Wrestlemania Night One: IShowSpeed impresses, new champions crowned and a surprise return
USA TODAY Sports’ Jordan Mendoza breaks down all the top moments from Wrestlemania Night One.
Sports Seriously
LAS VEGAS — What’s in store for WrestleMania 42 night two?
The final night of WWE’s. flagship event takes place Sunday, April 19, and it will try to punctuate a big showing to cap off the weekend following night one. There will be a great chance when the main event of WrestleMania takes place with the epic showdown between CM Punk and Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Before that happens, the night will start with arguably the most anticipated match in Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi. Plus, the Demon Finn Balor returns, Trick Williams makes his WrestleMania debut, Rhea Ripley faces Jade Cargill and ladders will be out for the Intercontinental Championship.
Follow USA TODAY Sports for all of the action from night two of WrestleMania 42:
Match in progress.
The two masked luchadors get special welcomes and gear. Mysterio rocks a Deadpool-inspired costume, and Penta walks out with a Samurai mask.
The electricity is palpable as the night starts with the highly anticipated match. After a brief lockup, Lesnar tries to drive Femi into the turnbuckle, only for his opponent to withstand it. Lesnar is shocked, and he is unable to take him down while Femi sends him down the mat, forcing Lesnar to re-group out of the ring.
Femi tried to drag Lesnar back into the ring, but it doesn’t work and opens the window for Lesnar to throw him around. He connects with multiple suplexes, and hits an F5. However, Femi gets up and surprises him with a slam. He then delivers a powerbomb to slam Lesnar into the ring. He gets the pin and slays the “Beast Incarnate.”
Analysis: For everyone watching on ESPN, you just saw the future of wrestling.
There may be no hotter rising star than Femi. He commands the audience the moment the music hits, and there was no better way to showcase his future than pretty much squashing a power like Lesnar. This match showed Femi is unlike anyone that Lesnar has faced, and him getting up from the F5 proved he is a megastar.
It was the only move WWE could do. Having Femi lose would have been a major miss and stunted his growth, but WWE does the right thing in putting him over.
Is Lesnar done in the ring?
After losing, Lesnar takes off his gloves and boots as he can’t hide the tears. Paul Heyman enters the ring and the two share an embrace, with Heyman holding his arm in the air as the crowd gives him an ovation. Lesnar then salutes the crowd and actually gives thanks to some of the fans ringside, seemingly waving goodbye.
Goosebumps. The crowd is hyped to see “The Ruler” as “Oba” echoes through Allegiant Stadium.
The host of WrestleMania is back to start the night, bringing in the new theme for the second half of the show.
Joe Jonas sung the national anthem at night two. The Jonas Brothers member is a WWE fan.
When is WrestleMania 42?
WrestleMania 42 night two is on Sunday, April 19, taking place after night one happened on Saturday, April 18.
WrestleMania 42 night 2 start time
WrestleMania 42 night two starts at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. Coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT.
How to watch WrestleMania 42 night 2
The first hour of WrestleMania 42 – the first two matches – will be on ESPN and ESPN’s streaming service.
Afterward, WrestleMania 42 will stream exclusively on ESPN’s streaming service. Viewers can sign up for a subscription to the site here, which starts at $29.99 a month.
ESPN’s service is available through select cable and TV packages, including:
If your cable or TV package includes the ESPN streaming service, you can figure out how to activate it here.
Internationally, WrestleMania will be available on Netflix in most markets.
The first two matches of night two will be on ESPN. The rest of the night will be on ESPN’s streaming service.
WrestleMania is only available on Netflix internationally. It will not be on Netflix for U.S. audiences.
Where is WrestleMania 42?
WrestleMania 42 takes place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
WrestleMania 42 night 2 match card
Matches not in order
- Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar (on ESPN)
- Intercontinental Championship ladder match: Penta (c) vs. Je’Von Evans vs. JD McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee vs. Rusev vs. Rey Mysterio (on ESPN)
- Street fight: Demon Finn Bálor vs. Dominik Mysterio
- United States Championship match: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Trick Williams
- WWE Women’s Championship match: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
- World Heavyweight Championship match: CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns
When is WrestleMania 42 preshow?
The WrestleMania 42 preshow begins at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT.
How to watch WrestleMania 42 preshow
The preshow will be available to stream for free on YouTube and WWE’s social media channels. It will also be available to stream on ESPN’s streaming service.
What happens on night two? See the full predictions here.
Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar
- Jordan Mendoza: Oba Femi
- Richard Morin: Oba Femi
Intercontinental Championship ladder match: Penta (c) vs. Je’Von Evans vs. JD McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee vs. Rusev vs. Rey Mysterio
- Jordan Mendoza: Penta
- Richard Morin: Penta
Demon Finn Bálor vs. Dominik Mysterio
- Jordan Mendoza: Finn Bálor
- Richard Morin: Finn Bálor
United States Championship match: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Trick Williams
- Jordan Mendoza: Trick Williams
- Richard Morin: Trick Williams
WWE Women’s Championship match: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
- Jordan Mendoza: Rhea Ripley
- Richard Morin: Rhea Ripley
World Heavyweight Championship match: CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns
- Jordan Mendoza: Roman Reigns
- Richard Morin: CM Punk
Here are the results from night one. See everything that happened here.
- Undisputed WWE Championship match: Cody Rhodes def. Randy Orton
- Women’s World Championship match: Liv Morgan def. Stephanie Vaquer
- Gunther def. Seth Rollins
- Women’s Intercontinental Championship match: Becky Lynch def. AJ Lee
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship fatal four-way match: Brie Bella and Paige def. Nia Jax and Lash Legend, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair, Lyra Valkyria and Bayley
- Unsanctioned match: Jacob Fatu def. Drew McIntyre
- LA Knight, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso def. IShowSpeed, Logan Paul and Austin Theory
- John Cena serves as host of WrestleMania
- IShowSpeed does frog splash on Logan Paul onto announcer’s table after post-match attack
- Paige returned to WWE for her first match since 2017, replacing the injured Nikki Bella
- Bron Breakker returns from injury, attacks Seth Rollins to help Gunther win
- Bianca Belair appears to announce pregnancy
There will be no rules when the demon returns to the ring. Raw general manager Adam Pearce announces during the preshow Bálor vs. Mysterio will be a street fight.
One thing that always makes WrestleMania feel like a big-time event is the stage, and while not as massive as WrestleMania 41, this year’s set up does still meet the moment.
The WrestleMania 42 stage takes inspiration from the night one theme, which features a post-apocalyptic branding. It has two stands set up to the side of where the stars will emerge from. One new addition is the massive screen behind the stage.
The greatest of all-time is back at WrestleMania.
Recently retired John Cena is the host of WrestleMania 42, returning to the site where he won his record-setting 17th WWE Championship. It is his first WWE appearance since his retirement in December, and he hosted the first night and will be back for the second night.
Another WrestleMania, another main event for the “OTC.”
With Reigns set to face longtime rival CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship, it now makes it an 11th WrestleMania main event for him, extending a WWE record. Not only does he have the record, but 2026 will mark the sixth straight year he’s in the main event picture.
The WWE calendar essentially flips with the conclusion of WrestleMania. Here is the upcoming schedule for the premium live events as of Sunday, April 19
- Backlash: May 9 (Tampa, Florida)
- Clash in Italy: May 31 (Turin, Italy)
- SummerSlam: Aug. 1-2 (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
- Money in the Bank: Sept. 6 (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Oba Femi thinks he sucks.
Sounds harsh, but that’s just how he approaches his work. He doesn’t buy into any of his stock.
“I never want to think I’m bigger than I am. I always want to believe I suck,” Femi told USA TODAY Sports in December. “I think you have to be your greatest critic. You have to tell yourself you suck all the time.”
For as negative as it sounds, Femi admits you should give yourself some flowers once in a while. Even if he barely does, there are plenty around the WWE world that are throwing full-on bouquets at him.
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