WWE WrestleMania 42 Night Two

By Steve Ward

WWE returned to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada for night number two of WrestleMania. Night One didn’t feel like it was firing on all cylinders with the four-minute commercial breaks between every match that consistently broke the momentum of the show and consumed more of the four hour block than the combined time of multiple matches, the clearly empty sections in the upper deck that were tarped over, and the matches that felt rushed and void of that special “WrestleMania Moment.” While night one did provide some highlights in the form of the Gunther and Seth Rollins bout that featured the return of Bron Breakker and Paige’s surprise return for the Women’s Tag Team Championship match, night two seems poised to be the more electrifying card of the weekend. Sunday’s card featured six matches with four titles contested and was headlined by CM Punk defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns.

Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman vs. Oba Femi

Winner: Oba Femi via pinfall

Tonight’s show kicked off its first hour on ESPN with Brock Lesnar returning to the ring to square off with the up and coming Oba Femi who seems poised for a monster push. Brock Lesnar appeared overpowered for the first time in his illustrious career as Femi withstood Suplex City and an F5 to deliver the Fall From Grace powerbomb as he conquered The Beast. 

Following the match, Lesnar removed his gloves and boots in the center of the ring before embracing his longtime advocate, Paul Heyman,  in what appeared to be his retirement from professional wrestling.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match 

Penta (c) vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Rusev vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh

Winner: Penta

Penta would defend the title on night two against a very interesting mix of challengers. We had Rey Mysterio who was conveniently cleared for action after Gunther was booked in another match, the veteran powerhouse Rusev who hasn’t been able to build momentum since his return, the “Young OG” Je’Von Evans who is out to prove himself as a top contender, and JD McDonagh who is out for revenge for Penta taking the title from his Judgement Day cohort Dominik Mysterio. In a match that saw plenty of broken ladders and broken bodies, the final moments saw Je’Von Evans seemingly poised to capture the Intercontinental Championship until Penta came out of nowhere to deliver a Mexican Destroyer off the ladder to put him down. This opened the door for Penta to scale the ladder and retrieve his title.

WWE United States Championship 

Trick Williams w/ Lil Yachty vs. Sami Zayn (c)

Winner: Trick Williams via pinfall 

Sami Zayn recently dethroned Carmelo Hayes as champion on Smackdown and was quickly thrown into a feud with another rising star, former TNA Heavyweight Champion Trick Williams. Many have viewed Zayn as a transitional champion with speculation that WWE wants to build a long program between Williams and Hayes - tonight would determine if that plays out. In the closing moments, Zayn hit the Exploder Suplex and was positioned to attempt The Helluva Kick. As Zayn charged Williams, he was stunned with The Trick Shot which allowed Trick to cover him for the pinfall.

Street Fight

Dominik Mysterio vs. “The Demon” Finn Balor

Winner: “The Demon” Finn Balor via pinfall

Following his unceremonious removal from The Judgement Day, Finn Balor has decided to invoke the return of his Demon persona, following a lengthy three year absence, for tonight’s grudge match. Balor withstood a barrage of chair shots, being put through a table, and a Frogsplash to achieve his measure of revenge on “Dirty” Dom. In the closing moments, Balor beat Dom down with a chair and then laid him out on a table to deliver the Coup de Grace for the win.

WWE Women’s Championship 

Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley

Winner: Rhea Ripley via pinfall 

Rhea Ripley earned her opportunity to ascend to the top of the Women’s Division once again with her victory in the Women’s Elimination Chamber against a champion who has never seemed to defend her title. Rhea appeared in dire straits as Cargill’s Baddies, Michin and B-Fab, made their presence felt late in the contest. Iyo Sky then made her way to the ring and dispatched of the two while also creating a distraction. This allowed Ripley to stun Jade with a headbutt followed by the Riptide for the victory.

Following the match, John Cena made his way to the ring to announce the attendance before he was interrupted by The Miz and Kit Wilson. As The Miz proclaimed he wanted his WrestleMania moment, Danhausen made his way to the ring with a group of mini Danhausens. After the mini Danhausens eliminated Kit Wilson, Danhausen delivered a Five Knuckle Shuffle to The Miz. Danhausen’s exit was seemingly botched as a plume of smoke went off and dissipated around him before he could make his exit.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship 

CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns 

Winner: Roman Reigns via pinfall

WrestleMania 42 weekend closed out tonight with the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble winner, Roman Reigns, challenging CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship. The buildup to this encounter did get ugly at times with the personal attacks that blurred the lines of kayfabe promising a fever pitch intensity level for the main event on “The Showcase of the Immortals.” Late in the match CM Punk seemed to be in prime position to put Roman away after he put him through the announce table with a devastating elbow drop. Punk then delivered the Go To Sleep, however, when he attempted a second consecutive GTS, his body gave out. This opened the door for Reigns to deliver two devastating, body-breaking spears after which Punk was unable to kick out before the referee’s three count.

WWE WrestleMania 42 Night One

By Steve Ward

The “Showcase of the Immortals” returned tonight for its 42nd installment as WWE presented WrestleMania 42 Night One from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. This marks the first time that WrestleMania has been held at the same venue since WrestleMania five and six were each held at Boardwalk Hall (then known as Atlantic City Convention Hall) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Early this week it was reported, however, that WWE was still behind last year’s night one gate by approximately 20,000 tickets due in part to TKOs inflated prices. While we will need to see if they were able to rebound in sales, it is undeniable that the seven match card is star-studded with four title bouts and a main event featuring Cody Rhodes defending his Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton.

Six Man Tag Team Match

The Usos & LA Knight vs. Logan Paul, Austin Theory, & IShowSpeed

Winners: The Usos & LA Knight via pinfall

With the Usos and LA Knight not involved in any title picture and The Vision depleted in their ranks with the untimely injuries to Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, this special six man tag team attraction was booked to open the ESPN 2 portion of the card. While one would have thought The Usos would have received an opportunity to reclaim their tag team titles from Logan Paul and Theory, this seemed to be the only option to implant Knight on the card. Following some miscues by The Vision late in the match, IShowSpeed received the BFT from LA Knight and was subsequently pinned.

Unsanctioned Match

Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre 

Winner: Jacob Fatu via pinfall 

After Drew McIntyre was unceremoniously removed from the main event after he dropped the Undisputed WWE Championship on an episode of Smackdown several weeks ago to Cody Rhodes, he found himself entered into a feud with Jacob Fatu. Tonight they did battle in an Unsanctioned Match (I suppose this is the PG label for what is essentially a Hardcore Match). Fatu was able to withstand a Claymore Kick and being shoved from the top turnbuckle down through a table staged on the floor at ringside to rebound for a victory. In the closing moments, McIntyre was laid out supine on a table in the ring as Fatu ascended to the top rope and delivered the Mighty Moonsault which sent Drew through the table setting up the pinfall.

Women’s Tag Team Title Fatal Four Way

Nia Jax & Lash Legend (c) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. The Bella Twins vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria

Winners: Brie Bella & Paige via pinfall 

The first surprise of the night arrived as The Bella Twins made their entrance with Nikki Bella on crutches. Nikki stated she was not cleared to compete, however, she found a replacement in the form of Paige who just signed back with the company yesterday! In the closing moments, Alexa Bliss failed her attempt at the Twisted Bliss as Paige got her knees up and she quickly countered with the RamPaige for the victory.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship 

AJ Lee ( c ) vs. Becky Lynch

Winner: Becky Lynch via pinfall 

After she was dethroned from her spot as Women’s Intercontinental Champion at Elimination Chamber, The Man received her opportunity at redemption tonight against the woman who took her title, AJ Lee. In the closing moments of this bout, Becky found herself in the corner with an exposed steel turnbuckle behind her. As AJ charged her, Becky pulled referee Jessika Carr in front of her leaving her briefly incapacitated. This allowed Lynch to slam Lee’s head into the dreaded exposed turnbuckle and then hit the Manhandle Slam to reclaim her title.

Gunther vs. Seth Rollins

Winner: Gunther via submission 

It was rumored that Gunther was scheduled to potentially end the career of Rey Mysterio tonight, however, an injury to Rey changed those plans and left Gunther with no WrestleMania plans. Since WWE could not allow the momentum of the Career Killer, who retired AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble, to be stymied, they had him attack Rollins several weeks back on RAW to set up this encounter of megastars. Late in the bout Rollins appeared to be in complete control after he delivered a Pedigree and Stomp on the announce table before Bron Breakker made his shocking return and speared him at ringside. Gunther was then able to capitalize as he cinched in the sleeper hold for the victory.

Women’s World Championship 

Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan

Winner: Liv Morgan via pinfall

Liv Morgan punched her ticket to WrestleMania after she outlasted 29 other women in this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble Match. In a rather anticlimactic title bout, Liv’s Judgement Day cohorts, Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez, made their presence known late which allowed Morgan to hit Oblivion for the win.

Undisputed WWE Championship 

Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton w/ Pat McAfee

Winner: Cody Rhodes via pinfall

Randy Orton earned his opportunity for world championship number 15 tonight following his victory in the Men’s Elimination Chamber match. In recent weeks, he was often seen communicating by phone with a mystery individual which lead to rampant speculation that it could be anyone from “Cowboy” Bob Orton to Vince McMahon - much to the WWE Universe’s dismay, it was Pat McAfee (whose agent is coincidentally one of the heads of TKO Holdings and of course is prominently featured on ESPN). Nonetheless, Orton would be pitted against “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes who has met a mixed crowd reaction following his victory over Drew McIntyre to reclaim the Undisputed WWE Championship in the middle of the Road to WrestleMania on an episode of Smackdown. Prior to the opening bell, McAfee got the jump on Cody Rhodes but this would backfire quickly as Cody would quickly regain the upper hand with the help of Jelly Roll. McAfee would find himself laid out on the announce table and moments later was driven through the table thanks to an elbow drop by Jelly Roll. Late in the match, Randy Orton was disoriented by a vicious eye poke and accidentally RKO’d referee Charles Robinson. Moments later, Pat McAfee returned to the ring with a neck brace and referee shirt on. Orton went for a pin attempt on Cody but he kicked out at two. Seemingly tired of McAfee’s antics, Orton RKO’d McAfee, however, this opened the door for Rhodes to hit the Cross Rhodes and seal the victory. After the match, Orton took out Rhodes with the title belt and delivered a punt to his cranium before standing over him with the title to close the show.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2026

By Steve Ward

The final stop on the Road to WrestleMania rolled into the United Center in Chicago, Illinois this evening as WWE presented Elimination Chamber. Tonight’s card featured four bouts with two titles contested and two elimination chamber matches, each with a ticket to a championship match at WrestleMania on the line. 

Women’s Elimination Chamber Match

Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Kiana James vs. Tiffany Stratton 

Winner: Rhea Ripley 

The card kicked off tonight with the Women’s Elimination Chamber where the winner would earn the opportunity to square off with WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill at WrestleMania. The match kicked off with Stratton and James while the remaining competitors would enter in five minute intervals. Asuka was the first to be released from her pod and enter the fray and immediately went on the offensive crushing her opponent’s skulls into the plexiglass of the chamber pods. Bliss was the next to enter the match with no eliminations recorded yet. The fifth entry into the match was Rhea Ripley who quickly incapacitated the field before directing her attention to Bliss. The first elimination came moments later as Asuka sprayed the mist in Bliss’ eyes allowing James to pin her just seconds before Rodriguez finally entered. Rodriguez unleashed a path of destruction in her wake as she put James through a pod wall and then body slammed Asuka onto her in the middle of the ring before pinning both women simultaneously. The next elimination came after Tiffany Stratton hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever on an incapacitated Raquel leaving her alone with Ripley. The final moments saw Rhea Ripley hit the Riptide on Stratton to earn the pinfall and punch her ticket to WrestleMania.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship 

Becky Lynch (c) vs. AJ Lee

Winner: AJ Lee via submission 

This evening’s bout would mark Lee’s first singles bout in over a decade with championship gold hanging in the balance. In the closing moments, Becky’s attempt at cheating backfired as she took a header into the turnbuckle she had earlier removed the cover from. This allowed Lee the opportunity to cinch in the Black Widow for the submission victory.

World Heavyweight Championship 

CM Punk (c) vs. Finn Balor

Winner: CM Punk via pinfall

Balor was given another opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship tonight against CM Punk as Balor vowed to turn the WrestleMania main event on it’s head. Following a long and grueling battle, Punk was able to withstand a late Coup de Grace to put Finn away with the Go To Sleep.

Prior to the main event, Smackdown GM Nick Aldis and RAW GM Adam Pearce opened the mysterious large crate that has been sitting backstage the past few weeks with a note not to open it until February 28. The crate was pried open revealing a wood coffin. Both GMs shook their heads and walked away. The coffin slowly opened and revealed the debut of the newly signed Danhausen.

Men’s Elimination Chamber Match 

Trick Williams vs. LA Knight vs. Logan Paul vs. Randy Orton vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Cody Rhodes

Winner: Randy Orton

The main event of the evening was the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match with a shot against Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania hanging in the balance. Evans and Rhodes would kick off the match with another combatant joining the chaos every five minutes. The first competitor to be released from the pods was Trick Williams. Following Williams was Logan Paul who was immediately assaulted by the other three men in the ring. The fifth to enter the match was LA Knight. Just moments after Logan Paul was launched off the top of a pod by Knight and Evans, Orton became the final entry into the match. Evans became the first elimination after he executed a frogsplash on Williams as Logan Paul capitalized on Evans hurting himself by nailing him with the Paulverizer. Paul then eliminated Knight after hitting him with a low blow. Next, Rhodes hit the Cross Rhodes on Williams only to be discarded by Paul who claimed the pinfall on Trick for himself. Moments later, a decoy masked man attempted to scale the chamber only to be removed by security. This created a diversion for another masked man to enter the chamber and deliver a stomp to Logan who was then pinned by Rhodes. The man then revealed himself as Seth Rollins before fleeing through the crowd. In the final moments, Drew McIntyre emerged and attacked Rhodes with his championship belt. After McIntyre failed to nail Rhodes with a Claymore Kick, Orton hit him with an RKO and then delivered another RKO to Cody to help him claim victory and punch his ticket to WrestleMania.

Royal Rumble 2026

By Steve Ward

WWE presented the 39th incarnation of the Royal Rumble from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this evening in front of a crowd of 25,000. Not only was the event held in a crowd substantially smaller than what would’ve been commanded in the United States, it also was within a stadium that was built in a parking lot over the past month. The show, which marks the beginning of the Road to WrestleMania, featured four matches and was headlined by the Men's Royal Rumble Match.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Winner: Liv Morgan

The show kicked off with the Women’s Royal Rumble Match where the competitors were all required to wear Saudi-approved attire and more importantly, where the winner would earn a shot at the championship of her choice at WrestleMania.

Order of Entry:

Charlotte Flair
Alexa Bliss
Kiana James
Nia Jax
Ivy Nile
Lola Vice
Candice LeRae
Jordynne Grace
Becky Lynch
Sol Ruca
Roxanne Perez
Maxxine Dupri
Nattie
Liv Morgan
Lash Legend
Zelina
Raquel Rodriguez
Chelsea Green
Giulia
Iyo Sky
Asuka
Rhea Ripley
Bayley
Jacy Jayne
Nikki Bella
Lyra Valkyria
Kelani Jordan
Kairi Sane
Brie Bella
Tiffany Stratton

Final Four: Raquel Rodriguez , Liv Morgan, Sol Ruca, and Tiffany Stratton.

The first of the final eliminations occurred as Liv dumped her Judgement Day stablemate Raquel over the top rope as she celebrated her elimination of Rhea Ripley. Moments later, the final three women found themselves battling on the ring apron. First, Ruca went for the Sol Snatcher but missed and was eliminated by Stratton. This opened the door for Liv Morgan to knock Stratton off the ring apron with the Oblivion to punch her ticket to WrestleMania.

AJ Styles vs. Gunther
Winner: Gunther via submission

This bout came to the forefront after AJ Styles squared off with Gunther on Monday Night RAW earlier this month. Styles seemingly clinched victory with a Calf Crusher submission that prompted The Ring General to tap out, however, the referee didn’t see it and Gunther eventually prevailed after a low blow gave him the edge. This outcome lead Styles to seek a rematch but Gunther would only accept the challenge once Styles put his career on the line. AJ Styles emptied the tank in this contest but in the end, Gunther cinched in a vicious sleeper hold that saw The Phenomenal One unable to answer the call of referee Dan Engler (formerly TNA lead official Rudy Charles) as his career came to an end.

Undisputed WWE Championship
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sami Zayn
Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

This match came to fruition after McIntyre stunned the WWE Universe by defeating Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship three weeks ago on Friday Night Smackdown and after Zayn won the number one contender’s fatal four way at last week’s Saturday Night’s Main Event. The final minutes of this match saw Sami Zayn square up McIntyre for a Heluva Kick, however, he was intercepted by Drew with a Claymore. Rather than go for a pinfall, Drew elected to deliver more punishment with a second Claymore as he silenced the challenge of Sami Zayn to retain his title.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Winner: Roman Reigns

In the main event of the evening, 30 WWE Superstars competed for a main event spot on The Grandest Stage of Them All, WrestleMania, in a 30-man over the top rope battle royal.

Order of entry:

Oba Femi
Bron Breakker
Solo Sikoa
Rey Mysterio
Rusev
Matt Cardona
Damian Priest
Je’Von Evans
Mr. Iguana
Trick Williams
Cody Rhodes
El Grande Americano
El Grande Americano (Chad Gable)
Royce Keys (fka Powerhouse Hobbs)
Austin Theory
Bronson Reed
Ilia Dragunov
La Parka
Dragon Lee
Logan Paul
LA Knight
Brock Lesnar
The Miz
Rey Fénix
Jey Uso
Roman Reigns
Jacob Fatu
Penta
Randy Orton
Gunther

Final Four: Gunther, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, and Logan Paul 

One major development that occurred at the onset of the match occurred during Bron Breakker’s entrance. Before he could enter the ring, a masked assailant emerged from the crowd and issued a severe beatdown that was capped off by one of Seth Rollins’ signature moves, The Stomp, which lead many to speculate it was him.

Fast forward to the closing moments of the match where Roman Reigns eliminated Logan Paul after Paul was intercepted with a Superman Punch as a counter to a springboard maneuver he attempted. After Reigns tossed Paul, he received an RKO out of nowhere from The Viper who was promptly tossed by Gunther. Gunther seemed poised to win the match as he had Roman trapped in a sleeper until he was carried towards the corner and had his head propelled towards the ring post. This opened the window for Reigns to spear Gunther before tossing him from the ring to claim his spot in the main event of WrestleMania.