2026 WWE WrestleMania 42 matches, date, card, rumors and location for epic two-night event

WrestleMania 42 takes place in Las Vegas on April 18 and 19

All eyes are on WrestleMania 42. WWE's tentpole event returns to Las Vegas for the second consecutive year. Roman Reigns, Rhea Ripley, CM Punk and Brock Lesnar are among the top stars slated for this year's show, set for April 18 and 19.

WrestleMania's world title matches are set after the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber. CM Punk and Stephanie Vaquer will defend Raw's top prizes against Reigns and Liv Morgan, respectively. SmackDown's world champions, Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill, learned the identity of their title challengers at the Elimination Chamber.

One non-title match is currently confirmed for WrestleMania this year. Lesnar hosted an open challenge, welcoming any superstar who thinks they can survive an encounter with the former WWE and UFC champion. On Raw, a formidable opponent answered the call.

CM Punk, Paul Heyman and Drew McIntyre call out Tom Brady after 'very cute' insult about WWE Shakiel Mahjouri

Take a look below at the confirmed matches for WrestleMania 42 and take a glance at the crystal ball of what may come. The event streams live on ESPN Unlimited on April 18 and 19.

WWE WrestleMania 42 matches

World Heavyweight Championship -- CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns: Punk and Reigns will run back their WrestleMania 41 main event, this time without Seth Rollins. Reigns won the men's Royal Rumble match, earning him a world title match. He chose Punk on the following Raw as both men ran each other down. The build to the match has leaned heavily on trash talk. Punk said that he would bury Reigns next to his deceased father. Reigns then called Punk an old man, which drew a punch out of Punk. The following week saw a beatdown from Reigns on Punk after more trash talk about the family.

Undisputed WWE Championship -- Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton: Orton is WrestleMania bound. Drew McIntyre had gone to great lengths to ensure that Rhodes and Jacob Fatu wouldn't get a shot at his title. First, he prevented Fatu from winning two separate Elimination Chamber qualifying matches. Then, his interference in the men's Chamber match gave Orton a pivotal opening to pin Rhodes. However, SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis granted Rhodes a title shot after McIntyre's repeated interferences. Rhodes, with help from Fatu, beat McIntyre for the title and took his WrestleMania spot. Orton then turned on Rhodes on the next episode of SmackDown, busting him open and destroying him with a chair shot inside the steel steps.

Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi: Paul Heyman announced that Lesnar will issue an open challenge at WrestleMania. On March 16, Femi answered the challenge after hitting Lesnar with an impressive delayed pop-up powerbomb. 

WWE Women's Championship -- Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley: Ripley might not be without a title for long after losing the WWE women's tag team titles. Ripley emerged victorious in the women's Elimination Chamber match, securing a match with WWE women's champion Cargill at Mania.

Women's World Championship -- Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan: Morgan wants to become women's world champion for a third time. After winning the women's Royal Rumble match, Morgan selected Vaquer as her WrestleMania opponent.

Women's Intercontinental Championship -- AJ Lee (c) vs. Becky Lynch: Lee won the women's intercontinental title 11 years after her first professional wrestling retirement. Lynch couldn't let the loss go and attacked Lee on Raw. The following Monday, Lee responded by offering Lynch a shot at the title at WrestleMania, which Lynch claimed was Lee "falling into my trap."   

WWE WrestleMania 42 predictions

Women's United States Championship -- Giulia (c) vs. IYO SKY: It might be for the best that Ripley and SKY lost the WWE women's tag team titles. Ripley now has a WWE women's title match to look forward to, and the horizon is bright for her tag team partner. Giulia and SKY are two of the top names emerging from Japan's famed STARDOM promotion. A singles match between them has high potential to be the match of the weekend.

Gunther vs. Dragon Lee or Rey Mysterio: There's a feud brewing between Gunther and Lee. While booking them against each other makes sense, WWE could pivot to a match between "The Ring General" and Lee's mentor, Mysterio. Gunther has become this generation's legend killer after retiring John Cena, AJ Styles and Goldberg. Mysterio isn't retiring, but he could be the next legendary name on Gunther's list.