• Why WWE Booked Seth Rollins vs. Gunther For WrestleMania 42
As seen on last night’s RAW, it was announced that Seth Rollins has been cleared to return to in-ring action and all charges against him have been dropped.
Rollins then attacked Paul Heyman with a steel chair, but Gunther showed up and put Rollins to sleep. Adam Pearce then announced Seth Rollins vs. Gunther for WrestleMania 42.
Gunther was originally scheduled to face Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 42. On the other hand, Rollins was originally scheduled to face Bron Breakker at WrestleMania 42.
However, both Mysterio and Breakker are out of action with injuries and couldn’t get cleared in time. According to multiple sources, Breakker was backstage at last night’s RAW, but wasn’t cleared. This led to WWE booking Gunther vs. Rollins at the biggest show of the year.
The commentators questioned why Gunther went after Rollins. Expect Gunther to provide his explanation on next week’s RAW.
• Michael Cole Lied About The Intercontinental Title Picture On RAW
On last night’s RAW, Penta defeated Kofi Kingston to retain the Intercontinental Championship. After the match, Penta revealed that he will defend his title in a Ladder Match at WrestleMania 42.
Later during the show, WWE revealed the participants for this Ladder Match: Penta (c) vs. Rusev vs. JD McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von Evans.
According to Sean Ross Sapp, WWE originally planned on doing 4 qualifying matches to determine Penta’s opponents in the match.
Fans pointed out that Michael Cole said that the qualifying matches for this title match took place on WWE Main Event, but that’s not the case.
• Cody Rhodes Reacts To Fans Turning On Him During Randy Orton Feud
Since his WWE return in 2022, Cody Rhodes had been one of the company’s biggest babyfaces. That shifted, however, after he dethroned Drew McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE Championship earlier this month. Many fans felt Drew deserved a longer title run, and their frustration quickly turned towards Cody.
The heat intensified when Randy Orton, once Cody’s friend, betrayed him. Surprisingly, fans cheered for The Viper during the attack and have continued backing him throughout the feud, leaving Cody on the receiving end of boos and mixed reactions.
On Busted Open Radio, Cody addressed the shift in fan support and how he handles it.
“I don’t take it personally. I think maybe when I was younger I did, and certainly there’s no absolute in that. I’m sure some things kind of slip through the armor a bit and you feel it. But my thought in terms of fans today, more than ever, is that we are out there and whatever their emotional need is, if they need to cheer for you, if they need to cheer for him, if they need to yell at you. I can’t put a governor on that.
I can’t be angry at them. Whatever it is they need, if they’re cheering for Randy as he seeks [World Title] 15 even with the things he did, okay. I’m not there to try and tell you you’re wrong or right. There’s no wrong way to be a fan. So right now it hasn’t got to me. I’ll be honest, sometimes maybe it will. But right now? No.”
The American Nightmare will put the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against The Apex Predator in the main event of WrestleMania 42 – Night 1.
