Wrestlemania 42 kicked off on Saturday, April 18 in Las Vegas for the second straight year. However, it was not a sold out crowd. Fans believed the build up to each contest was weak and feared celebrity appearances, bland matches and additional factors influenced by TKO Group Holdings, a premium sports and entertainment company, will ruin the brand.
WWE is a business, no doubt about that, but TKO is making that more apparent and fans have had enough. It’s too late to change what has been done, but nonetheless, night one of Wrestlemania 42 is in the books, and the grades are in.
1. Logan Paul, Austin Theory and IShowSpeed vs. The Usos and LA Knight — D-
For what it’s worth, IShowSpeed's wrestling debut was honestly not bad at all. I’m not criticizing that; I’m criticizing the match itself. If you are going to open the biggest show of the year with a tag match it needs to be at least a title match, or, heck, even a match with some sort of stipulation, such as a tornado tag or ladder match. This match didn’t display good wrestling whatsoever. Superstars with elite ability like Jey Uso, LA Knight or even Logan Paul should not be in a tag match at ‘Mania. This match did not have the energetic pace of past tag matches; it was slow and boring.
The match ended with Austin Theory and IShowSpeed colliding and LA Knight hitting Theory with his finisher, the BFT. After the match, Logan Paul attacked IShowSpeed and placed him on the announcer’s table and tried to hit a frog splash. However, thanks to The Usos, he was spared. The Usos attacked Paul, placed him on the table and IShowSpeed — yes, IShowSpeed — came crashing down on Logan Paul from the top turnbuckle. That was pretty good to see. However, if you put this match in WWE 2K26 and let the AI have at it, you’ll get a better result than what we got.
2. Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre Unsanctioned Match — C
This was the only match on the card across both nights where anything goes and there are no rules. You would think WWE would have a field day with that, right? No. This was this most tame and timid unsanctioned match I have ever seen. Twenty-five years ago there was blood, barbed wire bats and Cactus Jack getting thrown through a cage. That last sentence was one match, people. Go back and watch Cactus Jack vs. Triple H at No Way Out in 2000 because that was hardcore.
McIntyre and Fatu hit each other with toolboxes and a couple of steel chairs. It was so flat. The reason it is graded as average is because there have been far worse matches on WWE PLEs, but that is not to say this was good. The best part of the match was the last nine seconds, when Fatu hit a moonsault on McIntyre through a table. In an unsanctioned match where anything goes, I want to remember a lot more than nine seconds.
3. Nia Jax and Lash Legend vs. Lyra Valkyria and Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs. Brie Bella and Paige (who replaced Nikki Bella) for the Women’s Tag Team Championship — C-
The only reason this is as high as it is is because of Paige’s return. She replaced Nikki Bella as Brie’s partner because Nikki was not medically cleared to compete. After a nine-year hiatus, one of the most gifted female wrestlers is back. Granted, this was not as much of a shocking return because it was leaked all over social media, but nonetheless, she excelled in her return.
However, as a whole, this match fell flat. It was a step above the previous tag match, only due to Paige’s return and the fact that it was for a title. This match was too chaotic because there were too many superstars in the ring at one time, so it was hard to see who did well. All I can take away from this match is that Paige is back, and I’m intrigued to see what she does in this new chapter of her career.
The problem is not just with this match because it is clear that Brie Bella and Paige are not sticking around as champions for long. Paige is clearly not back for a tag-team run, so at some point this team will disband and the Women’s Tag Team Titles will bounce from team to team way too much. Letting them have a Wrestlemania moment is fine, but thinking of the big picture, it’s not that smart.
4. AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship — C+
This match had all the makings of a great match: two of the best female superstars in WWE history clashing at Wrestlemania. But like the majority of the matches on the card, it was just meh. It was more intriguing to see referee Jessika Carr finally snap and shove Becky Lynch because Lynch has been teasing Carr for months. Becky used her heel tactics and forced AJ Lee into Carr causing Lynch to hit a manhandle slam and defeat Lee. It was a smart decision because Lee had only defended the title once since winning it back in February. Lynch is a consistent superstar who shows up weekly, so putting the title back on the first-ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion was the right call. However, judging the match, it was simply average.
5. Seth Rollins vs. Gunther — A-
From bell to bell, this was a great match. For a match where two superstars simply got thrown into a feud and were expected to perform on the grandest stage of them all, I say it was very successful. Both Gunther and Seth Rollins went back and forth in a match of nonstop action. This was the first match of the night where the crowd seemed engaged and flipped the night on its head.
I’m not a fan of interference at all in matches, unless it is done right. Toward the end of the match, Bron Breakker returned from injury and attacked Seth Rollins. For those who don’t know, Breakker was supposed to be Rollins’s Wrestlemania opponent but he was on the shelf. It set up a future feud that will be fun to watch. Back to the match, Seth Rollins had that beast slayer mentality he had when he faced Brock Lesnar back at Wrestlemania 35 and he kept the career killer Gunther on his toes by hitting all of his signature moves. But Gunther was no match. He, just like many superstars, made Rollins pass out. Gunther adds another top-tier superstar in Rollins to his list of victims, and Rollins looks ahead to a vicious feud with Bron Breakker.
6. Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship — D+
The penultimate match of the night was below par, but the right person won. Between all of the matches either previously or slated for Wrestlemania 42 in the women’s division, this had the potential to be match of the night. However, it was bad. This match was six minutes long, and Vaquer had the upper hand for all but the end. Remember how I said interferences ruin matches? Here is that occurrence.
Vaquer was on the attack for about 90% of the match, but that momentum was killed when Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez of the Judgement Day ruined the match. Vaquer took them out, but because she was so focused on them, Morgan capitalized and captured her third title. If someone is dominating and their drive is halted suddenly for the final two minutes, that is not good wrestling. We’ll see how this title reign goes and how it affects the future of the women’s division.
7. Night One Main Event — Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship — B
When John Cena hit Cody Rhodes with the title belt to win in the main event of Wrestlemania one year ago, I said I hoped never to see that at ‘Mania again. Well, for the second straight year, the biggest wrestling event of the year ended with someone striking Cody Rhodes with a title belt. However, that was not a part of the match. The biggest concern on everyone’s mind was that Pat McAfee was going to ruin the main event, and you can say he did, but I hate to be a wet blanket: he did not.
The bell rang and McAfee took out Rhodes right away, but that did not sway the match. McAfee then got beaten down by Rhodes and eventually was put through a table by country artist Jelly Roll. So for all but two minutes, it was just Cody and Randy. The match was great, except for the end. It was back and forth and just a good wrestling match, except for the end. Can’t you tell the end was bad?
Randy somehow RKO’d referee Charles Robinson and then RKO’d Rhodes, but no one was there to count the pin. Out came McAfee in referee attire; he counted, and Cody kicked out. McAfee then was RKO’d by his so-called best friend, Orton, but Orton, due to the distractions, got hit with the cross-rhodes and lost. I’m on the fence about this. Part of me thinks Randy should have won, and clearly all 50,000 in Vegas thought so too. What was the whole point of McAfee? They blended him into the feud, he showed up every week, and all he did was get beat down.
Rhodes went from a good guy to a bad guy and back to a good guy, all in one 20-minute match. The other headlining issue was that Orton came into the night with a rumored back injury, and it was evident throughout the match. He was also seen limping up the ramp, with reports saying it took him nearly 15 minutes to get back to the locker room. If he were to be seriously injured, then it would not make sense for him to win the title. However, after the match, Orton hit Cody with his title and delivered a vicious punt kick. Fans are clearly upset, but aside from the ending, I thought the match was pretty solid.
Overall, Wrestlemania 42 night one gets a D+ from me because all six matches combined were an hour and 22 minutes. The whole show was four hours long, which means that nearly three hours were a mix of entrances, non-wrestling action and commercial breaks. Fans in attendance sat there on their phones or eating concessions more than watching the action. Fans who pay nearly 30 dollars a month watched nearly three hours worth of commercials. However, the card looks a lot better for night two, but if what happened with night one is any indication, fans could give up on this company for good. Wrestlemania 42 night two begins at 6 p.m. Eastern on ESPN for the first hour and on ESPN Unlimited for the remainder of the show.
