{"id":158718,"date":"2026-04-20T01:57:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T05:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=158718"},"modified":"2026-04-20T01:57:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T05:57:48","slug":"wwe-wrestlemania-42-sunday-full-review-highlights-grades-cm-punk-tricked-roman-reigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/20\/wwe-wrestlemania-42-sunday-full-review-highlights-grades-cm-punk-tricked-roman-reigns\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE WrestleMania 42 Night 2 &#8211; Review, Highlights and Grades"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/16\/wwe-wrestlemania-42-sunday-predictions-4-19-26-the-rock-will-screw-roman-reigns\/\" target=\"_self\">WrestleMania 42 &#8211; Night 2<\/a> took place on Sunday, April 19, 2026, live on ESPN Unlimited, at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/03\/17\/why-cm-punk-should-retain-vs-roman-reigns-at-wrestlemania-42\/\" target=\"_self\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CM Punk and Roman Reigns<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> headlined the show in what was Punk&#8217;s first-ever WrestleMania Main Event. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/19\/wwe-wrestlemania-42-night-1-review-with-match-rating\/\" target=\"_self\">WrestleMania 41 Night 1<\/a> was in the books, as Cody Rhodes retained the WWE Title against Randy Orton in the main event. The decision to have Rhodes retain and Orton merely punt him afterward was questionable, as it definitely got many fans talking after the show.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That night crowned two new singles champions in Liv Morgan and Becky Lynch, as they both had show-stealing matches against Stephanie Vaquer and AJ Lee, respectively. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There were also three surprise returns in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/18\/paige-makes-triumphant-return-to-smackdown-to-set-up-huge-wwe-wrestlemania-42-match\/\" target=\"_self\">Paige<\/a>, who replaced the injured Nikki Bella to become the new tag team champions with Brie Bella, Bron Breakker, who returned to screw Seth Rollins in his match with Gunther, and Bianca Belair, who announced that she is pregnant and expecting a baby. It was truly a heavily criticized night to remember.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With that being said, it is now time for the WrestleMania 42 Night 2 Review, starting with<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which was an absolute spectacle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WWE PPV Predictions - Mark Justice\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PL4Cbox4S9rfPQAIqd77dztP3geVc0ymXs\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Result: Oba Femi Slayed The Beast<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/03\/23\/oba-femi-taking-down-brock-lesnar-is-the-right-call-for-wrestlemania-42\/\" target=\"_self\">Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi<\/a> made this match all about power and brute force in the beginning stages. Once Lesnar took Femi to Suplex City, it felt like a gamer button-mashing the same maneuver on Mortal Kombat.<\/p>\n<p>Lesnar eventually delivered the F-5, and Femi no-sold it by getting up immediately afterward, which shocked everyone, especially Paul Heyman, who looked like he saw a ghost. This moment was very special because it showed how much of a beast Femi is and how he is set apart from the rest of the roster.<\/p>\n<p>Once Lesnar was thrown off his game from that incredible feat, Femi delivered a ChokeSlam and Fall From Grace to slay the Beast once and for all and win the match. After the match, Lesnar got a standing ovation from the crowd to effectively turn babyface. He took off his gloves and his boots to symbolize his retirement, but <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/12\/wwe-wrestlemania-42-gunther-should-use-seth-rollins-as-a-bridge-to-brock-lesnar\/\" target=\"_self\">Gunther<\/a> still owes a favor to Heyman for defeating Rollins on Night 1. It is unlikely that this was the end of Lesnar&#8217;s career, as SummerSlam is conveniently his hometown, where it should end.<\/p>\n<p>This match was eminently short, but that&#8217;s all it had to be. This match was all about passing the torch to Femi as the new beast and assuring that he is seen as the future of this business. <span>When Paul Heyman introduced the Brock Lesnar Open Challenge, he called back to\u00a0<\/span>The Undertaker<span>, who is renowned for his 21-0 WrestleMania Streak. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Brock was the star who broke that streak, so it would be symbolic to see Femi take that mantle and create a commemorative WrestleMania streak of his own now that he is 1-0 at &#8216;Mania.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Rating (Grade): 4.0 Stars (B+)<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Penta (c) vs. Je&#8217;Von Evans vs. Rey Mysterio vs. JD McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee vs. Rusev\u00a0 &#8211; 6-Way Intercontinental Title Ladder Match<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Result: Penta Retained the Intercontinental Title<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/15\/ranked-who-has-the-highest-chance-of-winning-the-intercontinental-championship-at-wwe-wrestlemania\/\" target=\"_self\">InterContinental Title Ladder Match<\/a> was a fast-paced barn burner. Since he is not a high flyer like everyone else in this match, Rusev used the ladder as a weapon and was crushing every competitor for the majority of the match.<\/p>\n<p>His biggest moments were delivering the STO to Evans onto a bridged ladder and hip tossing JD McDonagh onto the wedged ladder. JD McDonagh&#8217;s biggest moment was delivering a Spanish Fly to Dragon Lee from the top of the ladder, but he was taking most of the bumps in the match.<\/p>\n<p>Dragon Lee delivered a plethora of Styles Clashes as a tribute to his former tag partner, AJ Styles, and even delivered a picture-perfect dropkick to Mysterio while he was hanging from the ladder. Rey Mysterio&#8217;s biggest spots were delivering a 619 to Dragon Lee.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, he was sandwiched in the ladder on the second rope and executing a West Coast Pop Meteora to Rusev through the bridged ladder outside the ring. Since he is the veteran, he not only added structure and direction in this match but also shone brightest.<\/p>\n<p>Evans was a bouncy highlight reel with the best spots in this match, as he bounced off the ropes to deliver a clothesline to McDonagh off the ladder and even an OG Cutter to Rusev off the top of the ladder after Rusev tried to stop him from grabbing the title.<\/p>\n<p>As for the champ himself, Penta delivered a jaw-dropping Mexican Destroyer to McDonagh off the top of the ladder into the bridged ladders and delivered a Mexican Destroyer to Evans in the closing moments to climb the ladder and retain the IC Title in a story-less spot-fest.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rating (Grade): 3.5 Stars (B-)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>Sami Zayn (c) vs. Trick Williams &#8211; U.S. Title Match<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Result: Trick Williams Dethroned Sami Zayn To Become The New United States Champion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/17\/sami-zayn-and-trick-williams-could-have-the-biggest-double-turn-in-history-at-wrestlemania-42\/\" target=\"_self\">Sami Zayn and Trick Williams<\/a> teased their double turn in this match. Zayn was even willing to retain the title via countout, which was a heel move. The biggest highlights for Zayn were when he hit the Blue Thunder Bomb to Williams in the ring, a Brain-Buster to Williams on the apron outside the ring, and taking down Lil Yachty for mocking him and calling him Gingerbread Man.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest near-fall was when Trick delivered a Trick Shot to Zayn after a distraction from Lil Yachty, which would have been a nefarious victory.<\/p>\n<p>The ending of the match came when Zayn delivered the Exploder Suplex and charged for the Helluva Kick, but Williams countered the charge with the Trick Shot for the pinfall and the victory to become the new champion. Those Lemon Pepper Steppers will definitely be selling even more on the WWE Shop after that victory.<\/p>\n<p>This was a big moment for Trick Williams, as WWE really needed to strike while the iron was hot with him, especially since KFC asked for it. He really made a name for himself after getting called up from NXT.<\/p>\n<p>Granted, it would have been nice for Zayn to humble Williams, as he promised in January, and retain the title so soon after winning the belt from Carmelo Hayes. In fact, it was unfortunate that Hayes did not get involved here since he has a history with both men and deserved to be in this U.S. Title Match.<\/p>\n<p>This match really felt like a summarized showcase rather than an actual match; it was way too short for the story that was supposed to be told. WWE teased signs of a double turn, but shamefully did not please the fans with it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rating (Grade): 3.0 Stars (C+)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio &#8211; Street Fight<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Result: &#8220;The Demon&#8221; Finn Balor Got His Revenge On Dirty Dom<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/08\/what-it-could-mean-for-finn-balor-to-bring-back-the-demon-at-wrestlemania-42\/\" target=\"_self\">Finn Balor<\/a> was always going to leave the Judgment Day. It was just a matter of when, and it finally happened. After the Demon was buried by Edge at WrestleMania 39 inside Hell in a Cell to solidify leadership in the Judgment Day, it returned to solidify his departure from the Judgment Day.<\/p>\n<p>A major moment in the match was when Balor kicked out at 1 after Dirty Dom delivered a 619 and a Frog Splash. The match got even better when both men used steel chairs, and they definitely were not using them for musical chairs.<\/p>\n<p>Since this was a No Disqualification Match, the formula for their match followed the format of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/19\/4-things-wwe-got-right-at-wrestlemania-42-saturday\/\" target=\"_self\">Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu&#8217;s Unsanctioned Match.<\/a> It started with a bridged chair spot and ended with a table spot.<\/p>\n<p>Balor delivered his patented maneuvers of the Inverted DDT, Shotgun Dropkicks, and SlingBlades, but none of that was enough to take down Dom. This was surprising because it was expected that this would be a one-sided beatdown by the Demon, just like Balor did to Corbin back in 2017 at SummerSlam.<\/p>\n<p>The turning point was when Dom 619&#8217;d Balor with the chair wrapped around his neck. It was the biggest nearfall in the match, as fans actually believed that Dom would defeat The Demon there. However, Balor rallied back by trapping Dom&#8217;s tattooed neck in the steel chair and Coup De Gracing him through the table for the victory.<\/p>\n<p>This was a fun match with amazing spots, but it did not have the in-ring psychology it needed to show the Judgment Day dissension that occurred between these two throughout the calendar year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rating (Grade): 3.5 Stars (B-)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley &#8211; WWE Women&#8217;s Title Match<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Result: Rhea Ripley Dethroned Jade Cargill to become the New WWE Women&#8217;s Champion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/03\/20\/jade-cargill-must-retain-against-rhea-ripley-at-wrestlemania-42-heres-why\/\" target=\"_self\">Rhea Ripley and Jade Cargill<\/a> had the weakest match of the night. As the heel, Cargill dominated the match early, neutralizing her opponent with power moves like the SpineBuster.<\/p>\n<p>However, as soon as she went for the Jaded signature <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">maneuver<\/span>, Ripley rallied back with Headscissors Takedowns, Enziguris, and even a Razor&#8217;s Edge until Michin and B-Fab interrupted with cheap shots to help their captain, Cargill, get back in the match. Cargill then capitalized with an electric chair powerbomb for the biggest nearfall in the match.<\/p>\n<p>Iyo Sky ran in for the save. and took out Michin and B-Fab with a picture-perfect Moonsault. Cargill delivered the Bicycle Kick to Ripley and attempted Jaded one more time until Ripley countered with Riptide to pin her and win the championship. Many fans did not have high expectations for this match since Cargill is incredibly green in the ring. However, other fans felt that this match could still be good since Ripley is an impeccable worker and can make anyone in the ring with her look like a million bucks.<\/p>\n<p>Neither woman did what they were expected to do. The match was as underwhelming as the Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, it is questionable as to why Ripley needed to win this match when she already had three WrestleMania moments against Asuka, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch at WrestleManias 37, 39, and 40. Cargill needed the win more, and her victory over a former World Champion could have put her on the level of another mega star at the top of the card.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rating (Grade): 2.5 Stars (C-)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>Roman Reigns (c) vs. CM Punk &#8211; World Heavyweight Title Match<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Result: Roman Reigns dethroned CM Punk to become the New World Heavyweight Champion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/03\/17\/why-cm-punk-should-retain-vs-roman-reigns-at-wrestlemania-42\/\" target=\"_self\">CM Punk and Roman Reigns<\/a> had the match of the weekend. The ZeBros did not fail to deliver. Was it overbooked, like most WrestleMania Main Events? Not at all, as there were no unnecessary interferences. They left it all in the ring, even when CM Punk was whispering in Roman&#8217;s ears all night. Did he let him know that he had to make him look really strong? The world may never know. There were so many important spots and counters in this match that told a compelling story. The attention to detail was immaculate.<\/p>\n<p>Reigns hit all his patented &#8220;5 moves of doom,&#8221; including the Samoan Drop, Superman Punch, Jumping Clothesline, Spear, and Guillotine Choke. Punk hit some beautiful counters, such as countering the Spear with the Running Knee in the corner and using his fancy pro wrestling and MMA skills to his advantage.<\/p>\n<p>Roman had a sound byte, telling Punk that it is not promo day. In return, Punk mocked Reigns multiple times. Reigns even had Punk tied to the turnbuckle upside down and delivered three Superman Punches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: 610px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"a61405551f80e72f675225f083759bb9\" image-id=\"fwuQ9Tt5MJGJ\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3216px; aspect-ratio: 3216\/2400;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>The turning point in the match was when Reigns slammed Punk with the steel steps, making Punk bleed. The fans did see blood between <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/04\/18\/randy-orton-unleashes-on-cody-rhodes-at-wrestlemania-42\/\" target=\"_self\">Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton<\/a>, but no one knew why Orton was bleeding or what shot made him bleed. Like was done that night, this was a blade job. In this match, at least the fans knew that Punk was bleeding due to the steel steps shot. The referee did not call a DQ finish and allowed the match to continue. It is interesting how WWE can bend the rules to fit its own agenda.<\/p>\n<p>Reigns did a nice callback to The Shield with a Powerbomb to Punk through the table. Punk and Reigns each delivered their best moves in the Spear and Go To Sleep (GTS) after countering each other&#8217;s finishers. The near-falls were soon followed by &#8220;This is Awesome&#8221; Chants, which were rarely heard all weekend long. Reigns tried to steal Punk&#8217;s finisher, but Punk countered the GTS by hitting a Roundhouse Kick. It is befuddling as to why so many matches at Mania this weekend involved stealing opponents&#8217; moves.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of which, Punk actually delivered the Superman Punch to Reigns while disrespectfully wearing the Ula Fala. He even went for the Spear, but Reigns and Punk countered back and forth with the Guillotine Choke and Anaconda Vice. Punk even tried the Sharpshooter, but Reigns did not let it happen. Reigns called Punk old, but he was coughing and running out of breath mid-match, while Punk was bleeding like a stuffed pig. Punk&#8217;s biggest moment was delivering a low blow while the referee was not looking.<\/p>\n<p>Many fans thought Punk had this victory because the biggest near-fall was when he delivered the GTS after that low blow. Punk&#8217;s most jaw-dropping moment was elbow-dropping Reigns through the announce table. Punk was about to hit the final blow by delivering the Double GTS, as he did to Seth Rollins in WWE and to Jon Moxley in AEW.<\/p>\n<p>However, Punk collapsed on the second GTS, and Reigns capitalized with two Spears. This truly felt like a storyline-driven WrestleMania match, but WWE merely booked the wrong winner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: 610px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBK3lHFOX3\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3000px; aspect-ratio: 3000\/2000;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>CM Punk should have won this match. Punk has not won at WrestleMania since returning to WWE. Roman Reigns already had a three-year title reign in 2020-2023, and Punk should have been putting over rising talent like Bron Breakker, Gunther, Sami Zayn, and LA Knight, not established part-timers like Roman Reigns.<\/p>\n<p>This felt like Royal Rumble 2013 all over again when CM Punk lost his 434-day title reign to The Rock. WWE should be ashamed of itself for taking this moment away from the &#8220;best in the world.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rating (Grade): 5.0 Stars (A+)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" id=\"inline-text-18\"><strong>April 19, 2026 WrestleMania 42 &#8211; Night 2 Results:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"!list-disc ml-5 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" id=\"inline-text-19\">\n<li>Oba Femi defeated Brock Lesnar via pin-fall with the Fall From Grace.<\/li>\n<li>Penta retained the InterContinental Title in a Six-Man Ladder Match.<\/li>\n<li>Trick Williams defeated Sami Zayn to become the new U.S. Champion.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;The Demon&#8221; Finn Balor defeated Dirty Dom in a No Holds Barred Match<\/li>\n<li>Rhea Ripley dethroned Jade Cargill to become the new WWE Women&#8217;s Champion.<\/li>\n<li>Roman Reigns defeated CM Punk to win the World Heavyweight Title in the main event.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" id=\"inline-text-20\">If you&#8217;re not down with just that and would like even more WWE PLE Coverage from <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@MarkTBKJustice1327\/featured\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mark Justice<\/a>, check out more of his articles right here on LWOS and subscribe to his popular YouTube channel by clicking <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@MarkTBKJustice1327\/featured\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WrestleMania 42 &#8211; Night 2 took place on Sunday, April 19, 2026, live on ESPN Unlimited, at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. CM Punk and Roman Reigns headlined the show in what was Punk&#8217;s first-ever WrestleMania Main Event. WrestleMania 41 Night 1 was in the books, as Cody Rhodes retained the WWE Title [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5747,"featured_media":159134,"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],"tags":[9655],"class_list":["post-158718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-wwe-wrestlemania-42"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158718","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\/5747"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158718"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159613,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158718\/revisions\/159613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}