Rey Mysterio’s road to WrestleMania 42 took an unexpected turn after an injury forced WWE to rethink its original plans for the Hall of Famer.

Mysterio had been lined up for a high profile clash with GUNTHER at the Las Vegas event, but those plans were derailed after he suffered fractured ribs during a match against Austin Theory on the final RAW before the Royal Rumble. Despite pushing through to compete in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match, the damage ultimately sidelined him soon after.

In the weeks that followed, Mysterio was briefly brought back into the mix when he was added to the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match. This came shortly after GUNTHER vs Seth Rollins was made official for WrestleMania 42, creating some uncertainty around the original direction.

Earlier in the year, GUNTHER had been building momentum following his victory over AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble, which led into a developing rivalry with Dragon Lee. Many expected that story to evolve into a showdown involving Mysterio on the grand stage.

However, behind the scenes, plans were far from settled. During a recent Q and A session, Sean Ross Sapp revealed that the initial creative direction actually called for Seth Rollins to face Bron Breakker, while GUNTHER was set to meet Mysterio. Once Mysterio was ruled out and GUNTHER unmasked Dragon Lee, WWE reportedly found itself reworking ideas, with GUNTHER briefly disappearing from television as plans shifted.

There were also indications that a GUNTHER vs Rollins match had been discussed as early as the Elimination Chamber period, suggesting multiple creative paths were considered before the final WrestleMania card took shape.