Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk Reportedly Not Currently Planned For WWE WrestleMania 43

An update has emerged on WWE’s plans for both nights of WrestleMania 43.

At SummerSlam earlier this year, CM Punk defended the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes. That night, fans watched on as Randy Orton made his return, costing “The American Nightmare” the match and leaving the door open for Punk and Rhodes to square off again down the line, potentially at WrestleMania. However, it

While discussing the current WrestleMania plans, Dave Meltzer wrote in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Rhodes vs. Punk is currently off the table, while Oba Femi vs. Roman Reigns is still on.

“There has been a lot of talk this week that the two main events for WrestleMania in 2027 would be Rhodes vs. Punk on night one and Reigns vs. Femi on night two. From what we were told, the latter is accurate but the former is not the current plan.”

-Dave Meltzer

This reflects the current chaotic nature of the WWE Championship picture, as there have been five title changes so far this year. Plus, we’ve seen perhaps unexpected names like Sami Zayn win the gold, while Drew McIntyre was able to claim the accolade for the first time in front of fans.

At present, most fans are expecting Oba Femi to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 43, with this feeling increasing when “The Ruler” called out “The OTC” on the Money in the Bank post-show. However, his tease left many to wonder if the match could happen sooner than anticipated, but a report now long after clarified the direction. You can catch up on our coverage of that here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the plans for WrestleMania 43 as soon as we hear more.