WWE’s most-important event of the year looms again, as the professional-wrestling company gears up for WrestleMania 42.
There are numerous star wrestlers in action, including the legendary Randy Orton, who challenges for his 16th world title in one of the two main events.
Orton will take on friend-turned-foe Cody Rhodes, after the first main event pits CM Punk against Cody Rhodes in a grudge match.
There are plenty more rivalries to be settled and titles to be won and lost, too, as WrestleMania returns to Las Vegas just one year after Sin City hosted the previous iteration.
Here’s all you need to know.
Confirmed WrestleMania 42 matches
Night 1
Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso and LA Knight vs Logan Paul, Austin Theory and IShowSpeed
Drew McIntyre vs Jacob Fatu
Lash Legend and Nia Jax (Women’s World Tag-Team Champions) vs Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs Bayley and Lyra Valkyria vs Nikki Bella and Brie Bella
AJ Lee (Women’s Intercontinental Champion) vs Becky Lee
Seth Rollins vs Gunther
Stephanie Vaquer (Women’s World Champion) vs Liv Morgan
Cody Rhodes (Undisputed WWE Champion) vs Randy Orton
Night 2
Penta (Intercontinental Champion) vs Rey Mysterio vs JD McDonagh vs Rusev vs Je’Von Evans vs Dragon Lee (Ladder Match)
Brock Lesnar vs Oba Femi
Sami Zayn (United States Champion) vs Trick Williams
Jade Cargill (Women’s WWE Champion) vs Rhea Ripley
Finn Balor vs Dominik Mysterio
CM Punk (World Heavyweight Champion) vs Roman Reigns
Predictions
We think Orton will move within one world title of record-holder John Cena by overcoming Rhodes – just as Cena did a year ago – and we believe Reigns will dethrone Punk, one year after they both came out on the losing end of a triple threat with Rollins.
Speaking of Rollins, he may well fall to Gunther, given the latter’s current hot streak, which has included a win over Cena in the latter’s retirement match in December, and we think there will be a passing of the torch from one big man to another when Lesnar faces up-and-comer Oba Femi.
In other key matches, the dastardly Dominik Mysterio should get his comeuppance against old friend Balor, and the same may apply to Cargill when she defends her belt against Ripley. Also look for a new women’s champion on Night 1, with Morgan finding a sneaky way past Vaquer.
Penta might be able to overcome the odds in his six-man ladder match, but Sami Zayn may not fare so well against rising star Williams. We think Becky Lee will regain her Intercontinental title from AJ Lee, while the women’s tag-team fatal four way match is anyone’s guess, but why not Bayley and Valkyria?
Finally, we predict a big win for Fatu against McIntyre, and a feel-good victory for the Uso twins and LA Knight.
When is WrestleMania 42?
WrestleMania became a two-night event in 2020, and this year it will take place on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 April at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. In the US, each evening of action will begin at 4pm PT / 6pm CT / 7pm ET. In the UK, that works out to 12am BST on Sunday and Monday morning.
How can I watch it?
WrestleMania 42 will stream live on Netflix in the UK and most territories worldwide, as part of subscribers’ existing plans (at no additional cost, in other words). In the US, however, the event will air live on ESPN.
Which celebrities will be involved?
YouTubers Logan Paul and IShowSpeed will compete, even teaming up together, while music star Jelly Roll will also feature in some capacity. The same applies to rapper Lil Yachty, while wrestler-turned-actor John Cena will act as the host of WrestleMania. NFL kicker-turned-sports analyst Pat McAfee is also expected to feature.
How much do WWE stars earn at WrestleMania?
The specifics of WWE contracts have long been hard to ascertain. However, WWE star-turned-executive Triple H (real name Paul Levesque) told The Athletic in 2022 that $250,000 is the minimum base salary for wrestlers in the company. That figure might have risen since, of course, and it reportedly only applied to members of the Smackdown and Raw rosters – not wrestlers on NXT, which is WWE’s developmental show.
However, wrestlers’ wages are boosted by merchandise sales and, it is believed, by cuts of pay-per-view sales as well. Of course, merchandise sales are likely to be significant on a WrestleMania weekend, as well as pay-per-view sales, so 18 and 19 April could be the most lucrative days of the year for most WWE wrestlers.
In 2023, The Mirror reported some of the highest WWE wages as these: Roman Reigns $5m per year; Randy Orton $5m per year; Seth Rollins $3.5m per year; Cody Rhodes $3m per year; Logan Paul $2m per year. These figures reportedly don’t include bonuses.
