Backstage Details on WWE Having Different Creative Direction Planned For WrestleMania 42

Bryan Alvarez believes several internal factors contributed to the mixed reaction from the WWE Universe and critics to WrestleMania 42, including injuries and creative changes.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Alvarez said WrestleMania returning to Las Vegas for a second straight year is one of the factors discussed internally and among fans following the event. He pointed to reduced momentum and lower-than-expected ticket sales when discussing the show’s overall perception.

He also revealed that WWE initially planned a feud between CM Punk and Bron Breakker, with the latter to be crowned “the guy” after defeating Punk. However, Breakker’s injury altered those directions (via Wrestling Inc).

“Obviously, part of the issue with Vegas was running [there] back to back years,” Alvarez said. “But that was not the primary reason, just merely going back to back years. There were a lot of problems. One is that WWE just isn’t as hot, that’s number one. Number two, they had, and part of this is not their fault, but they had a card for Mania long in advance and there were things like Bron Breakker beating CM Punk for the title and getting crowned the guy. They had all sorts of things.”

According to Alvarez, Bronson Reed’s injury affected the card and contributed to additional changes behind the scenes. He added that WWE considered several different headline matches during the planning stages, including Roman Reigns versus Cody Rhodes and Rhodes against Drew McIntyre at different points. However, WWE eventually moved away from some of those ideas because audiences had already seen the matchups multiple times in recent years.

“And then Bron Breakker gets hurt. And then Bronson Reed was in it, Bronson Reed gets hurt. They were originally going to do Roman and Cody again. And then it was like ‘People have seen that match too many times.’ So then it was going to be ‘Alright, well we’ll do Cody and Drew.’ And then, [it was the] same thing. ‘Well, people have seen that match too many times.'”

WrestleMania 42 featured several major storyline pivots leading into the event, with WWE adjusting plans across both nights in the weeks leading up to the show.