WWE WrestleMania 42 begins on Saturday, featuring a controversial lineup criticized for high ticket prices and a lack of top star matches. The event includes social media star iShowSpeed and manager Pat McAfee.
Key points
WrestleMania 42 starts on Saturday.
The event spans two days.
High ticket prices have drawn fan criticism.
Social media star iShowSpeed is included in the lineup.
Pat McAfee is serving as a manager.
Mentioned in this story
Pat McAfeeiShowSpeedIyo Sky
WrestleMania 42
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Pat McAfee aligned with Randy Orton as his heel mouthpiece. (Credit: Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)
WWE via Getty Images
WWE will kick off WrestleMania 42 on Saturday with the first night of a two-day extravaganza that has been clouded in controversy.
Much of the chatter surrounding WrestleMania 42 has centered around fan criticism of WrestleMania’s outrageous ticket prices and its generally lackluster, celebrity-filled build. The inclusion of social media star iShowSpeed and announcer-turned-manager Pat McAfee, combined with the lack of matches for top stars like Iyo Sky, has been met with widespread criticism from WWE’s passionate fan base.
But at least on paper, this year’s WrestleMania looks strong, and as WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has said, it should deliver the goods from an in-ring perspective. There are several high-quality matchups, such as Rhodes vs. Randy Orton and Seth Rollins vs. Gunther, that will likely result in a strong slate of matches from start to finish.
The WrestleMania 42 action begins Saturday night inside Allegiant Stadium, where four championships will be on the line as 17-time world champion John Cena hosts the show. WWE’s flagship PLE will air on ESPN Unlimited in the United States and Netflix internationally beginning at 6 pm EST/5 pm CST on both Saturday and Sunday.
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WWE WrestleMania 42 Preview For Saturday
Below are the confirmed matches for Night One of WWE WrestleMania 42:
WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton
Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan
Seth Rollins vs. Gunther
Women’s Intercontinental Championship: AJ Lee (c) vs. Becky Lynch
Unsanctioned Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu
Fatal 4-Way for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Irresistible Forces (c) vs. Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria vs. The Bella Twins
Austin Theory, Logan Paul and iShowSpeed vs. The Usos and LA Knight
Here are some interesting facts and tidbits to know about WrestleMania 42:
The six-man tag team will open the show while Rhodes vs. Orton has been billed as the main event.
Nikki Bella is reportedly not cleared to compete and will be replaced by Paige, who has re-signed with WWE after a stint in AEW.
Orton is looking to secure his 15th world championship, which would put him in third place all-time behind only Ric Flair (16) and John Cena (17).
Rollins vs. Gunther was not originally planned for WrestleMania 42 and is more so a result of a wide variety of injuries.
Lee has beaten Lynch in three different match types: mixed tag, WarGames and singles. Lynch has not beaten Lee at all.
Fatu had 11 teeth pulled during a dental procedure last fall and ultimately returned to reignite his feud with McIntyre.
WWE WrestleMania 42 Predictions For Saturday
WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) Vs. Randy Orton
For the second straight year, WWE is oddly inserting a celebrity into Rhodes’ WrestleMania rivalry to stack the odds against “The American Nightmare.” Last year, it was Travis Scott getting paired with John Cena, and this year, it’s former announcer Pat McAfee joining forces with Randy Orton.
McAfee’s inclusion in this rivalry is completely unnecessary and illogical but is reportedly a directive from TKO’s Ari Manuel. It’s also bizarre and random, and although it originally seemed simply like a way to get more heat on Orton as he continued to get cheered, it now feels like more of a long-term plan to focus on McAfee as a centerpiece of WWE.
After McAfee’s surprising alignment with Orton, he said he’d leave WWE if Orton doesn’t beat Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42. That virtually guaranteed that Orton will win.
Prediction: Orton (with help from McAfee)
Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) Vs. Liv Morgan
Vaquer vs. Morgan, at least paper, looks like one of the easiest WWE WrestleMania 42 matches to predict. That’s because Morgan is the overwhelming favorite in Las Vegas.
Late last year, Vaquer won the Women’s World Championship after Naomi was forced to vacate it, and since then, there’s really never been a time that it felt like WWE was fully behind Vaquer. Although Vaquer remains very popular and is one of the company’s best in-ring performers, Morgan ranks among WWE’s biggest stars.
If Morgan doesn’t leave WrestleMania 42 as champion, that would be a shocker for the ages, though it’s possible that Raquel Rodriguez or Roxanne Perez cost Morgan the match, whether accidentally or purposely.
Prediction: Morgan
Seth Rollins Vs. Gunther
It’s no secret that Rollins vs. Gunther was not originally planned for WrestleMania 42 and that these two former world champions are facing each other simply because their planned opponents are injured.
Neither star should really be losing at WrestleMania 42, but with Gunther playing the role of dominant monster heel, Rollins can afford the loss. Especially given that WWE plans on pivoting back to Rollins vs. Bron Breakker post-WrestleMania, Rollins should lose this match after interference by The Vision and/or Paul Heyman.
After Gunther beat and retired Goldberg, John Cena and AJ Styles, the next person to defeat him shouldn’t be Rollins. It should be a young up-and-comer later this year or in 2027.
Prediction: Gunther
Women’s Intercontinental Championship: AJ Lee (c) Vs. Becky Lynch
When Lee beat Lynch at Elimination Chamber in February, it became clear that WWE was planning a rematch for WrestleMania 42. What’s also clear is that Lynch has to get a win in this rivalry.
Lee and Lynch have faced off in three separate PLE matches (only one singles bout), and Lynch has lost every single one of them. If Lee wasn’t back in WWE only on a part-time contract, it would make sense for Lee to retain the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania and get a decent run as champion.
Instead, Lee is likely to disappear after WrestleMania, which makes this match a lean toward Lynch winning.
Predictions: Lynch
Unsanctioned Match: Drew McIntyre Vs. Jacob Fatu
Both McIntyre and Fatu were somewhat shafted by essentially being kicked out of the WWE title picture just before WrestleMania 42, but here we are. This is their consolation prize.
The Unsanctioned Match stipulation should set the stage for a really fun, hard-hitting and spot-filled match as McIntyre and Fatu will undoubtedly have a point to prove. Like so many other matches on the WrestleMania 42 card, however, the outcome here should be obvious.
McIntyre deserves better booking than WWE has been giving him, but that appears unlikely to happen at WrestleMania 42. After all, Fatu is the rising star, and as much as McIntyre needs the win, he needs it more.
Predictions: Fatu
Fatal 4-Way For the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Irresistible Forces (c) Vs. Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair Vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria Vs. The Bella Twins
Much like the Intercontinental title ladder match, the women’s Fatal 4-Way can go just about any way and the outcome would make sense.
The Bella Twins initially appeared to be in line to win the Women’s Tag Team Championship for the first time. After all, they are the most mainstream stars in this match and aren’t going to be around all that much longer. But with Nikki apparently not cleared, it’s unlikely that the makeshift duo of Brie and Paige would win the titles.
A Bella Twins win at WrestleMania 42 would have made a lot of sense, but now, Bayley and Valkyria stand out the most as the potential winners.
Prediction: Bayley and Valkyria
Austin Theory, Logan Paul And iShowSpeed Vs. The Usos and LA Knight
This match screams WWE in 2026, with one team featuring not one but two of the world’s biggest social media stars in Paul and iShowSpeed, who has sort of unwillingly found himself on the heel side.
Of course, some fans will rightfully complain about Knight and the Usos being stuck in what it essentially a meaningless six-man tag team match. But the fact this match features Speed, a widely recognizable star, should get WWE the mainstream attention it so desperately wants.
Speed, an incredible athlete, should perform well despite not being a wrestler. He should also take the pin from Knight.
Prediction: The Usos and Knight
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
