'WWE Unreal' Shows Original Wrestlemania 41 Plans Had Some Unusual Matchups Planned

Wrestling may have seemed to reach its peak through the WWF and WWE in the 1990s, but 2025 proved that love for the sport and wrestling performance hasn't gone anywhere.

Wrestlemania 41 took place in April 2025, making history and taking names.

However, a new behind-the-scenes Netflix documentary series called WWE Unreal has given fans a peek behind the curtain. And that peek revealed a surprisingly different original plan for Wrestlemania 41, including a vastly different line-up with different stars.

Here's what we know about what the event was originally slated to look like versus how it came to be.

As seen on screenshots widely making the rounds on social media, the original plan for Wrestlemania 41 was pretty darn different from how it eventually shook down. Here's what they had for the original lineup, per WWE Unreal:

• Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena
• Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
• WWE World Heavyweight Championship: GUNTHER vs. CM Punk
• WWE Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair
• Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens

• A 10-Person Mixed Tag Team Match: The Wyatt Sicks vs. Judgment Day
• WWE Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill vs. Nia Jax
• WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair vs. IYO SKY & Asuka
• A.J. Styles vs. Logan Paul
• Bad Bunny vs. Dominik Mysterio.

And according to Wrestling Headlines, the list continued:

• "Bron Breakker vs. Drew McIntyre (Special Guest Referee: Stone Cold Steve Austin)
• Rey Mysterio (*unable to make out name Mysterio would be flanked by*) vs. Chad Gable
• WWE Intercontinental Championship — Six-Way Ladder Match: Jey Uso vs. Damian Priest vs. Sami Zayn vs. Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ludwig Kaiser
• WWE United States Championship — Six-Way Ladder Match: L.A. Knight vs. Jimmy Uso vs. Andrade vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Santos Escobar vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura."

As we know, the actual line-up was vastly different. For one, Bad Bunny wasn't running up and down the schedule. For another, the line-up failed to predict just how strong John Cena would show up. And Reigns vs Rollins stayed, with a little twist, as did a few others.

The two-day event kicked off on Night One with a wild showdown featuring Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins. Rollins came out on top after an eye-popping dust-up, leaving fans thirsting for Night Two (per USA Today).

Night Two saw seven matchups, including Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Cena's matchup with Rhodes seemed like a bitter rivalry, until a switch flipped and Cena owned the mat, taking home the big W.

While the line-up was different from what the writers originally planned and the results were a surprise and delight to fans everywhere, who characteristically yelled "You can't see me" as Cena slammed home the win, it turned into a fantastic resurrection of the Wrestlemania tradition.

Fans were already pumped up for WrestleMania 42 before the two-day 41 even concluded, looking ahead to the future.