Jacob Fatu looks set to have a big spot at WrestleMania 42, despite not being in the Elimination Chamber this week.
Cody Rhodes remains the betting favourite to win Elimination Chamber and earn a rematch against Drew McIntyre in Las Vegas in April.
But fans have hardly been enamoured with the idea of another McIntyre and Rhodes match given we’ve have several over the past four months.
According to “WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select,” WWE’s creative department has been pushing for Fatu to be in the title scene at WrestleMania 42 and be one of McIntyre’s challengers.
Given Fatu is not in the Elimination Chamber match, he would need to earn his way into the match in the weeks of TV leading up to the event in April.
WrestleVotes also added that several departments within WWE are starting to panic as they are facing multiple deadlines to prepare WrestleMania materials, and there’s fear that the company is falling behind on promotional assets given the change in creative.
Previously, WrestleVotes also reported that a multi-man match is being discussed for the Undisputed Heavyweight title.
A five-pack or six-pack challenge is on the table with stars like Randy Orton, Sami Zayn and Aleister Black being involved on top of the expected Fatu and Rhodes.
It’s worth noting that only Rhodes and Orton are competing in the Elimination Chamber.
Arguably, Rhodes and Orton was the best singles story SmackDown could have told heading into WrestleMania. The history they have would have made for a compelling rivalry leaving McIntyre to other challengers.
Fatu is still convinced that McIntyre attacked and injured him late last year, but the champion continues to deny that claim.
Then you have Sami Zayn’s eternal pursuit to win just one world championship. Would a multi-man match really be the best scenario to make that happen?
It seems WWE do not have a red-hot story they can hang their hat on for SmackDown. But a multi-man match of that size for the title hasn’t been done in a long time.
Making this a ladder match could make it interesting, but there are no reports suggesting it will be that right now.
