Summary

A new report shed light on an earlier creative idea for Randy Orton heading into WrestleMania 42, before Pat McAfee was ultimately revealed as the mystery caller aligned with him on SmackDown.

The reported pitch would have centered on Aleister Black trying to drag Orton back into his old Apex Predator persona. Instead of McAfee taking that role in the final version, Black was said to be positioned as the one pushing Orton toward a darker turn before Orton's feud with Cody Rhodes peaked.

That final version of the story still ended with Orton embracing that side of himself after his chaotic WrestleMania 42 match with Cody Rhodes, but the path there may originally have looked very different.

The original Randy Orton pitch

The January pitch reportedly called for Black to torment Orton and test whether he had truly changed. In that version, Black's goal was to prove Orton had never really left the Apex Predator behind.

The idea was said to build to a WrestleMania weekend confrontation between Orton and Black. Orton would hesitate to use the punt kick, likely lose the match, and then later attack Cody Rhodes as part of a larger angle that fully restored his old persona.

What the change means for Randy Orton and Aleister Black

For Orton, the report suggests WWE kept the core idea of reviving the Apex Predator even after the creative direction changed. The payoff still came through with Orton attacking Cody Rhodes and using the punt, which means the company preserved the heel turn beat even if Black was removed from the setup.

For Black, this is the more interesting part of the story. If the pitch made it far enough to outline a WrestleMania weekend match and a character-driven role opposite Orton, it shows WWE at least considered giving him a major place in one of the promotion's biggest programs of the year.

Sources

As reported by PWInsider