WrestleMania 42 will take place Saturday and Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, marking the second time the same venue has hosted consecutive WrestleMania events. The first example occurred at WrestleManias IV and V, held at the historic Atlantic City Convention Hall in New Jersey.
Night one of this year’s event, headlined by Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, begins at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and continues on ESPN Unlimited after the first hour. Night Two, featuring CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns, begins at the same time on ESPN and moves to ESPN Unlimited.
The lineup is stacked, featuring 13 matches across both nights – eight of them championship contests.
Let’s get up to speed on the show’s key notes, stats and history.
Saturday
WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton
Although this will be the first televised championship match between Rhodes and Orton, it will not be the first time they face each other at WrestleMania. As their run as the faction “Legacy” ended, Rhodes, Orton and Ted DiBiase Jr. faced off in a triple-threat match at WrestleMania XXVI in 2010, which Orton won. That was also Rhodes’ first WrestleMania match.
This will be Orton’s 21st WrestleMania match. Only The Undertaker (27) and Triple H (23) have made more appearances. Orton’s first appearance was at WrestleMania XX in 2004 when he and his Evolution teammates, Ric Flair and Batista, defeated The Rock and Mick Foley in a three-on-two match. Recently he defeated Joe Hendry in WrestleMania 41.
Orton is looking to secure his 15th World Championship. This will move him ahead of Triple H and move into third place in WWE history. Ric Flair holds 16 world titles and John Cena won his 17th title in the main event of last year’s WrestleMania.
Rhodes is on a four-match premium live event losing streak, his longest since returning to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in 2022. His last PLE win was at Wrestlepalooza last September.
Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Wacker vs. Liv Morgan
This will be Morgan’s first singles match on a WrestleMania main card. Morgan’s last four WrestleMania matches have been tag team matches and all were losses. She will also be looking for her first WrestleMania win on the main card. Her only win came against Natalya at the WrestleMania 36 preshow.
History will be in favor of Morgan in this match. Since the women’s Royal Rumble began in 2018, more than half of its winners – five of eight – have walked away from WrestleMania as champions.
If Wacker wins at WrestleMania, it will be his fifth consecutive PLE win. Her winning streak began last July when she won a battle royal at Evolution to earn a shot at the Women’s World Championship, which she won by defeating Iyo Sky at Wrestlepalooza.
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2:18
AJ Lee: I can’t wait to tap out Becky Lynch again
AJ Lee joined “SportsCenter” to preview her WrestleMania matchup against Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship.
Women’s Intercontinental Championship: AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch
This would be Lee’s first WrestleMania appearance in 11 years. Their last match was at WrestleMania 31 in 2015 when they and Paige defeated the Bella Twins in a tag match.
Lynch debuted at WrestleMania in Dallas in 2016 and began her WrestleMania career with three losses. But he has changed things since then. From WrestleMania 35, where she won the first women’s WrestleMania main event, through last year’s show, she has compiled a record of 4–2.
This will be Lynch’s 10th WrestleMania match, tying her for second place with Naomi in the women’s division. Only Natalia has more than 11.
Women’s Tag Team Championship: Nia Jax and Lash Legend vs. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria vs. Nikki and Brie Bella
Since the introduction of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship in 2019, the titles have been defended at five WrestleMania events. Four of these matches resulted in new champions, including last year, when Becky Lynch and Valkyria defeated Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez.
Flair leads the field in WrestleMania experience, as this will be her ninth match. In the women’s category, only Natalya, Lynch and Naomi are higher.
Rejected Match: Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre
It’s been almost a year since Fatu won a WWE PLE match at WWE Backlash last May. McIntyre was also a part of that match, as Fatu defeated McIntyre, Damian Priest and L.A. Knight to retain the United States Championship he won at WrestleMania 41.
The only other time a WrestleMania match has been classified as unsanctioned – where there are no rules on competitors stepping inside the circle – was at WrestleMania 33 in 2017, when Seth Rollins defeated Triple H.
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0:59
Seth Rollins: ‘I will put on a show at WrestleMania.’
Seth Rollins joins “The Rich Eisen Show” to discuss his return at WrestleMania.
seth rollins vs gunther
Rollins won four consecutive WrestleMania matches from 2015 to 2019 and is looking to equal that feat with a win against Gunther, after winning his last three WrestleMania appearances.
Rollins has never faced “Gunther” in a one-on-one match on television. However, they fought in a singles match on “Raw” in Manchester, England in 2019, when Gunther was known as Walter, which eventually turned into an eight-man tag match.
Gunther had a successful WrestleMania debut in 2023, defeating Drew McIntyre and Sheamus for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 39. Since then, he has lost two consecutive WrestleMania title matches, losing to Sami Zayn in 2024 and Jey Uso in 2025.
The Usos and LA Knight vs. Logan Paul, Austin Theory and iShowspeed
Jey Uso had a stellar run from 2024 to 2025, winning five consecutive PLE matches, including winning the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 41. However, he is entering this year’s WrestleMania hoping to avoid a fifth consecutive PLE loss.
LA Knight has faced a lot of difficulties in WWE PLE recently. Since the end of 2024, he has lost eight consecutive PLE matches, including last year’s WrestleMania, when Jacob Fatu defeated him to win the WWE United States Championship. Knight’s last PLE win was at WWE Crown Jewel in November 2024.
sunday
World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns
Reigns will be entering his 11th WrestleMania main event, the most ever, with the next closest being Hulk Hogan (8). the secret is tied And Surpassed Hogan for the record in the same PLE. At WrestleMania XL in 2024, Reigns set the record in the main event of Night One and broke it in the main event of Night Two. This will be the sixth consecutive WrestleMania in which Reigns will be in the main event.
Reigns and Punk have faced off frequently over the years, but this will be the second face-to-face match between the two. The first event occurred on the January 6, 2014 episode of “Raw”, where Reigns defeated Punk in the main event. That was just weeks before Punk’s departure from WWE, which would lead to Punk being away from the company for almost a decade.
Punk is undefeated in 2026 with successful World Heavyweight Championship defenses against Braun Breaker, AJ Styles four times and Finn Balor twice.
Reigns is facing two consecutive WrestleMania losses. Last year’s loss marked the first time in his career that he missed two consecutive WrestleMania matches. Overall, his record at the event is 9–4.
WWE Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley
Cargill will look to keep her WrestleMania winning streak intact – albeit short. He has won both of his matches since his WWE debut in early 2024. Ripley is 3-3 at WrestleMania but is used to big bets. The championship was at stake in each of Ripley’s six WrestleMania matches.
Ripley dominated televised matches in 2026 and compiled an 11–2 record. Her only losses were in the Royal Rumble match and most recently on “SmackDown” in a Women’s Tag Team Championship match with Io Sky against Nia Jax and Lash Legend.
Cargill has not lost a match of any kind since the September 26, 2025 episode of “SmackDown”, when she and Nia Jax lost to Tiffany Stratton in a triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship. Since then, she has gone 7-0 on TV, a streak that began when she defeated Stratton at November’s “Saturday Night’s Main Event” to become WWE Women’s Champion.
WWE Intercontinental Championship – Ladder Match: Penta vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Jevon Evans vs. JD McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee vs. Rusev
This will be the 15th ladder match to be held at WrestleMania. The first time was at WrestleMania X in 1994, when Razor Ramon defeated Shawn Michaels for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The Money in the Bank ladder match debuted at WrestleMania in 2005. The most recent was with the WWE Tag Titles at WrestleMania XL in 2024.
There have been 17 WrestleMania matches between Mysterio (12), Rusev (4) and Penta (1). Evans, McDonagh and Lee will be in their first WrestleMania match.
United States Championship: Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams
Zayn’s WrestleMania career did not get off to a good start – he lost his first three matches and lost five of his first six. However, he is looking for his third consecutive win. Recently, he defeated Gunther at WrestleMania XL to become WWE Intercontinental Champion.
A win for newcomer Williams would give her her first WrestleMania moment, as well as her first WWE PLE win after two losses.
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1:21
Oba Femi vs Brock Lesnar Prediction
Arda Okal has made his predictions for the match between Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42.
Brock Lesnar vs Oba Femi
Femi will be making his WrestleMania debut, while Lesnar has years of experience, dating back to his main event victory over Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 19 in 2003, when Femi was only 4 years old. Lesnar was 25 years old and became the youngest wrestler to compete in the main event of WrestleMania.
Lesnar has become a special attraction. Since his eight-second WWE Championship victory over Kofi Kingston on the October 4, 2019 episode of “SmackDown”, Lesnar has only had PLE-matches. Since that win, he has featured in 22 PLE matches compared to zero weekly TV matches.
Lesnar created history by scoring his second victory in a memorable fashion in his fourth WrestleMania match. In one of the most shocking WrestleMania moments of 2014, he ended The Undertaker’s 21-match WrestleMania winning streak.
finn balor vs dominik mysterio
It has been over two years since Balor won a WWE PLE match of any kind. His last such win came in February 2024 at Elimination Chamber: Perth when he and Damian Priest defeated Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate to retain the WWE Tag Titles.
Mysterio, on the other hand, is leading the WWE PLE with five consecutive wins. His first winning streak came last year at WrestleMania when he won a Fatal 4-Way match, also involving Balor, and became Intercontinental Champion.
Balor is expected to revive his Demon persona at WrestleMania, a character that has not appeared on TV in three years. In fact, his last outing as Damon came in a Hell in a Cell match against Edge at WrestleMania 39 in 2023.
