WrestleMania 42

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WrestleMania 42, also promoted as WrestleMania Vegas, is an upcoming 2026 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It will be the 42nd annual WrestleMania and will take place as a two-night event on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19, 2026, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions.

Originally set to take place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 11 and 12, WrestleMania 42 was relocated back to the Las Vegas Valley and pushed back a week due to the financial success of 2025's WrestleMania 41, with Las Vegas offering a higher bid to again host the event. This will be the third WrestleMania in the Las Vegas area, including WrestleMania IX in 1993, and the second consecutive held at the venue, marking only the second time WrestleMania will be held at the same venue in consecutive years. This will be the first WrestleMania to livestream on the ESPN streaming service in the United States and the first WrestleMania to air live on ESPN's linear channels, as the first hour of each night will also air on ESPN2 and ESPN, respectively. Retired WWE wrestler John Cena is set to host the event.

WrestleMania is WWE's flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, having first been held in 1985. It was the company's first PPV produced and was also WWE's first major event available via livestreaming when the company launched its former standalone service, the WWE Network, in February 2014. It is the longest-running event in WWE history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April, featuring wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands. Along with Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank, it is one of the company's five biggest annual events, referred to as the "Big Five". WrestleMania was ranked the sixth-most valuable sports brand in the world by Forbes in 2019, and has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment.

In February 2025, reports emerged that WrestleMania 42 would take place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, the same venue that hosted WrestleMania XXX in 2014 and WrestleMania 34 in 2018. On the February 21 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, TKO board of directors member and part-time WWE wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson announced WrestleMania 42 would emanate from the Caesars Superdome on April 11 and 12, 2026. On May 22, 2025, however, WrestleMania 42 was confirmed to no longer take place in New Orleans. While the specifics of the change were not revealed, this came as part of a larger agreement, with New Orleans instead hosting a future WrestleMania, as well as the 2026 Money in the Bank. Reports also emerged alleging that, with the financial success of WrestleMania 41 being held in Las Vegas, WrestleMania 42 may return to the area, while other reports suggested a possible international location.

During the 2025 Money in the Bank event on June 7, WWE confirmed WrestleMania 42 would be held at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on April 18 and 19, 2026, marking the third WrestleMania in the Las Vegas area, including WrestleMania IX in 1993, and the third WWE event held at Allegiant Stadium, including the 2021 SummerSlam. Allegiant Stadium will also become the first venue since the Atlantic City Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to host consecutive WrestleManias, having hosted WrestleMania IV in 1988 and WrestleMania V in 1989. Two-day combo tickets went on sale on September 24, 2025, with single day tickets on sale from November 28, 2025. The official theme songs for the event are the 2025 remix of "Back in the Saddle" by Aerosmith and Yungblud, and "Bones for the Crows" by Nickelback. On March 30, John Cena, who had retired from professional wrestling in December 2025, announced that he would be the host of WrestleMania 42.

In addition to airing on traditional pay-per-view worldwide, WrestleMania 42 will be available to livestream on the ESPN streaming service in the United States, Netflix in most international markets, SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Abema in Japan.

This marks the first WrestleMania to livestream on the ESPN streaming service, as ESPN acquired the streaming rights to WWE's main roster events in the United States beginning with Wrestlepalooza in September 2025, following the expiration of WWE's contract with Peacock. ESPN had originally been slated to begin broadcasting main roster PPV and livestreaming events in the United States with WrestleMania 42; however, as Peacock's agreement with WWE referred to the airing of a specified number of events, rather than on a fixed end date, the expansion of WWE's calendar—including all WrestleManias on Peacock being two nights since 2021 and the 2025 SummerSlam expanding to two nights, as well as the all-women's event Evolution in 2025—caused Peacock to reach the number of WWE events allotted in their agreement ahead of schedule. This will also notably be the first WrestleMania to not air on the WWE Network since it launched in 2014 as the service permanently shut down on April 1 in the last four remaining countries that were still on the platform.

During the February 27, 2026, episode of Friday Night SmackDown, WWE announced that the first hour of each night would air live on ESPN2 and ESPN, respectively, marking the first WWE PPV and livestreaming event to air live on ESPN's linear channels.

As part of the WrestleMania festivities, WWE will hold a number of events throughout the weekend. On April 17, WWE will kick off WrestleMania Weekend with a special "WrestleMania Edition" of Friday Night SmackDown. Subsequently following SmackDown's broadcast, the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will commence. After WrestleMania Saturday's conclusion, there will be a comedy event, Kill Tony: WrestleMania, hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe. WrestleMania Weekend will conclude with the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania on April 20. SmackDown and Raw will be held live at the nearby T-Mobile Arena, while the Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at Dolby Live at Park MGM. Also as part of WrestleMania 42 week, WWE will partner with independent wrestling promotion Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW) to co-promote a WWE ID Showcase event at the HyperX Arena on the Las Vegas Strip.

In partnership with Fanatics Events, WWE will also host the third annual WWE World at WrestleMania, a five-day fan convention held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The event will begin on Thursday, April 16 and run through Monday, April 20. It will include interview panel sessions with WWE wrestlers, live podcast recordings, meet-and-greets with wrestlers, and a large merchandise store with various memorabilia honoring WrestleMania's 42-year history.

The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines. Results are predetermined by WWE writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.

At the Royal Rumble on January 31, SmackDown's Roman Reigns won the men's Royal Rumble match, earning a world championship match of his choice at WrestleMania 42. Reigns appeared on the following episode of Raw where he was interrupted by Raw's World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk, who claimed that Reigns could choose the easy path and face SmackDown's world champion or choose the hard path and face him. Punk reminded Reigns that he was ultimately responsible for Reigns's overall success in WWE as he was the one who brought him onto the main roster as part of The Shield in 2012. Punk also outlined how he was a fighting champion, in comparison to Reigns, who barely showed up to defend his title during his previous title reign. Reigns recounted his dislike of Punk, stemming from comments that Punk had made about Reigns on a podcast after Punk left WWE in early 2014, which caused fans to turn on him and made his job harder. He also brought up that Punk caused Paul Heyman to turn on him at WrestleMania 41 and informed Punk that he was ultimately the one responsible for Punk's return to WWE at the 2023 Survivor Series: WarGames, as management consulted his approval. Although Reigns had showed respect to Punk after they teamed up in the WarGames match at the 2025 Survivor Series: WarGames on November 29, Reigns decided that out of his overall hatred for Punk, he would challenge him at WrestleMania 42 for the World Heavyweight Championship. With Punk retaining the title at Elimination Chamber on February 28, this confirmed his status as defending champion.

At Elimination Chamber, SmackDown's Randy Orton won the men's Elimination Chamber match to earn a title match for his own brand's Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42. On that week's SmackDown, Cody Rhodes won the championship, confirming his status as the defending champion. Over the prior few months, a match between the two had been teased, especially with their history together as former members of a stable called The Legacy. The two had been good friends since Rhodes returned to WWE in 2022. However, during the contract signing on the March 13 episode of SmackDown, a conflicted Orton viciously attacked Rhodes, turning heel for the first time since 2021, with Orton determined to win his 15th world championship.

Also at the Royal Rumble, Raw's Liv Morgan won the women's Royal Rumble match, earning a world championship match of her choice at WrestleMania 42. Over the next few weeks, she appeared on Raw and SmackDown to confront the champions of each brand, leading to numerous altercations. On Raw on February 16, Raw's Women's World Champion, Stephanie Vaquer, interrupted Morgan's interview and chastised her, claiming that Morgan had been handed everything throughout her career and that if she chose her, Morgan would not win, which left Morgan in tears. The following week, Morgan, along with both champions, appeared where Morgan attacked Vaquer and posed with the title, officially declaring that she would challenge Vaquer for the Women's World Championship at WrestleMania 42.

At Elimination Chamber, Raw's Rhea Ripley won the namesake match, earning a title match against Jade Cargill for SmackDown's WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 42.

On the February 23 episode of Raw, Brock Lesnar made his first appearance since the Royal Rumble. He was accompanied by Paul Heyman, who questioned who should face Lesnar at WrestleMania. Heyman claimed that no one had the courage to do so, and after revealing Lesnar's upcoming appearances, Heyman stated that anyone who wanted to face Lesnar in an open challenge at the event would just need to appear. On the March 16 episode, Oba Femi, who faced off with Lesnar during the Royal Rumble match only for Lesnar to eliminate Femi, confronted Lesnar and delivered the Fall From Grace to him before accepting Lesnar's open challenge.

On the September 5, 2025, episode of SmackDown, AJ Lee returned to WWE for the first time since 2015, aiding her husband CM Punk against Becky Lynch and her husband Seth Rollins. Lee and Punk subsequently defeated Lynch and Rollins in a mixed tag team match at Wrestlepalooza, where Lee forced Lynch to submit. Following a brief hiatus, Lee returned on the November 17 episode of Raw, distracting Lynch to cost her the WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship. At Survivor Series: WarGames, both women were part of opposite teams in the Women's WarGames match, where Lee's team won after she forced Lynch to submit once again. Lynch subsequently regained the title on the Raw on Netflix Anniversary Show, however, Lynch lost the title to Lee at Elimination Chamber when Lee submitted Lynch for a third time. On the March 16 episode of Raw after Lee successfully defended the title, Lynch returned and attacked Lee. The following week, Lynch stated that she wanted the title back, with Lee subsequently appearing and stating that she would give Lynch a rematch for the title at WrestleMania, which Lynch agreed.

On the January 2 episode of SmackDown, Trick Williams made his main roster debut and confronted Sami Zayn. Williams taunted Zayn about his failed opportunities and failure to win a world title and Zayn responded that he would teach Williams about becoming humble. Both Williams and Zayn then qualified for a fatal four-way match at Saturday Night's Main Event XLIII to determine who would challenge for the Undisputed WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, however, Williams attacked Zayn after his qualifying match. Although Zayn subsequently won the fatal four-way, he failed to win the title at the Royal Rumble, after which, Williams would continue to taunt Zayn about his loss. After Williams failed to win the Elimination Chamber match at the eponymous event for an Undisputed WWE Championship match at WrestleMania, Zayn also taunted him for his failure. On the March 20 episode, Williams was ringside during Zayn's match, and after a confrontation, Zayn attacked Williams. This distraction ended up costing Zayn the match. The following week, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis announced that Williams would compete at WrestleMania 42. Zayn also approached Aldis about a match at the event, however, Aldis revealed that there was not a spot for him at WrestleMania. Following Williams taunting Zayn further, Zayn attacked Williams and claimed that he would indeed compete at WrestleMania. Later that night, Zayn won the WWE United States Championship after Williams interfered. Aldis subsequently announced that Zayn would defend the title against Williams at WrestleMania. The following week, Zayn retained the title, reassuring his status as the defending champion.

Since September 2025, Drew McIntyre began a rivalry with Jacob Fatu, who was annoyed by McIntyre always blaming others for his failures, especially after McIntyre lost an Undisputed WWE Championship match at Wrestlepalooza. Fatu also announced his intentions to challenge for the title, and a match between McIntyre and Fatu was scheduled on the October 17 episode of SmackDown to determine the #1 contender for the title. The match never happened as Fatu was found incapacitated backstage, with McIntyre stating he did not attack him. Fatu would take a hiatus, while McIntyre continued after the title. On the January 9, 2026, episode, McIntyre won the title after Fatu returned and interfered in the match. The rivalry between McIntyre and Fatu intensified as Fatu believed that McIntyre was the one who attacked him backstage, and on the February 13 episode, McIntyre interfered in Fatu's Elimination Chamber qualifying match, costing him the match. Fatu competed in another qualifying match for the Elimination Chamber match on the February 27 episode, however, McIntyre once again interfered, costing him the match. On the following week's episode, Fatu interfered in McIntyre's title defense, costing McIntyre the title. The following week, McIntyre demanded a rematch, however, he was interrupted by Fatu, who took the blame for costing McIntyre the title and asked what McIntyre would do about it. McIntyre in turn stated that he would "quit" SmackDown, leaving the ring, however, he returned later that night and once again interfered and cost Fatu his match. A match between both men was scheduled for the following week, however, the match never happened as both men brawled during the entire episode. On the March 27 episode, after another confrontation between McIntyre and Fatu, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis scheduled a match between both men at WrestleMania, however, Aldis stated that WWE would not be responsible for anything that would happen between the two, and the match would be an unsanctioned match.

Since late 2024, dissension had been brewing between Judgment Day members Dominik Mysterio and Finn Bálor. Despite this, they continued to coalesce, however, tensions intensified on the March 2, 2026, episode of Raw. Bálor wanted Mysterio to defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship that night without any help, which Mysterio agreed. During the title match, Mysterio asked both Bálor and JD McDonagh, who were at ringside, to interfere. As McDonagh was about to hand the ring bell hammer to Mysterio, Bálor stopped him. This distraction led to Mysterio losing the title. The following week, Mysterio confronted Bálor, who stated that he only wanted Mysterio to fight his own battles, but he realized that Mysterio was just a "spoiled little prick". Mysterio then shoved Bálor, who attacked him in response, however, he was outnumbered by The Judgment Day (Mysterio, McDonagh, Liv Morgan, and Raquel Rodriguez), kicking him out of the group in the process. Two weeks later, Bálor attacked McDonagh during Mysterio's title rematch, with the distraction costing Mysterio the match. The following week, Bálor announced that he would face Mysterio at WrestleMania 42. On the April 6 episode of Raw, Bálor revealed that he would wrestle under his "Demon" persona.

On the March 16 episode of Raw, Je'Von Evans stated his intentions to challenge for the WWE Intercontinental Championship after champion Penta and Dragon Lee title match. Penta subsequently retained the title, and after successfully defending the title once again two weeks later, Penta announced that after speaking with Raw General Manager Adam Pearce, he would defend the title in a multi-man ladder match at WrestleMania 42. Later that night, Lee, JD McDonagh, Evans, and Rusev were announced as the competitors of the match after qualifying during Main Event tapings after defeating Grayson Waller, Akira Tozawa, Rayo Americano, and Otis, respectively. Prior to the ladder match, however, Penta is scheduled to defend his title against El Hijo del Vikingo at one of WWE's sister promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA)'s shows on April 11. On the April 6 episode of Raw, after Penta, Lee, and Evans won a six-man tag team match, Rey Mysterio made a surprise return and announced that, after speaking with Pearce, he was also inserted into the ladder match.

In November 2025, then-WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair began a rivalry with Nia Jax. Shortly after, Lash Legend aligned herself with Jax, and they cost Bliss and Flair the title. At Survivor Series: WarGames, Bliss and Flair's team defeated Jax and Legend's team in the Women's WarGames match. After that, Bliss and Flair vowed to regain the title. At the Royal Rumble during the eponymous match, Brie Bella returned to WWE for the first time since 2022, subsequently reuniting with her twin sister Nikki Bella, reforming The Bella Twins, and both stated their intentions of winning the title. On the February 27, 2026, episode of SmackDown, however, Jax and Legend, now known as The Irresistible Forces, won the title. Bliss and Flair won a number one contender match and they faced the Irresistible Forces on the March 13 episode of SmackDown, but after an altercation between Jax and the Bella Twins, who were watching the match at ringside, Brie attacked Jax, causing a disqualification win for The Irresistible Forces. The Bella Twins also faced The Irresistible Forces in a title match the following week, which ended in a no contest after Flair interfered when Jax attempted to strike Brie with the title belt, and a brawl ensued between the three teams. On the March 27 episode, The Bella Twins defeated Bliss and Flair after Legend punched Bliss. Following the match, The Irresistible Forces attacked both teams, however, they were saved by Raw's Bayley and Lyra Valkyria, who were scheduled for a title match three days later on Raw. During the title match, Flair, Bliss, and The Bella Twins appeared at ringside, and Jax shoved Valkyria onto Flair and Bliss. This prompted Flair and Bliss to interfere and attacked Jax, causing a disqualification win for The Irresistible Forces. Following that, all teams fended off The Irresistible Forces. Later that night, it was announced that The Irresistible Forces would defend the title against The Bella Twins, Bliss and Flair, and Bayley and Valkyria in a fatal four-way tag team match at WrestleMania 42.

On the March 30 episode of Raw, Gunther delivered an unexplained attack to Seth Rollins and pointed at the WrestleMania sign. Later that night, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announced that Rollins and Gunther would wrestle each other at WrestleMania 42.

American social media influencer IShowSpeed will compete in a six-man tag team match, teaming with The Vision's Logan Paul and Austin Theory to face LA Knight and The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso)

For most of 2025, LA Knight and Jey Uso were involved in a rivalry against The Vision (Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman). The rivalry intensified through the year, with Jey's twin brother Jimmy Uso joining him, reuniting The Usos. After that, Breakker and Reed defeated The Usos with Knight as the special guest referee at Wrestlepalooza. After that, Rollins was kicked out of the group, and The Vision and Logan Paul's team subsequently defeated The Usos's team in a WarGames match at Survivor Series:WarGames. Paul subsequently entered The Vision, and he and Reed viciously attacked Knight on the December 8 episode of Raw, taking him out of action. During this time, Austin Theory also joined The Vision, and The Usos won the World Tag Team Championship. At the Royal Rumble match at the eponymous event, Knight returned and eliminated Reed and Theory, and following that, Breakker and Reed would both suffer injuries, taking then out indefinitely. After that, Heyman stated that both Paul and Theory should focus on winning the World Tag Team Championship, and on the March 23 episode, Paul and Theory defeated The Usos by disqualification in a non title match after Jey struck Theory with brass knuckles. On the following week's episode, a Street Fight for the titles took place, where Paul tried to use the brass knuckles but he was stopped by Knight, who was a guest commentator for the match. Streamer IShowSpeed, who was watching the match ringside, picked up the brass knuckles, but accidentally hit Knight. After that, Speed ​​left the brass knuckles on the ground, which allowed Paul to strike Jimmy with it to win the title. Three days later, Knight appeared during Speed's livestream and attacked him. The following week on Raw, Knight faced Theory, and during the match, Paul shoved Speed onto Knight. As Speed was trying to leave, The Usos appeared and prevented him from doing so. Theory subsequently won the match, and after that, The Usos and Knight attempted to attack Speed, who was saved by Paul. After that, Knight called out Raw General Manager Adam Pearce and then challenged Theory, Paul, and Speed to face him and The Usos in a six-man tag team match at WrestleMania 42, which Pearce sanctioned.

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