WrestleMania 42 takes place on April 18 and 19, 2026, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. The card so far brings together eight title matches, several long-running rivalries, and a few matchups that only reached this point after weeks of attacks, interference, and fallout on Raw and SmackDown.
At the top of the card, CM Punk defends the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns after Reigns won the 2026 Royal Rumble and chose Punk as his WrestleMania opponent. Once Reigns made that choice, the two immediately clashed on Raw over legacy, loyalty, and their long-running tension.
Cody later defeated McIntyre to win back the championship, which set up the WrestleMania title match with Orton. When Cody and Orton later met in the ring to sign the contract, the segment ended with Orton attacking Cody, adding another layer to their rivalry as former allies.
The women’s title matches bring several different rivalries into the event. AJ Lee defends the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship against Becky Lynch after beating her three times since returning to WWE.
AJ first made Becky tap out in the mixed tag match at Wrestlepalooza, then beat her again in WarGames, and then defeated her at Elimination Chamber to win the title. After AJ later defended the championship against Bayley, Becky attacked her and pushed the rivalry further before WrestleMania.
Two more championships are also on the line in matches that came most recently in the buildup. Sami Zayn defends the WWE United States Championship against Trick Williams after Trick ambushed Sami back in January. On March 27, Sami answered Carmelo Hayes’ United States Open Challenge, and Trick’s attempt to interfere backfired when he hit Hayes instead and helped Sami win the title.
Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss remained in the title picture after Jax and Legend interfered in an earlier loss, while Bayley and Lyra Valkyria fought their way into the mix as another team looking to reach the card. The Bella Twins also returned, looking to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship for the first time, and after a failed title shot and later issues involving Flair and Bliss, the division moved toward a four-way title match at WrestleMania.
Outside the title matches, several rivalries on the card stem from personal issues. Brock Lesnar faces Oba Femi after Lesnar issued an open challenge for WrestleMania and Femi answered it.
Their problems also go back to the Royal Rumble, where Lesnar eliminated Femi. When Femi accepted the challenge, he dropped Lesnar with Fall from Grace. He then put Lesnar down again the following week, and Triple H later had to step in when the two came face-to-face again before WrestleMania.
Finn Bálor faces Dominik Mysterio after the split inside Judgment Day. The break started after Bálor challenged CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship, which added more tension inside the group.
On March 9, Bálor was assaulted and thrown out of Judgment Day. Two weeks later, Dominik tried to regain the Intercontinental Championship from Penta, but Bálor interfered, costing him the match and leading directly to Bálor challenging Dominik for WrestleMania.
Jacob Fatu faces Drew McIntyre in an unsanctioned match after Fatu cost McIntyre the Undisputed WWE Championship in his loss to Cody Rhodes. McIntyre later acted like he was leaving SmackDown, then returned and attacked Fatu during Fatu’s match with Trick Williams. Another violent brawl followed, and the WrestleMania match was later made unsanctioned.
Seth Rollins also meets Gunther after several weeks of trouble involving Rollins and Paul Heyman after Rollins was exiled from The Vision. On March 2, masked men swarmed the arena, leaving Heyman exposed, which gave Rollins the opening to stomp him.
On March 23, Heyman called Rollins out on Raw, but Rollins attacked him again from behind and was arrested. On March 30, Rollins tried to stomp Heyman again, but Gunther attacked him before he could do it, which sent Rollins and Gunther into WrestleMania on opposite sides.
The Vision will also be involved in a six-man tag team match at WrestleMania, with Logan Paul and Austin Theory teaming with IShowSpeed against The Usos and LA Knight. That gives the group another major match on the card after the fallout that led to Seth Rollins being exiled from The Vision, while also putting LA Knight and The Usos opposite one of the event’s most visible alliances.
With eight title matches already scheduled, several personal grudges still active, and multiple divisions involved, WrestleMania 42 will be a special event that’ll affect the championship picture and several rivalries well beyond the weekend.
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