CM Punk enters his second straight WrestleMania main event. (Credit: Craig Melvin/WWE via Getty Images)
WWE via Getty Images
WWE WrestleMania 42 is halfway done after an underwhelming and disappointing Saturday night that featured the return of Paige and a confusing main event between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. But WWE is only halfway home.
Although WrestleMania Saturday featured big title wins for popular stars like Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan, it has been widely panned for its short match lengths, strange booking and overload of commercials. WWE will be looking to rebound on Sunday with a memorable night inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Among the biggest attractions for WrestleMania Sunday are CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship and a clash of two titans in Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi.
WrestleMania Saturday fell far short of expectations, not because of the performers’ themselves but due to the pacing and booking of the show. But now, all eyes fall on WrestleMania Sunday as WWE attempts to clean up its self-induced mess from the lackluster Night One.
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WWE WrestleMania 42 will feature four championship matches on Sunday. Here are the confirmed matches (in random order):
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Below are some key notes and tidbits for Sunday’s WrestleMania 42 PLE:
When Reigns battles Punk in Sunday’s main event, it will be one of the most unpredictable matches at WrestleMania 42.
While Punk has been a tremendous World Heavyweight Champion, it would be a surprise to see Reigns lose his third straight WrestleMania match. What’s more, Reigns appears to potentially be on the verge of rejoining forces with The Usos as the original Bloodline, which could play out in his favor.
What’s likely is that either Reigns gets helps from the Usos to win the world title, or one of the Usos betrays him to help Punk. It’s a slight lean to the former but could easily go either way. In today’s WWE, its main event finishes are often overbooked, and that should hold true here as well.
Prediction: Reigns
The WWE Women’s title rivalry between Cargill and Ripley has been one of the most disappointing feuds in route to WrestleMania 42.
Ripley and Cargill simply don’t have great chemistry while Cargill’s new stable along with Michin and B-Fab feels like a midcard level act. Although Cargill vs. Ripley may be surprisingly good at WrestleMania 42 itself, Cargill has really underwhelmed as champion as a character and talker.
Of course, Ripley is arguably WWE’s most pushed women’s star, and though Cargill could benefit from a win over “The Eradicator,” the women’s world title picture would be better off with the wildly popular Ripley as champion.
Prediction: Ripley
Zayn vs. Williams has been one of WWE’s most underrated WrestleMania 42 rivalries, and the story is simple: Zayn is on his way down while Williams is on his way up.
The outcome of this match at WrestleMania 42 should be simple, too, and that’s Williams winning the United States Championship for his first title win on the main roster. Williams has quickly become one of WWE’s most popular stars, but it’s unlikely that he enters the main event scene so quickly after his main roster debut.
A US title win at WrestleMania would be a great stepping stone to bigger and better things to come for Williams, and WWE is likely going to go all in on a reported double turn for both stars as the crowd continues to boo the once beloved Zayn.
Prediction: Williams
Sometimes in pro wrestling, the simplest story is also the best story. Exhibit A: Lesnar vs. Femi.
It’s not as if WWE has created some sort of jaw-droppingly original feud between these two behemoths. It’s just that WWE fans have completely bought into anything and everything the two giants have done in their handful of interactions on Raw.
This is a story of Goliath vs. Goliath, and the Goliath who’s 20-plus years younger should win at WWE WrestleMania 42.
Prediction: Femi
WWE seems to be slowly but surely dismantling The Judgment Day, and Mysterio vs. Balor at WrestleMania 42 should take another step in that direction.
Balor is already in full-blown babyface mode after being exiled by his former faction, which has lost a lot of star power over the past couple of years. The most sensible booking move at WrestleMania 42 is for Balor to get his revenge on Mysterio, pick up the win and create more cracks in the stable’s foundation.
The Judgment Day already has plenty of those cracks, and at WrestleMania 42, Balor will add a few more.
Prediction: Balor
There is really no story in the Intercontinental title ladder match. It’s essentially WWE’s waying of giving fans a spot-filled car crash on a card that will be more storyline-driven.
That’s all fine and dandy, too. The ladder match should be a ton of fun, and there’s a case to be made for virtually every star in the match winning it. Penta could very well leave WrestleMania still the champion while Rusev could be reinvigorated with a win and someone like Dragon Lee has earned a potential title win, too.
This WrestleMania feels like a great time and place to focus on new talents. The newest in this match is Evans, who could leave WrestleMania with his first title win. But Penta’s done well as champion and should hold onto the title for a bit longer.
Prediction: Penta
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