WWE WrestleMania 42

WrestleMania 42 took place on April 18 and 19, 2026, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. The card brought together eight title matches, several long-running rivalries, and a few matchups that reached WrestleMania after weeks of attacks, interference, and fallout on Raw and SmackDown.

At the top of the card, CM Punk defended 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.

The other world title match had Cody Rhodes defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton. Orton earned that title shot by winning the Elimination Chamber over Cody Rhodes, LA Knight, Logan Paul, Trick Williams, and Je’Von Evans. During that match, Drew McIntyre interfered and created the opening that allowed Orton to pin Cody.

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 brought several different rivalries into the event. AJ Lee defended 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. 

Jade Cargill defended the WWE Women’s Championship against Rhea Ripley after Ripley won the Women’s Elimination Chamber over Tiffany Stratton, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Kiana James, and Raquel Rodriguez. Jade had held the title since beating Tiffany Stratton at Saturday Night’s Main Event XLI on November 1, 2025, and the rivalry continued to grow when Jade, Michin, and B-Fab attacked Ripley on SmackDown on March 27. 

Stephanie Vaquer defended the WWE Women’s World Championship against Liv Morgan after Morgan won the 2026 Women’s Royal Rumble match. Their rivalry turned personal when Vaquer questioned whether Morgan had really earned the spot. Vaquer later ambushed Morgan on Raw, and Roxanne Perez returned to back Morgan during another brawl.

Two more championships were also on the line in matches that came together late in the buildup. Sami Zayn defended 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.

The WWE Intercontinental Championship was defended in a fatal five-way ladder match with Penta facing Je’Von Evans, Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, and Rusev. Each challenger earned a place in the match through qualifying wins, with JD McDonagh beating Akira Tozawa, Dragon Lee beating Grayson Waller, Je’Von Evans beating Rayo Americano, and Rusev beating Otis.

The WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship was defended in a fatal four-way match at WrestleMania. The Irresistible Forces (Nia Jax and Lash Legend) entered as champions after beating Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY (RHIYO) for the titles in late February.

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. 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 came from personal issues. Brock Lesnar faced Oba Femi after Lesnar issued an open challenge for WrestleMania, and Femi answered it.

Their problems also went 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 faced 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 faced 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 met Gunther after several weeks of trouble involving Rollins and Paul Heyman following Rollins’ exile 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, sending Rollins and Gunther into WrestleMania on opposite sides.

The Vision was also 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. The match gave the group another major spot 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.