411’s WWE WrestleMania 42 Night 2 Preview

Hello Folx, and welcome to 411’s WWE WrestleMania 42 Night 2 Preview! We are once again at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the 42nd annual WrestleMania! This will be the third WrestleMania in Las Vegas, with last year’s event and WrestleMania IX being the other two.

I talked about the slow ticket sales yesterday. So, today I do want to say I’ve really enjoyed the build for a lot of matches for night 2. Femi vs. Lesnar has done a lot to establish Femi as not just the future, but the present. Balor and Dom have a story years in the making. And Punk has done what he does best, and absolutely sold his match with Roman over the last few weeks.

I’m writing this before night 1, so I am going to hope that, regardless of the piss poor booking for night 1’s main event, the night as a whole was still good. I am just going to put some positive vibes out there now. And I hope I’m right, and this paragraph doesn’t backfire on me.

Anyway, on to the rundown! The Ruler vs. The Beast, Femi looks to cement his legacy early, as he takes on the physically dominant wrestler in the past 24 years! Penta defends his Intercontinental Championship against Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, Rusev, and Je’Von Evans in a Six-Pack Ladder match! Rhea Ripley looks to win her fourth World Championship as she takes on WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill!

Trick Williams is looking to win his first singles championship on the main roster, as he takes on United States Champion Sami Zayn! Finn Bálor has resurrected The Demon, as he looks to put down the monster he created, Dominik Mysterio! And in our main event, Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns looks to win his seventh World Championship, but to do that, he has The Best in the World, CM Punk!

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar

Image Credit: WWE

Once Lesnar laid out his open challenge, I figured this would be the man to answer the call. Femi has been an absolute beast since his debut in NXT. And coming to the main roster has been no different. The most successful NIL signee so far, Femi has taken to wrestling like he was born to do it. He is a lot like Lesnar in that way.

Lesnar came from the collegiate wrestling scene, and after spending some time in OVW, he would emphatically make his debut. He would win his first World Championship from The Rock, less than a year after debuting. Femi now has a chance to take the torch from Lesnar and run with it. He has already shown he can stand toe-to-toe with Lesnar, and the crowd is fully behind him.

Now we just have to hope the booking is. This match is also brought to you by Big E’s Big Meaty Men Slapping Meat! Because that is what this is going to be, just two massive men beating the piss out of each other. All we need is Jim Ross there to call it a slobberknocker. I think this is going to be a match that catches the eyes of anyone flipping past ESPN and makes a lot of sense to open the show.

As I said, the booking is behind Femi. Because he does not need to lose here. I’m not calling for it to be a squash, but Femi needs to win. Lesnar is on his way to retirement, and Femi is one of the guys I think will be leading the company into the future. So, I am going with Oba Femi for the win here, because a loss would just set him back. He isn’t a guy who needs to garner sympathy and come back from a loss. He needs to be a one-man wrecking crew until he runs into Bron Breakker for the World Championship.

Winner: Oba Femi

Six-Pack Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Je’Von Evans vs. Dragon Lee vs JD McDonagh vs Rusev vs Rey Mysterio vs Penta

Image Credit: WWE

Evans, Lee, McDonah, and Rusev won qualifiers to earn their spots in this match. Mysterio was added two weeks ago.

The Multi-Person Ladder match returns to WrestleMania! For a while, we had Money in the Bank, then it was back-to-back Intercontinental Championship matches. We’ve also had one of the best TLC matches ever (and should have gotten another one last year). These matches are always fun train wrecks, and looking at the wrestlers in this one, I don’t think it’ll be any different.

Rusev is here as the anchor. There is always at least one power guy in these matches; they give the others a solid base to fly around, and to provide some brutal spots. Mysterio is here to lend a veteran voice to the match, and everyone else is here to sacrifice their bodies for our entertainment. I expect to see an OG Cutter from a ladder, and another Mexican Destroyer on a bridging ladder.

I can also see Rusev doing the Accolade on someone caught between the rungs. Lee and McDonagh will also have plenty of opportunities to showcase why they both deserve a lot more recognition.

I could see Evans winning this as he continues to rise in the roster. On the other hand, he has plenty of time, and I don’t think Penta has had a long enough run yet. I could see Evans winning it over the summer. While there could be some interference by Vikingo, I would rather Penta win tonight, and then he can drop it to Penta at Backlash or Clash in Italy. Then, Evans could be the one to beat Vikingo.

Winner and still WWE Intercontinental Champion: Penta

WWE Women’s Championship
Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill

Image Credit: WWE

Rhea Ripley won the 2026 Women’s Elimination Chamber to earn this match.

After she feuded with Naomi, Cargill spent the second half of 2025 chasing Tiffany Stratton for the Women’s Championship. After finally winning it, she has had a total of…one defense. One defense in five months, and it took her 100 days to even get to her first defense. I blame two things for this: the terrible booking for the SmackDown Women’s division and the fact that Cargill does not have the necessary talent to be a World Champion.

Swap her with Giulia, and let Giulia do what she does best. Or pair her up with The Irresistible Forces. But if someone isn’t ready for the Championship, don’t make them champion. I am hoping Ripley can breathe life into the SmackDown Women’s division, because it desperately needs it. And I don’t think Paul Levesque is going to let one of the top three most over wrestlers in the business languish in mediocrity.

If it’s not yet apparent, I am going with Rhea Ripley for the win here. I do think she can pull out a decent match from Cargill. As well as a return match at Backlash, after that, please shuffle Cargill down the card, and hopefully, she can improve with less pressure. And look, I get it. Cargill is like Lex Luger, Bill Goldberg, and Ultimate Warrior. She has a physically impressive body and it can be hard to not want to push her based on that.

She can also be carried to a good match with the right opponents. But your World Champions shouldn’t be being carried; they should be the ones who can carry everyone else. So, Ripley will win here, and hopefully she can help build the division on SmackDown. They have Jordynne Grace, Stratton, Giulia, Chelsea Green, and hopefully, soon, they will get Jacy Jane and Sol Ruca. This is without mentioning Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and Lash Legend. It’s the making of a solid division that just needs a strong leader and the booking behind them.

Winner and new WWE Women’s Champion: Rhea Ripley

WWE United States Championship
Trick Williams vs. Sami Zayn

Image Credit: WWE

Carmelo Hayes should be in this match. I just needed to get that out of the way first. Zayn’s booking over the last couple of years has been frustrating. I’m a huge fan, and have been since he showed up in NXT. He reminded me a lot of that guy El Generico, the one who retired to help orphans in Mexico. Does anyone remember him?

Anyway, I actually really want Zayn to finally win a World Championship. He has earned it, and he plays such a good underdog. He fills that Mick Foley or Bryan Danielson role perfectly. World Championship aspirations aside, Zayn has once again found himself United States Champion. He was already feuding with Williams before beating Hayes a couple of weeks ago. Which, again, is also a shame, because Hayes has been killing it as champion.

Williams is another guy who is going to be leading the company in the next few years, and tonight is his chance to show up and show the world he is ready for it. He spent the past few years honing his game in NXT, and his run as TNA Champion last year really cemented just how good he has become.

I don’t think tonight is his night, though. I think we might be getting a bit of a double turn. Williams has been getting a lot of support, even as a heel, and losing here due to Zayn finally giving in to his dark side, which can do a lot of good in gaining him sympathy with the crowd. He can then beat Zayn at Backlash or Clash, and start feuding with his old friend Carmelo Hayes.

Winner and still WWE United States Champion: Sami Zayn

“The Demon” Finn Bálor vs. Dominik Mysterio

Image Credit: WWE

Dominik Mysterio and the Judgement Day turned on Finn Bálor which lead to this match being made.

The Demon returns at WrestleMania! Dom may have learned everything he knows from Finn. But Finn didn’t teach him everything Finn knows. And the Demon persona always brings Finn to another level. I think this is another match that could be a sleeper hit of the weekend. Finn is one of the best, and his matches with Punk have helped to remind us all of that.

Dom has also been stepping up his game over the past year; his work in AAA has been great, and I’m hoping he brings more of that tonight. Of course, with this being Dom, JD McDonagh may not be far behind, though that depends on how the ladder match goes. But if not McDonagh, there is always Rodriguez, Perez, and Morgan (depending on how things play out in the Women’s World Championship match from night 1).

Even with the possible interference, I think this will be a great match. I’m excited for a face Finn, and hoping that it could help him shed the Pin Bálor name.

Dom doesn’t need the win as badly as Finn does. Finn needs to get a strong win both to establish himself as a face and to keep the Demon persona strong. There is also a chance for Finn to find someone to help mitigate Judgement Day. While they are from different eras of the Bullet Club, there is a certain EVIL man from Japan. And also a former tag partner for Finn in Hiromu Takahashi, who is rumored to be WWE-bound.

In the end, I am going with Finn for the win here. He needs it more, and Dom can come back from the loss easily.

Winner: “The Demon” Finn Bálor

WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk

Image Credit: WWE

Roman Reigns won the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble to earn this match.

After Punk’s promo, a couple of weeks ago, he needs to win here. That Pipebomb style promo immediately put Punk into a position as someone not just defending his title, or the WWE, but wrestling as a whole. If they are going to be bleeding this Pat McAfee crap into everything, then the shots Punk fired need him to be as strong as possible.

Reigns is a part-timer; he doesn’t need to win the World Championship. His legacy is already cemented, and another Championship doesn’t add to it, and losing won’t take away from it. The question is, how does he lose? I would love a clean loss here. But it’s Reigns, so clean losses don’t come often, even when it’s against someone like Punk.

What I can see is some botched interference. Jey will let his anger get to him again, try to attack Punk, only for Punk to duck, and Jey will hit Roman. Then, one GTS later, Punk retains. Reigns can claim he didn’t lose clean and try to get a rematch. Jey can finally pay off on that slow-burning heel turn he has been on, and a feud between Jey and Reigns will keep both men out of the World Championship scene for now.

The other option is the same man whom I predicted would cost Seth Rollins last night. Breakker isn’t done with Reigns. Just because he has a Seth Rollins issue to deal with, doesn’t mean he isn’t going to ignore Reigns. This would also give Breakker something more to do while Punk deals with Orton and McAfee. And then, after Breakker is done with both Rollins and Reigns, he will be ready to win the World Championship in the Fall.

But for tonight, we should get a fantastic match between these two. It will be filled with some big spots and drama. Reigns has never been the best in-ring talent, but he has good psychology and knows how to pace a match. And Punk is Punk, he isn’t called The Best in the World for no reason. These two are going to go out there and give us their all, and in the end, we will all win because of it.

Winner and still WWE World Heavyweight Champion: CM Punk