WWE takes over Allegiant Stadium and Las Vegas, Nevada, as they host the “Showcase of the Immortals” WWE WrestleMania 42. The “Grandaddy of them All” doesn’t need an introduction, considering it’s the spectacle to end all spectacles as far as professional wrestling and sports entertainment is concerned, and you know it will deliver in more ways than one. So with all the pleasantries out of the way, here is the WWE WrestleMania 42 preview and match card for night 1 on April 18, 2026.

This is also a historic broadcast milestone: WrestleMania 42 marks the first WrestleMania to air live on ESPN’s linear channels, with the first hour of each night broadcasting on ESPN2 (Night 1) and ESPN (Night 2) before the full show streams on ESPN Unlimited in the US and Netflix internationally. The Night 1 main event features one of WWE’s most captivating ongoing storylines. Cody Rhodes, the man who “finished his story” by capturing the Undisputed WWE Championship, now faces a relentless Randy Orton with a controversial twist. Pat McAfee was revealed as “the voice in Orton’s ear”, and a stipulation has been added that if Orton fails to win the title, McAfee must leave the wrestling business forever. The added stakes inject drama into what is already a blockbuster championship clash.

No title is on the line, but this match may well be the most anticipated pure wrestling contest of the entire weekend. Seth Rollins and Gunther are arguably two of the finest in-ring performers in WWE today, and their collision on the grandest stage promises to steal the show. The history and animosity between these two make this a personal battle as much as a professional one. Fans can expect an absolute war between a pair of superstars at the very peak of their abilities at WrestleMania 42. Stephanie Vaquer, the trailblazing Chilean champion, puts the Women’s World Championship on the line against Liv Morgan in what has been a deeply personal and hard-fought feud. Vaquer has been one of the most talked-about signings in WWE in recent years, bringing an athletic and technically crisp style that has elevated the women’s division. Morgan, the persistent challenger who never stops scheming, comes in as a dangerous rival. Expect Vaquer to showcase exactly why she is the standard-bearer of the women’s division.

AJ Lee came back at the tail-end of 2025, much to the adulation of the WWE Universe. A woman who practically carried a dying division in the 2010s, Lee’s comeback brought even more life to the now thriving WWE Women’s Division. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that way; as a matter of fact, they detest the notion that AJ Lee spearheaded a division that they wanted to kill for so long, and that woman is Becky Lynch. To her credit, Lynch is undoubtedly the face of the Women’s Revolution, producing some of the highest of highs this period of the Women’s Division has ever seen. “The Man” took it upon herself, by hook or by crook, to thrust the women’s professional wrestling industry into unimaginable heights, and she succeeded in doing that and more.

The problem is, Becky Lynch feels like she’s not getting her due diligence, with stars coming back, like AJ Lee, claiming they were trailblazers when she feels like she was the one who saved and led the way for women’s professional wrestling in WWE to thrive. On the other hand, AJ Lee sees it as every era contributing to the big picture, and she’s not here to take anyone’s spot, but if Lynch views it that way, she just might have to. The match at Wrestlepalooza, Lee winning the Women’s Intercontinental Title at Elimination Chamber, among many other disputes, has led to this. For the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, two generational wrestlers collide as AJ Lee defends the gold, in her first WrestleMania match since 2015, against Becky Lynch. Two of the best of any era finally settle the score, and they do it for all the marbles on the “Showcase of the Immortals.”