WWE
WRESTLEMANIA 42 NIGHT 1
APRIL 18, 2026
ALLEGIANT STADIUM
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

Watch: ESPN 2 (First Hour Only), ESPN Unlimited (US), Netflix (International)

Meet your reviewer:

Sean Sedor: Well…it’s that time of year, folks. Sean is here to take you through Night 1 of WWE’s biggest show of the year (though he’ll also be paying attention to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race from Kansas). You can find Sean on Twitter @SASedor2994 and on BlueSky @sasedor2994.bsky.social. If you’re interested in some of Sean’s other escapades, you can watch him play the NASCAR and Formula 1 games on YouTube (just search his name and you’ll find the channel), and you can also go to the Be The Booker forums if you’d like to check out Sean’s EWR Diary, where he plays as WCW (started in 1998, currently in September 2004….with the 2004 Crockett Cup Tournament on the horizon).

LA KNIGHT & THE USOS def. THE VISION (AUSTIN THEORY & LOGAN PAUL) & ISHOWSPEED

It wouldn’t be a WrestleMania without somebody involving a car in their entrance, so thanks to LA Knight, we’ve already hit that quota. The Usos (by the way…second year in a row that “Main Event Jey” is curtain-jerking on the biggest show of the year) immediately wiped out The Vision, leaving IShowSpeed alone in the ring with Knight. He got in one bodyslam, but otherwise Knight quickly disposed of him. Austin Theory and Logan Paul (crazy how the latter is just a guy on the roster now) then worked over Jimmy Uso for a bit until Jey Uso tagged. The next time IShowSpeed was in the ring, he did hit a rana on one of The Usos, but then things broke down after he accidentally showed Knight into Paul. That led to a mid-match promo (we’re telling stories, baby!) as Theory yelled IShowSpeed, though that just led to Knight hitting the BFT on Theory for the pin.

The whole match ended up being just a setup for the post-match angle (because of course, the “WrestleMania Moment” trumps all), as the babyfaces took out The Vision so that IShowSpeed could hit a splash from the top rope to the floor, putting Paul through the announce desk. The Six-Man Tag itself was as basic as it gets. Certainly wasn’t horrible (there have definitely been worse matches this WrestleMania Weekend), but it was the kind of match that you’ll forget about as soon as it’s over. It’s not like what they did even mattered anyway, as (like I talked about already) this was all just a setup for what happened after the fact. IShowSpeed was perfectly ok in his role. The few spots he did during the match came off fine, and he nailed the big splash to the floor. Not much else to say beyond that. **

UNSANCTIONED MATCH
JACOB FATU def. DREW MCINTYRE

If I’m being honest, this card for the first night of WrestleMania did not look too great on paper (the build to WrestleMania was pretty horrible, too, but that’s a topic that’s been talked about ad nauseam for months). However, if you were looking for anything on this card that had the potential to be really good, particularly if they were left to their own devices and the trademark WWE “storytelling” didn’t get in the way, this was one of those matches. When the dust settled, this was pretty good, though far from great.

Jacob Fatu dove onto Drew McIntyre before he could finish making his entrance, and then immediately went searching for weapons under the ring. There are many absurd things about WWE, and one of them is the fact that these guys are pulling out Slim Jim Tables in a match that’s part of a blood feud where they’ve been trying to destroy each other at every turn. After McIntyre smashed an iPhone on Fatu’s head repeatedly, the two returned to the ring and just proceeded to have a normal wrestling match for the next few minutes. McIntyre finally used some of the weapons, as he used a wrench and some chairs to dish out some damage. He then tried to use the referee’s belt, but that backfired as Fatu took the belt and used it to whip Drew repeatedly.

Fatu tried to put McIntyre through a table in the ring, though McIntyre was able to stop him, shoving him off the top rope and through a table on the floor. However, Fatu recovered fairly quickly, and took out McIntyre with a toolbox before putting him away with a moonsault through a table. I honestly don’t know why they made a big deal about this being an Unsanctioned Match, or why commentary tried to put it over after the fact because of how “violent” it was. This was essentially your bog-standard modern WWE hardcore match, with no blood and nothing that you would consider to be out of the ordinary. Granted, these two guys are very good wrestlers, and the match was pretty solid in a vacuum, but if you look at how this feud was built, this came off as the type of match that would’ve been done better in almost any other promotion besides this one. ***1/2

WWE WOMEN’S TAG TEAM TITLES – FATAL FOUR-WAY TAG TEAM MATCH
BRIE BELLA & PAIGE (WITH NIKKI BELLA) def. NIA JAX & LASH LEGEND ©, ALEXA BLISS & CHARLOTTE FLAIR, and BAYLEY & LYRA VALKYRIA

Before I talk about this match, I should note that the previous two matches aired on ESPN 2. I suppose the most notable thing regarding that is the lack of promotion for the rest of the show. They did run down the match order, but beyond that, they didn’t do anything super special to plug the rest of the show, so a missed opportunity on that front.

As for this match, the big story here was the return of Paige, who was subbing for Nikki Bella (she had been dealing with an injury in the leadup to WrestleMania and it was touch-and-go when it came to her being cleared). Of course, this wasn’t much of a surprise, as I believe PWInsider broke the story of Paige’s return yesterday.

I kid you not, as soon as the bell rang to get this match started, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Kansas started off with one of the drivers (Carson Kvapil) getting turned upside down and sent tumbling down the backstretch on the second lap, so my attention was immediately diverted (he got out of the car ok). Once I went back and watched the match itself, it was a fairly standard affair that was all centered around Paige tagging in. She looked fine once she got in there and started doing her usual spots, and after Nikki Bella attacked Charlotte with her crutch, that allowed her and Brie to take out Alexa Bliss, and that was it. Paige scored the pin, and in her first match back in WWE, she’s one-half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Similar to the opener, the actual wrestling took a back seat to the “WrestleMania Moment”, and the wrestling itself wasn’t super memorable. I have no idea if The Bellas were going to win this one originally before Nikki’s injury, but I don’t hate the decision to change the titles here and put them on the returning wrestler. It’s not like these Women’s Tag Team Titles matter that much anyway. I suppose it’ll be fascinating to see how frequently Paige does wrestle now that she’s back. **1/4

WWE WOMEN’S INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE
BECKY LYNCH def. AJ LEE ©

Sean: I’m honestly still trying to digest that crash from the NASCAR race. Kansas Speedway has its history of violent wrecks, but seeing a flip like that is still pretty shocking. As far as this match goes, these two did not have a very good match at Elimination Chamber, so my expectations were already pretty low. The action quickly spilled to the floor as Becky Lynch connected with a fallaway slam into the barricade before following up with a second rope legdrop inside the ring. She then immediately tried to take off the turnbuckle pad before Jessika Carr. Becky remained in control for several minutes until she got into another confrontation with Jessika Carr. That allowed AJ Lee to hit Becky with her own Manhandle Slam for a nearfall. After escaping the Black Widow, Becky pulled Carr in the way as AJ charged at her in the corner, and that distraction allowed Becky to expose the turnbuckle to use against AJ. One Manhandle Slam later, and that was it. Becky regains the Women’s Intercontinental Title in a match that was better than their first encounter, though that’s not exactly high praise.

AJ Lee didn’t do much of anything in this one, to be honest. Aside from the occasional spot here and there, she basically got her ass kicked by Becky (which is certainly better than how the first match was worked). What was super notable as well is the fact that this match seemed to be more focused on building a Becky Lynch/Jesskia Carr match (Carr was a former indie wrestler before becoming a referee, and has been working some bouts in EVOLVE under a masked gimmick), which is wild considering how they’ve treated AJ’s return as this big deal. Here, she kind of felt like an afterthought. Again, this was by no means a strong match, though given how rough the Elimination Chamber match between these two was, it was at least a step up. **1/4

GUNTHER def. SETH “FREAKIN” ROLLINS

Ever since WWE did that storyline last year with Seth Rollins faking a knee injury, Rollins has been surrounded by real injuries. First, Rollins himself suffered an injury last October after a match with Cody Rhodes (which altered his original WrestleMania plans of wrestling Roman Reigns). Then, after Rollins returned to feud with The Vision, both Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed went down with injuries. Thus, he’s wrestling Gunther on this show, who’s shocking had very little to do during this WrestleMania cycle after being pushed as the guy who’s retired John Cena, AJ Styles, and Goldberg.

This did get off to a hot start, as we were treated to a pre-match brawl on the floor before the match could officially start. The physicality continued once the match did get going, and Gunther was in control for the first few minutes until Rollins avoided a dead lift vertical suplex and hit a Buckle Bomb. Gunther would respond with some powerbombs, while Rollins came back with a curb stomp and a Pedigree for a nearfall. The two continued to go back and forth, and the crowd was pretty into it. After the match again spilled out to the floor, Rollins gave Gunther a Pedigree and a curb stomp on the announce desk. As the referee was checking on Guther, a returning Bron Breakker flew in from out of nowhere and destroyed Rollins with a spear. It was all over for Rollins at that point, and Guther secured the win a short time later with a choke. This was easily the best match on the show up to this point, but of course, WWE can’t help themselves, and the interference spot prevented this from crossing into notebook territory. The action from start to finish was very good, and I did enjoy that there was some good intensity here (it was on its way to being the kind of match that, despite being pretty strong, would’ve been massively overrated by hardcore WWE fans). Again, this was on its way to being a great match until the interference happened, which took it down a peg. Breakker then gave Rollins one more spear for good measure afterward as he sprinted all the way down the ramp. ***3/4

At this stage, I’m just happy that this show will probably end before 10:00 Eastern Time. If there’s one thing AEW can take from WWE, it’s starting their PPVs a little earlier in the day (particularly if the show is on a Sunday). Anyway, Liv Morgan is lucky to even be working on this show after the angle on RAW less than two weeks ago, which saw Morgan clonking heads hard with Roxanne Perez. Morgan was in control early after a powerbomb and the three amigos, but Vaquer quickly responded with the Devil’s Kiss (thankfully, Booker T wasn’t on commentary) after avoiding Morgan’s attempt at a frog splash. A few moments later, Morgan teased doing the Devil’s Kiss herself, though Vaquer managed to avoid this, and ended up hitting Morgan with her own finisher, Oblivion.

With Vaquer in firm control, that was the signal for Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez to interfere. Vaquer was able to fight off the interference momentarily, but it ultimately proved to be too much to overcome, and Morgan hit Oblivion for a second time to capture the title (I’m sure all the Liv stans are thrilled). Of the three women’s matches on this card, this was definitely the best of the bunch, though that’s not exactly clearing a high bar. The wrestling was fairly average, but much like a classic WCW main event during the Monday Night Wars, you knew the match wasn’t ending until the rest of the heel faction got involved. It was also annoying to hear the announcers talk about how Morgan “earned” this title win because of her Royal Rumble victory when we literally just saw her win the title thanks to copious amounts of interference (just like how they talked about the dominant title reign of Roman Reigns when the majority of those title defenses ended in non-clean finishes). What they’re trying to push quite literally does not match with reality. On the whole, this was another RAW match on what has largely been a Saturday Night RAW. **1/2

Thus far, this NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Kansas has been far, far more entertaining than this first night of WrestleMania (no surprise there). The entrances for this main event were….something. First, Pat McAfeee (the manager) gets his own dedicated entrance. Then, Randy Orton (because of course he does) takes an eternity to walk down to the ring. Finally, Cody’s entrance featured different versions of his gear from different eras of his career (vaguely reminded me of Chris Jericho’s entrance from the first Double Or Nothing). It sounded like Cody got booed initially when his entrance started, but that seemed to die down once his music hit, which makes sense, as these modern WWE fans love their sing-along time.

Just after the ring introductions were finished, Pat McAfee smacked Cody in the head with a microphone. Rhodes managed to fight off this two-on-one attack, and hit McAfee with Cross Rhodes. He then dragged McAfee to the floor so that Jelly Roll could put McAfee through the announce desk with an elbow drop. This led to McAfee getting a full-on stretcher job, meaning that (in theory) this would be a straight one-on-one match between Rhodes and Orton. Once the match did get going, it got off to a slow start. It was noted by Michael Cole that there were rumors of Orton dealing with a back injury, and not too long into the match, the back came into play. Cody then spent the next several minutes working over Orton’s injured back, and it was certainly a weird dynamic seeing the babyface targeting the injured body part of the heel.

Orton finally responded with a superplex and a draping DDT. Then, after a brief brawl on the floor, Orton suddenly came up gushing blood. Cody went after the open wound, and it was at this point that I had so many questions. Why are they booking this like Orton was the babyface? Are they trying to do a double turn? Why would they turn a guy who just got an annoying heel manager? This is such a dumb company. Rhodes and Orton then trade finishers for some nearfalls before Orton RKO’d the referee after Cody raked his eyes. This led to Pat McAfee coming down in a referee shirt, and for some reason, despite the fact that HIS GUY had the pin, did a slow count. He didn’t even do a fast count! What was the point of doing that? Orton then RKO’d Pat McAfee, and then immediately ate a Cross Rhodes for the pin. In the post match, Orton then hit Cody with the belt before delivering a punt kick to a thunderous ovation from the crowd.

This main event was somehow dreadfully boring and an incredible mess all wrapped up into one. The only thing they really got right here was the opening bit where they took out Pat McAfee to even the odds. That was fine. From there….what a disaster. They spent the entire build trying to present Orton as this dastardly heel, who then gained an annoying heel manager, only for the match to then see Orton get worked over like he’s a sympathetic babyface (with Cody playing the heel role even though he really wasn’t acting overtly heelish at any point aside from a low blow that was likely just a callback to Orton kicking him low during the turn angle) before a convoluted and nonsensical finish/post-match that saw Orton turn on his annoying heel manager (because he did a fair….some might saw slow….count on a pin), which then led to a vicious post-match attack on the babyface champion to a massive ovation from the audience in Las Vegas. I have no idea what this was supposed to accomplish. Cody’s main event with John Cena last year ended with a mess of a finish, and somehow they managed to top it with something that was even worse! The only reason I’m not giving this match a DUD is because it was so absurd that it reached the point that it was funny. You can’t help but laugh at the sheer stupid….but remember….this is the company that allegedly “tells stories”. Well what the fuck was the story supposed to be here?! Nonsense. Pure nonsense. *

Final Thoughts

Night 1 did feature two matches that I would say were pretty good (Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu and Gunther vs. Seth Rollins), though neither was perfect. As for the rest of the undercard, it was largely forgettable as WWE, like always, put the emphasis on making WrestleMania moments over the actual wrestling. The bulk of the show felt more like Saturday Night RAW than the company’s biggest show of the year. Then the main event happened, and we were treated to a match that somehow managed to both be super boring as well as a complete and total mess from a booking standpoint. It was definitely memorable, but in all the wrong ways.