WWE WrestleMania 42 Recap

WrestleMania 42, aka WrestleMania Vegas, saw the biggest stars of the WWE battle it out to win championships and settle feuds over Saturday and Sunday night this past weekend at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The first night began with a six man tag match where Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso and LA Knight faced off against Austin Theory, Logan Paul and YouTuber IShowSpeed. The young internet star found himself in the middle of the feud between the five other men, and became a less-than-willing tag partner to Theory and Paul. When the Usos and Knight won the match, Logan Paul angrily blamed IShowSpeed, who turned on his fellow YouTuber and delivered a well-deserved frog splash to send Paul crashing through the announce table.

The Unsanctioned Match between Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre was a brutal affair, with both men using tables, chairs and a fully loaded toolbox to exact as much pain and violence on each other as possible. Eventually, Jacob Fatu won out by sending McIntyre through a table via a decisive moonsault.

The Women’s Tag Team Championship was on the line between the Irresistible Forces (current champs Nia Jax and Lash Legend), the Bella Twins (Brie and Nikki), Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, and Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. The big twist came early on, when Nikki Bella arrived at the ring in crutches, unable to compete. In her place, Brie Bella brought out former WWE champion Paige, making her long-awaited return after departing the company due to injury in 2017 (and a three-year stint in rival promotion AEW). Paige and Brie Bella were able to defeat their six very formidable opponents, leaving WrestleMania as the new tag team champions.

AJ Lee’s Intercontinental Championship was on the line against her rival, Becky Lynch. A vicious and vindictive Lynch played dirty and was able to win back the title from the woman who took it from her in the first place. On the flip side, Becky’s husband Seth Rollins was less lucky against Gunther. He held his own against the so-called “Ring General” until his former ally-turned-enemy Bron Breakker returned from injury to intervene in the match, giving Gunther a chance to put Rollins in a sleeper hold. With Rollins passed out, Gunther won the match and Breakker got to savor some WrestleMania revenge.

The penultimate match of Night One was Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer vs. challenger Liv Morgan. In a brisk match, Vaquer held her own against a determined Morgan, until Morgan’s Judgement Day allies Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez tried to interfere. Their distraction was enough to give Liv Morgan the upper hand, pinning Vaquer to win the title.

Saturday’s main event saw the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line between current champion Cody Rhodes and challenger Randy Orton. Aided by Pat McAfee, Orton pulled out all the stops to try and unseat Rhodes, even resorting to McAfee dressing up like a referee to hand Orton the win. But Rhodes was undaunted, finally winning the match at a great cost. After the match concluded, Orton truly went off the rails, brutally beating his former friend and punting him directly in the head, leaving Cody with a nasty black eye and a possible concussion.

Sunday night began with the coronation of rising star Oba Femi as a force to be reckoned with in WWE. Femi was able to decisively beat future Hall of Famer Brock Lesnar. The victory was so emphatic, that post-match Lesnar removed his gloves and boots, leaving them in the ring. Not one for big emotions, Lesnar seemed genuinely choked up as he left the stadium to cheers, signaling what looks to be his retirement.

The six-man ladder match for the Men’s Intercontinental Championship was a fast-paced, unsurprisingly chaotic match, with current champion Penta retaining the title against Dragon Lee, Rusev, Rey Mysterio, JD McDonagh and high-flying rookie Je’Von Evans. Sami Zayn was less lucky hanging on to his United State Championship, losing to up-and-coming star Trick Williams.

As expected, Dominik Mysterio was in over his head after he and the rest of Judgement Day betrayed Finn Balor. Unleashing his Demon persona, Balor battled it out with Mysterio in a Street Fight, eventually defeating his former ally and setting his sights on the rest of Judgement Day in the weeks to come.

Women’s Champion Jade Cargill had her work cut out for her defending the belt against the Eradicator herself, former champ Rhea Ripley. Even with her allies Michin and B-Fab trying to give her an unfair upper hand, Cargill had to contend with Ripley’s own backup in the form of Iyo Sky. Sky neutralized Michin and B-Fab, giving Ripley a path to victory and the championship belt.

The final match of WrestleMania was for the Men’s World Heavyweight Championship. After winning the Royal Rumble in January, Roman Reigns zeroed in on reigning champion CM Punk. Years of animosity and resentment on both sides boiled over into a truly epic slugfest, and it truly came down to which man would give out first. Unfortunately, Punk’s age finally caught up with him, giving Reigns the opening to deliver a pair of vicious spears to Punk, defeating the champion to claim a world title for the first time since WrestleMania XL two years ago.