WRESTLEMANIA XLII - 4/18 & 4/19/2025

[Dolfan in NYC]

11 minutes ago, hammerva said:

So the reason why the McAfee angle and the rumored Backlash main event is pretty much dead is that McAfee realized that this was a bad idea almost immediately and pulled out of the angle.   If we are to believe the "sheets", Pat wasn't that all in on it to begin with.    Also it sounds like Jelly Roll either lost interest or checked out as well. There is a video of him saying that they both shouldn't have been involved in this

Really doesn't paint the WWE management and bookers in any  light much less good when the celebrities involved in Wrestlemania thinks that your idea to use them was a bad idea.  

For what it's worth, pretty much everyone and their mother said the reason the storyline happened was because Ari Emmanuel (HHH's boss's boss) ordered it to be done.  

There's enough people washing their hands of this that makes me think there weren't a lot of people who thought this was a good idea to begin with, but were in no position to say no. 

[Hamhock]

I've seen "rumored Backlash main event" alluded to several times, but never outright stated - I'm going to assume it was to be Cody/Jellyroll vs. Orton/McAfee in some shitty tag match?

[Dolfan in NYC]

6 minutes ago, Hamhock said:

I've seen "rumored Backlash main event" alluded to several times, but never outright stated - I'm going to assume it was to be Cody/Jellyroll vs. Orton/McAfee in some shitty tag match?

Yup.  

And it's also been reported that Orton was supposed to beat Cody for the title, but that got changed "last minute".  So, putting 2 and 2 together...   McAfee does his last heel promo and either realizes (or is told) it's going terribly.  He quits, they drop the title change.  Orton was probably winning the title on the McAfee referee run-in.  They tack on the odd slow count, RKO into the Cross Rhodes,  1-2-3.  

The punt being as nasty as it was, was probably Cody leaning into it.  I'm sure he'll be fine, but that's as good a way as any to let him have the next PLE off, should they choose to extend the feud til June. 

[odessasteps]

Also heard Randy's bad back was a factor in the winner being changed. 

[username]

I'm actually happy for Pat McAfee, he's been involved with various wrestling things for a while now but you aren't a true wrestler until someone hands you a shit sandwich and tells you to make it work. 

[The Natural]

Meltzer gave Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk *****. I agree. The only WrestleMania matches he's given the full five to:

Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels. WrestleMania X. *****.

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin. WrestleMania 13. *****.

Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre. WrestleMania XXXIX. *****.

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. The Usos. WrestleMania XXXIX. *****.

Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley. WrestleMania 41. *****.

Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk. WrestleMania 42. *****.

---

Mine:

Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart. WrestleMania X. *****.

Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels. WrestleMania X. *****.

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin. WrestleMania 13. *****.

The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. WrestleMania XXV. *****.

The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. WrestleMania XXVI. *****.

The Undertaker vs. Triple H. WrestleMania XXVIII. *****.

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista. WrestleMania XXX. *****.

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns. WrestleMania XXXI. *****

Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre. WrestleMania XXXIX. *****.

Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. The Usos. WrestleMania XXXIX. *****.

Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns. WrestleMania XL.*****.

Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley. WrestleMania 41. *****.

Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk. WrestleMania 42. *****.

[The Natural]

[The Natural]

My WrestleMania 42 gripes:

• Way too short matches.
• All the ad breaks.
• Only video packages for the main events. 
• No backstage interviews.

Hated this about the show. AJ Styles wasn't wrong about WrestleMania losing its lustre.

Edited April 30 by The Natural

[Bustronaut]

Let's not forget two of the entrants of the ladder match getting jobber "Already in the ring" entrances

[The Natural]

 

[Casey]

On 4/27/2026 at 2:02 PM, Bustronaut said:

Let's not forget two of the entrants of the ladder match getting jobber "Already in the ring" entrances

I thought I saw online it was three? Rusev, JD and... Dragon Lee?

[The Natural]

4 hours ago, Casey said:

I thought I saw online it was three? Rusev, JD and... Dragon Lee?

Yes, those three. Good catch.

[The Natural]

Other than Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk and Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar, this didn't feel like a WrestleMania even with the elaborate entrances for some and the new gears.

[stuntmanc]

This trainwreck that was Mania was pretty much the final nail in the coffin for me in regards to being a fan of their product as it stands.  It's sad to see but not shocking.  I'll still catch NXT when I can and the Royal Rumble has been my favorite event since i was a kid, but other than that, nope.