

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While certain changes are now being made to the intended WrestleMania XL line-up, the belief is that we will still get Cody Rhodes vs. Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Bayley vs. WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY, and Becky Lynch vs. Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley at the this year's Granddaddy of Them All.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.