{"id":158367,"date":"2026-04-15T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=158367"},"modified":"2026-04-14T23:19:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T03:19:41","slug":"3-champions-most-likely-to-lose-their-titles-at-wrestlemania-42","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/15\/3-champions-most-likely-to-lose-their-titles-at-wrestlemania-42\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Champions Most Likely to Lose Their Titles at WrestleMania 42"},"content":{"rendered":"

WrestleMania week is finally here, and fans are gearing up for an action-packed weekend with <\/span>John Cena hosting<\/span><\/a> the festivities following his retirement. Night 1 currently features seven scheduled matches, while Night 2 is set for six.<\/span><\/p>\n

Across the 13 total matches, more than half of the card features titles up for grabs. The two most notable title bouts for Night 1 include Stephanie Vaquer defending her Women\u2019s World Championship against Liv Morgan. At the same time, on the men\u2019s side, Cody Rhodes looks to retain his Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton with <\/span>Pat McAfee<\/span><\/a> in his corner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Night 2 sees Jade Cargill facing a massive challenge as she defends the WWE Women\u2019s Championship against <\/span>Rhea Ripley<\/span><\/a>. The evening concludes with a blockbuster main event, featuring CM Punk putting his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Roman Reigns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Excitement for the individual matchups is high, but the potential for a massive title shake-up is what truly has fans talking. The tricky part of a card this stacked is that not every championship will change hands. That sense of total unpredictability is exactly what has the audience on the edge of their seats.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re breaking down the three title changes most likely to happen on the \u201cGrandest Stage Of Them All\u201d at WrestleMania 42\u2014just a warning: one entry on this list might catch you by surprise.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Trick Williams Defeats Sami Zayn to Become the United States Champion<\/b><\/h2>\n

Starting on our list is perhaps the most predictable entry. Since <\/span>defeating Carmelo Hayes<\/span><\/a> to become a two-time United States Champion, the crowd\u2019s disdain for Sami Zayn has reached an all-time high.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Trick Williams has seen the exact opposite of Zayn’s trajectory, catapulting himself into extreme popularity thanks to his undeniable charisma and catchy entrance that the crowd can’t get enough of.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to the match, it makes perfect sense for the company to capitalize on Williams\u2019 momentum by giving him that career-defining WrestleMania moment. Recent rumors even suggest a potential double turn, with Zayn fully embracing a heel role while Williams leans into the crowd’s support as a babyface.<\/span><\/p>\n

The seeds for Williams\u2019 first feud as champion are already being planted. Trick recently sucker-punched Carmelo Hayes while aiming for Zayn, inadvertently costing Hayes both the match and his title and sparking immediate friction. Their intense confrontation last week on SmackDown confirms that the two are on a collision course to settle their score, with a title defense almost guaranteed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Another compelling factor is WWE\u2019s decision to spotlight rising stars Oba Femi and Je\u2019Von Evans, with Femi facing Brock Lesnar and Evans entering the Intercontinental Championship ladder match. Perhaps the company is setting the stage for all three to win their respective bouts, signaling to fans that they aren\u2019t just the future, but a <\/span>crucial part of the present<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Randy Orton Defeats Cody Rhodes to Become the Undisputed WWE Champion<\/b><\/h2>\n

Next on our list is Randy Orton, who is poised to become a 15-time World Champion by defeating Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Title. While fans were initially thrilled for this feud, that excitement sank faster than the Titanic once Pat McAfee became part of the equation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shockingly, McAfee\u2019s involvement has left fans even more convinced that \u201cThe Viper\u201d is destined to win, particularly following his comments on last week\u2019s SmackDown. McAfee announced that if Rhodes leaves WrestleMania as the winner, he will walk away from WWE for good.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Within the last week, rumors have suggested that WWE may be planning a tag team match at Backlash featuring Cody Rhodes and Jelly Roll against Randy Orton and Pat McAfee. If those reports are accurate, McAfee may have pulled a Tom Holland by spoiling the outcome of one of the weekend’s biggest matches. It makes Rhodes dropping the title to Orton seem even more likely, setting the stage for a revenge match down the road.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria Become the New Women\u2019s Tag Team Champions<\/b><\/h2>\n

We have finally arrived at the shocker of this list: Bayley and Lyra Valkyria defeating the defending champions, Nia Jax and Lash Legend, along with the powerhouse teams of Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair, and the returning Bella Twins, also involved in the bout. What makes this so shocking is that Bayley and Lyra are a relatively new duo facing off against some of the most decorated legends in the division\u2019s history.<\/span><\/p>\n

It certainly feels as though Bayley and Lyra are poised for victory. WWE has been crafting a year-long redemption arc for Bayley, who feels she was robbed of her chance to compete at last year\u2019s WrestleMania following a backstage attack by Becky Lynch. While The Irresistible Forces have held the titles for just over a month, Lash Legend seems ready to break out as a singles star.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, Charlotte and Alexa only recently held the gold from August to November last year. With Nikki Bella\u2019s recent ankle sprain, it isn’t even certain the Bellas will be able to compete.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lyra and Bayley clearly represent the ultimate underdog story in this four-way clash, which has fans convinced that the two are set to win the tag team titles at WrestleMania 42.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other title matches could have made this list, including Punk vs. Reigns or Morgan vs. Vaquer. However, as our site has touched on recently, it feels like CM Punk has captured all the momentum lately, thanks in large part to the incredible promo he delivered last week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, since the World Heavyweight Championship is branded as the \u201cworkhorse\u201d title, it wouldn’t make sense for Reigns, a part-timer, to take it. Meanwhile, in the Morgan vs. Vaquer clash, Morgan is the clear favorite, though Roxanne Perez provides an intriguing dynamic that shouldn’t be ignored.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finn Balor originally brought Perez into The Judgment Day, and following his <\/span>recent departure<\/span><\/a>, fans are questioning whether she is unhappy with the group’s new dynamic. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is also speculation that the faction\u2019s decision to oust him could lead to Perez costing Morgan the match as a form of retaliation. When Morgan asked her if she was on board with the new direction last week, she didn\u2019t have an opportunity to answer before Stephanie Vaquer\u2019s attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

With Vegas historically known as a city built on high stakes, these three title changes would provide the winning jackpot the company is looking for. By having Bayley and Lyra overcome their underdog path, WWE would solidify them as a new force to be reckoned with in the women\u2019s tag team division.<\/span><\/p>\n

A win for Trick Williams to become United States Champion would be the ultimate reward for the incredible work he\u2019s put in over the last four months, while Randy Orton has the chance to prove he\u2019s not just back in the title picture, but ready to make a statement by claiming his 15th World Championship.<\/span><\/p>\n

By crowning three new champions in Las Vegas, WWE would fundamentally shift the power balance across its rosters, signaling a transition from established legends to a hungry new class of leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WrestleMania week is finally here, and fans are gearing up for an action-packed weekend with John Cena hosting the festivities following his retirement. Night 1 currently features seven scheduled matches, while Night 2 is set for six. Across the 13 total matches, more than half of the card features titles up for grabs. The two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5699,"featured_media":158396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2192,4,3,320],"tags":[160,98,8664,58,106,7988,9655],"class_list":["post-158367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","category-wwe-women","tag-bayley","tag-cody-rhodes","tag-lyra-valkyria","tag-randy-orton","tag-sami-zayn","tag-trick-williams","tag-wwe-wrestlemania-42"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5699"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158367"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":158399,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158367\/revisions\/158399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}