WWE WrestleMania 42 Results, Winners And Grades On Night 1 (Apr. 18, 2026)

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WWE WrestleMania 42 was headlined by Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton with Pat McAfee by his side.

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WWE WrestleMania 42 Night 1 (April 18, 2026) Key Points​

• Cody Rhodes defeated Randy Orton in a match where he deliberately played the heel for the entirety of the bout. Randy Orton punted Cody Rhodes after the loss.
• Paige returned and won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.
• Bron Breakker returned and hit an insane spear on Seth Rollins where he ran down the entire WrestleMania ramp.
• Bianca Belair made a surprise return to announce her pregnancy.

WWE WrestleMania 42 Night 1 Results (April 18, 2026)​

• The Usos and LA Knight def. The Vision and IShowSpeed | ESPN 2
• Jacob Fatu def. Drew McIntyre | Unsanctioned Match on ESPN 2
• Paige and Brie Bella def. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss; Nia Jax and Lash Legend and Bayley and Lyra Valkyria.
• Becky Lynch def. AJ Lee | WWE Women’s Intercontinental Title
• Gunther def. Seth Rollins
• Liv Morgan def. Stephanie Vaquer | WWE Women’s World Title
• Cody Rhodes def. Randy Orton | Undisputed WWE Title

WWE WrestleMania 42 Night 1 Ticket Sales On April 18, 2026​

• WWE WrestleMania 42 Venue: Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, Nev.)
• WWE WrestleMania 42 Ticket Sales: 50,386

WWE WrestleMania 42 Night 1 Results, Winners And Highlights​

Paige Returns And Wins WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles​

• Alexa Bliss had a touching tribute to Bray Wyatt wearing a giant firefly.
• Paige made her WWE return as Nikki Bella walked out on crutches and announced she was unable to compete. Fans chanted “we want Paige" for much of the opening match and went insane when she made her comeback. Paige looked much better than she did in AEW. Paige hit the Paige Turn on Lyra for the nearfall.
• The ring cleared and Paige faced off with Charlotte to loud cheers. On the outside, Nikki got involved and bludgeoned Lyra with her crutch. Back in the ring, Paige hit a Rampage on Alexa Bliss for the win. Another year, another match where Bayley was upstaged by a surprise return.

Match Grade: B-​

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WWE WrestleMania 42 was headlined by Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton with Pat McAfee by his side.

WWE

Becky Lynch Def. AJ Lee​

• Rock band The Wonder Years played Becky Lynch to the ring. Mini AJ Lees skipped to the ring with replica women’s Intercontinental Championships. AJ held hands with four of mini AJs as she walked out. A truly adorable WrestleMania entrance
• Becky Lynch dominated the opening moments of the match before untying the turnbuckle. Lynch’s opp, referee Jessika Carr, stopped Lynch from the illegal tactic as the two had words.
• Lynch’s brief distraction opened the door to an AJ Lee comeback. Lee tripped up Lynch and went to the top rope, hitting a picture-perfect missile dropkick to applause. Lee and Paige hit a beautiful armdrag transition, which led to a temporary Black Widow from Lee before Lynch rammed her in the corner.
• Lynch hit a Manhandle Slam for the nearfall. Becky confronted Jessika Carr for what she deemed was a slow count. Lynch continued to admonish Carr, shoving the referee. Jessika shoved Becky back to a big pop. Becky walked into a Manhandle Slam from Lee for a nearfall.
• Lynch undid the turnbuckle. She pulled Carr in front of her, and when she let go, Lynch slammed Lee’s head into the exposed turnbuckle as Carr had her back turned. Lee hit the Manhandle Slam for the win.

Match Grade: B​

Gunther Def. Seth Rollins​

• Seth Rollins walked out in a long, leather trench coat, a mask and savage all-Black eye contacts that he removed before the match. Gunther attacked Rollins before the opening bell and while his theme music was still playing. the brawl spilled to the outside as the referee was helpless to stop it.
• Rollins threw multiple chairs at Gunther as the referee begged them to get back in the ring. The two eventually returned to the ring as Rollins mercilessly stomped Gunther while holding his arms so he couldn’t cover up.
• Seth escaped a superplex and stuck Gunther with a buckle bomb. Gunther answered with a clothesline, but back came Rollins with a flying forearm as the two combatants stalemated. Seth wanted more, and Gunther obliged with a kick to the face. The two went back and forth with kneeling strikes before rising to their feet.
• Rollins went for a Pedigree but Gunther countered with a backdrop. Rollins went back to the Pedigree, but still couldn’t hit it as Gunther hit a bridging backdrop. The third time was the charm for Rollins, who hit a Pedigree and followed up with a stomp for the nearfall.
• Rollins rolled up Gunther, but after the kickout, Gunther caught Rollins in a rear-naked choke. Fans desperately rallied behind Seth as the two struggled their feet. Rollins bit Gunther’s arm and escaped. Rollins hit a superplex into a Falcon Arrow and transitioned into a rear-naked choke of his own before Gunther escaped. Allegiant Stadium was smoldering with heat at this point.
• Seth stuck Gunther with a Pedigree on the Spanish announce table, but it didn’t break. He then moved to the English announce table and ran across the two tables for a table stomp. Gunther hit the ring and surprised Seth Rollins with a spear on the outside. Gunther capitalized with a rear-naked choke for the win. Easily the match of the night to this point.
• After the match, Breakker ran down the WrestleMania ramp an hit Rollins with a second spear. Fans chanted “one more time,” but instead, Breakker embraced Paul Heyman.

Match Grade: A-​

Liv Morgan Def. Stephanie Vaquer | Bianca Belair Announces Pregnancy​

• Liv Vaquer performed "Trouble" live alongside her dancers from the music video. Stephanie Vaquer received a standard entrance to a strong reaction. Vaquer also got a much louder pop during Alicia Taylor’s ring introductions.
• Surprisingly the two waited for the bell before the match started. Unsurprisingly, they immediately broke out into a brawl. Liv hit the Three Amigos suplexes to a mixed reaction, but mostly cheers.
• Stephanie Vaquer answered with the Devil’s Kiss followed by a double underhook slam for a nearfall. Vaquer met Morgan at the ropes for an Stephanie Vaquer Oblivion that resulted in another nearfall. Vaquer went to the top rope, but Roxanne Perez distracted the referee. Raquel Rodriguez blasted Vaquer off the ropes, and Morgan hit an Oblivion. Nearfall.
• Vaquer fought off the heel, and ducked Morgan, who accidentally hit Rodriguez. Vaquer hit a springboard dive on Vaquer an Perez. Morgan pounced, throwing Vaquer into the stair steps and hitting a Codebreaker. Morgan followed up with an Oblivion for the win.
• After the match, John Cena announced the WrestleMania attendance (50,816). He joked that there had been a lot of conjecture about the attendance, and he was taking the over. Bianca Belair made a surprise return and announced her pregnancy. “The EST is having a baby!”

Match Grade: B​

Cody Rhodes Def. Randy Orton​

• Pat McAfee received his own WrestleMania entrance to a chorus of boos. Cody Rhodes had an amazing entrance showcasing his past gimmicks. Of course, Stardust got the biggest pop. Cody rose from the trap door, emblazoned in gold to a mixed reaction.
• McAfee gave his own personal ring introduction to Randy Orton. McAfee sneak-attacked Cody as Randy stomped him down with McAfee pantomiming the stomps. Rhodes battled back and hit McAfee with a Cross Rhodes to a deafening pop.
• Jelly Roll appeared out of nowhere and hit a flying elbow on McAfee through a table as the crowd cheered. A far cry from the IWC’s complaints about celebrities in wrestling. McAfee was stretchered out as fans chanted “you deserve it!” Fan booed as McAfee gave a thumbs up, suggesting he might be back.
• The bell ring and 50,816 fans in Allegiant Stadium went crazy. Orton and Rhodes exchanged rest holds and started slow, suggesting the match would certainly go long, especially because it went on around 6:00 pm.
• A bird flew over Allegiant Stadium, inspiring “bird” chants. As the two brawled toward ringside, Randy Orton got the better of Rhodes before casually taking a sip of water and handing the bottle back to Michael Cole. Orton slammed Randy’s head into the post as Orton began bleeding. Fans booed as an aggressive Cody doubled down on his assault. Rhodes almost seemed to be basking in it.
• Rhodes continued to pound on Orton as he began encouraging fans to boo more by signaling he was hearing voices in his head. Rhodes followed up with a vintage suspension DDT, right out of Randy Orton’s playbook. Orton began his comeback as fans chanted his name. Orton went for the RKO but Cody countered with a rollup for a nearfall. Cody followed up with an RKO for another nearfall.
• Orton hit an RKO out of nowhere for the closest two count of the night. The two living legends went back-and-forth with punches before Cody poked Randy in the eye like a heel. A blinded Orton accidentally hit an RKO on Charles Robinson. Rhodes kicked Randy in the groin. Cody went for the Beautiful Disaster, but Randy caught him with an RKO. With no referee, Pat McAfee-Kaufman ran down with a neck brace and counted two.
• A frustrated Orton RKO’d McAfee, but Cody pounced with a Cross Rhodes for the shocking win.

Match Grade: A​

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

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