LAS VEGAS -- WrestleMania 42 returned to Allegiant Stadium for the second straight year, with Night One running at four hours long. The ending saw a bloodied Randy Orton standing tall over an equally bloodied Cody Rhodes, even after losing the Undisputed WWE Championship match.
No match prior to Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes exceeded 15 minutes, with the longest being Seth Rollins vs. Gunther. There were wrestlers put through tables, big-time returns, title retentions, and several new champions.
It was a strong Night One of WrestleMania, and here are the grades for the event:
Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton w/ Pat McAfee for the WWE Championship
The buildup had many fans questioning the decision to insert McAfee a few weeks ago, but WWE quickly wrote him out before the match began. Rhodes had Jelly Roll put McAfee through the announce table, and as he was stretchered out, the bell rang and the match got underway.
Seeing Orton hit a Cross Rhodes and Rhodes deliver an RKO was fantastic, especially given the history between the two.
It was a strong match between two elite competitors.
Late in the match, things started to unravel. Rhodes teased a heel turn, stealing finishers, borrowing moves, and even poking Orton in the eye. The eye poke led to Orton accidentally hitting the referee with an RKO.
That moment proved costly. McAfee returned wearing a referee shirt, but as his hand was about to hit the mat for the third count, Rhodes kicked out. Orton, frustrated, dropped McAfee with an RKO, which opened the door for Rhodes to capitalize. Rhodes hit Cross Rhodes and secured the win. The crowd loudly booed the outcome.
Pop of the match: McAfee being stretchered out while the crowd chanted “you deserve it!”—only for him to respond with a thumbs up followed by a middle finger.
Real pop of the match: Rhodes getting booed while celebrating with the title, only for the crowd to erupt when Orton grabbed it and dropped Rhodes with it.
Grade: A
Both wrestlers showcased their best, delivering a main event that outshined WrestleMania 41’s clash between Cody Rhodes and John Cena. While Rhodes was met with boos at the end, it didn’t take away from what was a strong performance by both competitors.
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship
Vaquer looked really strong in the match, especially with the way she was able to counter some of Morgan’s offense.
The crowd went crazy when she hit the Devil’s Kiss on Morgan midway through the match. Then Morgan looked like she was about to attempt it herself, which got the fans even more excited, but Vaquer was able to counter.
There was a point where it looked like Vaquer was about to finish Morgan off with a moonsault from the top rope, but Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez showed up to run interference.
Morgan took advantage of a distracted Vaquer near the ropes and hit her with an ObLIVion. She then pinned Vaquer to become champion once again in WWE.
Pop of the match: When Morgan got the three-count and lifted the championship. Morgan is supposed to be a heel, but she has an Edge-like quality where, anytime she wins a title, she gets emotional, and that is exactly what happened after the bell rang.
Grade: B
This was the perfect call especially because Morgan is a top star of WWE. Vaquer won't look weak because the only reason Morgan beat her was due to outside interference. The match was good but it picked up once the interference came in from Perez and Rodriguez.
Seth Rollins vs. Gunther
Right away, these two went after each other—inside the ring, outside the ring, and even near the commentary table. They brawled all over the place for several minutes.
When they finally got back into the ring, the referee rang the bell to officially start the match.
It was the physical match you would expect from both wrestlers. Gunther powerbombed Rollins and punished him several times. Rollins hit Gunther with two curb stomps, one in the ring and another on the commentators’ table.
After the curb stomp, the crowd suddenly started barking. As Rollins turned around, he was speared by Bron Breakker, who had been out of action for several months.
Moments later, Gunther put Rollins to sleep, and that was the end of the match.
As Rollins was walking up the ramp, the barking started again as Breakker ran back down and speared him a second time.
Pop of the match: Breakker spearing Rollins the second time really got the fans going. Then Paul Heyman walked out and hugged him, which made the reaction even louder.
Grade: A-
It was a good showing from both Rollins and Gunther with the result not hurting the Iowa native. It shows that Gunther is on a tear especially since retiring John Cena and AJ Styles. Plus, it gives everyone what they want in Seth Rollins against his prodige Bronn Breakker.
Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee for the Intercontinental Championship
Both superstars looked strong throughout the match, with AJ hitting Lynch with several of her signature moves.
The big moment came when Becky got frustrated with referee Jessika Carr and got in her face, leading to shoving between the two. Lynch ran at Carr looking to hit her with an elbow, but Carr moved out of the way and Lynch ran right into AJ’s arms. AJ hit Lynch with her own move, the Man Handle Slam, and went for the pin, but Lynch kicked out.
Lynch then moved toward the turnbuckle and uncovered it while Carr was checking on AJ. Moments later, AJ charged at Lynch, but Lynch grabbed Carr and AJ ended up sandwiching Carr against the turnbuckle. With Carr distracted, Lynch threw AJ headfirst into the exposed turnbuckle, then hit her with the Man Handle Slam and pinned her for the victory.
Pop of the match: Lynch pinning Lee to win back her Intercontinental Championship, though a close second was Carr shoving Lynch.
Grade: C+
This was a good overall match, and it was smart to have Lynch win a little dirty. It is always effective when a heel wins that way, and Lynch is one of the best in the business. It will be interesting to see who she faces next.
Bellas Twins (Paige) vs. Irresistible Force vs. Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria for the Women’s Tag Team Championship
It was supposed to be a standard Fatal 4-Way for the Women’s Tag Team Championships, but then the biggest pop of the night so far happened.
Nikki Bella walked out last with her sister and announced that she could not compete on Saturday night, but said she had called “an old friend” to help out. Allegiant Stadium went crazy when Paige’s music hit.
The match itself was fast-paced, with all of the competitors looking strong and getting the chance to show off their skill sets.
Five minutes in, the crowd got restless and started chanting, “We want Paige.” When she finally got tagged in, they went wild. A couple of minutes later, Paige stood across the ring from Charlotte Flair, which got the crowd even more excited.
Flair set Paige up to be hit with Twisted Bliss by Alexa Bliss, but Nikki Bella got involved and took Flair out of the ring. Bliss went for it anyway, but Paige got her knees up to block it, then hit her with the Ram Paige and pinned her to secure the win and the tag team titles on the night of her return. Paige was emotional after the victory.
Pop of the match: Paige returning after being gone since 2022. The crowd went crazy for her no matter what she did in the match.
Grade: B
Paige returning to WWE automatically makes this grade higher, especially with the warm welcome she received from the fans. Putting the tag titles on her and Brie Bella was the right call with her returning. Now the big question is how long this title reign will last.
Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre (Unsanctioned Match)
The buildup to this match was violent, which is why making it unsanctioned was the right call.
McIntyre was walking to the ring when Fatu launched himself through the ropes to start the match early.
Both wrestlers threw everything they had at each other—literally. They used tools, chairs, and anything else they could get their hands on.
The biggest spot came when Fatu was on the turnbuckle ready to attack McIntyre, but McIntyre ran over, shoved him off, and Fatu crashed through a table.
Later, Fatu placed McIntyre on a table, ran to the turnbuckle, and hit him with his signature moonsault before pinning the Scottish star for the win.
Pop of the match: Fatu pinning McIntyre after the moonsault. The crowd loves Fatu.
Grade: A-
This had the right amount of violence and big-time moves, which is exactly what WWE fans want at WrestleMania. It was a huge win for Fatu. He is a rising star in WWE, and beating someone like McIntyre is a major step for him.
The Usos & LA Knight vs. The Vision & iShowSpeed
It was a short match that began with The Usos hitting The Vision with superkicks, leaving Speed and LA Knight to face off.
There were moments for both teams, including Jey Uso hitting Austin Theory with a spear and Jimmy Uso getting his shots in on Speed.
Toward the end, Logan Paul was standing at ringside when LA Knight grabbed Speed for a BFT, but Speed shoved Knight into Paul and knocked him off the apron. Theory then got in Speed’s face before putting LA Knight in a headlock, trying to force Speed to hit Knight. Instead, when Theory hit the ropes, LA Knight tossed him into Speed, then hit Theory with his signature BFT and pinned him for the victory.
After the match, Paul turned on Speed by punching him in the face. He then set him up for a splash from the turnbuckle onto the announcers’ table, but The Usos and LA Knight came to the YouTuber’s aid by attacking Paul. They then helped Speed get his revenge when he hit a splash off the turnbuckle onto Paul through the announcers’ table.
Pop of the match: Speed launching himself off the turnbuckle onto the announcers’ table on Logan Paul. He hit Cristiano Ronaldo’s signature “SIU” celebration beforehand, which got the crowd hyped.
Grade: B-
The match felt a little rushed. The Speed experiment worked because he is athletic and looked similar to Paul when he first joined WWE. Speaking of Paul, his ability to make fans cheer against him is hilarious because as soon as he turned on Speed, the crowd erupted.