What We Cover in This WrestleMania 42 Card Episode
Key Takeaways
- ▶Pat McAfee’s SmackDown promo was a trainwreck — comparing Randy Orton to Steve Austin and claiming he’d bring back the Attitude Era made zero sense and had the crowd confused.
- ▶Cody Rhodes is one of wrestling’s most important figures ever — Dave puts him behind only Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan in terms of impact on the business.
- ▶WrestleMania 42 has 12 confirmed matches and not a bad one on the card — despite a lackluster build, the talent-to-talent matchups should deliver a great show across two nights.
- ▶Oba Femi might squash Brock Lesnar — Dave is starting to believe WWE could pull the trigger on Oba in what could be the most anticipated match on the card.
- ▶IYO SKY is being criminally underused — one of the best in-ring talents in WWE has no WrestleMania match, and fans should be outraged about it.
- ▶Chris Jericho is back in AEW after WWE wanted a retirement angle — Jericho wants to keep going, and Dave says he’s earned the rope to prove himself again.
- ▶Darby Allin needs to be AEW World Champion now — compared to peak Jeff Hardy, Darby is a must-watch performer whose window for crazy bumps won’t last forever.
WrestleMania 42 is two weeks away, and the card is stacked with 12 confirmed matches, but the build has been anything but smooth. On this week’s episode of Wrestling Uncensored, Dave Simon and brother Ben Simon break down a chaotic SmackDown that saw Pat McAfee cut one of the worst promos in recent memory alongside Randy Orton, Uncle Howdy finally get the lantern back, and Cody Rhodes continue to prove why he’s the most important figure in wrestling today. With WrestleMania 42 card analysis on every match from CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns to Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar, plus Chris Jericho’s AEW return and a full AEW Dynasty preview, this is a loaded episode heading into the biggest weekend of the year.
BIG MISTAKE, @mikethemiz!
— WWE (@WWE) April 4, 2026
Should've taghausen @DanhausenAD 🤷 pic.twitter.com/dIncAi03Jz
SmackDown Recap: Danhausen, Uncle Howdy, and the WrestleMania 42 Card Takes Shape
Friday night’s SmackDown was a busy show with WrestleMania just two weeks out. The fatal four-way women’s tag team championship match was made official — Nia Jax and Lash Legend will defend against the Bella Twins, Bayley and Lyra Valkyria, and Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. Nikki Bella reportedly rolled her ankle on last week’s show, but she’s expected to rehab and be ready for the big event.
The Danhausen curse angle continued its bizarre but entertaining run. Danhausen attempted to curse The Miz, but Miz pulled the referee in front of him, and the ref took the curse instead — leading to a hilariously sold arm injury mid-match. The whole Kit Wilson, Miz, Damien Priest, and R-Truth storyline has given Danhausen a home on SmackDown heading into WrestleMania, and there’s speculation about whether this leads to some kind of six-man tag at the show.
Uncle Howdy picked up a win over Tama Tonga after a Sister Abigail, with a slight distraction from Solo Sikoa. The real story was what happened after — Tama insisted that Solo return the lantern to Howdy and the Wyatt family, and they did. After months of this storyline, we finally got some closure on the Lantern saga.
Rhea Ripley beat Michin via submission, after which B-Fab, Michin, and Jade Cargill jumped Rhea — but IYO SKY made the save and cleared the ring. The friendship between Rhea and IYO continues to be one of the more compelling dynamics on the women’s side, but more on IYO later because her WrestleMania situation is a problem.
Sami Zayn retained the United States Championship over Carmelo Hayes in a clean rematch. After Trick Williams’ interference last week, Sami gave Carmelo a fair shot and beat him definitively this time. A post-match angle with Trick Williams and rapper Lil Yachty attacking Sami set up what should be Trick vs. Sami at WrestleMania — another match that should deliver.
Pat McAfee Joins Randy Orton — And It’s a Disaster
There is no sugarcoating this. The Pat McAfee and Randy Orton segment on SmackDown was one of the worst things WWE has produced this year. Randy cut a solid promo in his hometown of St. Louis — he’s going to win his 15th title at WrestleMania, not for the fans but for himself and his family. Good stuff. Cody Rhodes came out, and they started brawling. Cody had the upper hand. All fine.
Then Pat McAfee showed up in a black Randy Orton t-shirt and black sunglasses, declaring himself the “voice” of Randy Orton and proclaiming that Randy would bring back the Attitude Era. He started dropping “If you smell…” catchphrases and doing Steve Austin “What?” impressions like it was 2002. The whole thing was a disaster from start to finish.
The problems are endless. Randy Orton is literally one of the guys who took WWE away from the Attitude Era into the PG era alongside John Cena. Saying he’s going to bring it back is historically absurd. McAfee was just saying a lot without saying anything — comparing Randy to Stone Cold made zero logical sense. Dave called it like comparing yourself to Disco Inferno when the NWO needed a third man. It’s that level of mismatch.
McAfee also cut a Twitter promo saying if Randy doesn’t win the title, he’ll never be seen on wrestling television again, which Dave’s reaction was simple: “Please. After tonight, no one wants to see you again.” The concern is that this is a two-week angle that’s all momentum-killing noise heading into WrestleMania, and if Randy wins the belt, we’re stuck with McAfee in a manager role he absolutely cannot carry.
What is @RandyOrton whispering to @CodyRhodes?! 🤔 pic.twitter.com/TgjpJmO08o
— WWE (@WWE) April 4, 2026
Why Cody Rhodes Deserves Every Bit of His Spot
The McAfee segment prompted one of Dave’s most passionate defenses of Cody Rhodes in the show’s history. When people complain that it’s always about Cody, Dave’s response is direct: “Yeah, no kidding. Thank God it’s Cody.”
The case is overwhelming. Cody is the son of Dusty Rhodes, one of the most important figures in wrestling history. He came up through the WWE system, left because the company wasn’t going where he wanted, became so popular on the independent circuit that he co-founded a wrestling company that became legitimate competition to WWE. That alone — before even considering his return and his WrestleMania moment — makes him one of the most important figures in the history of the business.
Dave places Cody behind only Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan in terms of impact, comparing his in-ring consistency to Bret Hart. After living through years of Roman Reigns main-eventing by corporate decree while Daniel Bryan and others got pushed aside, having someone this talented and this important carrying the top spot is a luxury fans should appreciate — not complain about.
For Pat McAfee — a football commentator who’s a “blip on the radar” — to come in and undermine that is offensive to anyone who’s actually watched wrestling for the last 20 years. As Dave put it: “Forgive me for loving Cody Rhodes, but I’ve actually been watching the WWE. I wasn’t playing football like Pat McAfee.”
WrestleMania 42 Card Breakdown: Every Match Analyzed
Despite the lackluster builds, Dave is optimistic about WrestleMania 42 as an in-ring product. There are 12 confirmed matches, with potentially two more to come, and there isn’t a single bad match on the card. Here’s the full breakdown with analysis:
CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns — World Title (Night 2 Main Event): The build peaked with their first promo exchange and hasn’t quite reached that level again, following an AEW-style pattern of peaking early and then just waiting for the match. Dave thinks Roman wins based on WWE’s historical tendency to put homegrown talent over former enemies at WrestleMania — the same logic that had Triple H beating Sting. Roman may not stick around after Mania, though, and there’s a romantic argument for Punk closing out the show with the world title that should have happened over a decade ago. Either way, the match will deliver.
Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton — WWE Championship: Cody will make this very good regardless of what Randy brings. The Pat McAfee involvement is concerning, but the in-ring product should be excellent. Dave has massive faith in Cody to carry this to a high-quality main-event-level match.
Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar: The build has arguably been the best of any match on the card. There are people saying this should be the main event on one of the nights, and while Dave doesn’t agree with that positioning, the excitement is real. Dave is starting to think Oba might actually win — possibly even in a squash that would establish him as the next monster. Whether it opens or closes a night, this is going to be fun.
Seth Rollins vs. Gunther: This match only exists because Braun Strowman and Rey Mysterio both got hurt — Seth was supposed to face Braun, Gunther was supposed to face Rey. So WWE just threw these two together because they’re both big names on Raw. The setup was bizarre — Gunther attacked Seth after he went after Paul Heyman — but the match quality should be excellent. Seth was just medically cleared and is a freshly turned babyface, while Gunther has been built like a monster. Could go either way.
Penta Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match (Jevon Evans, Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, Rusev): Dave wants Jevon Evans to win and sees this as a WrestleMania moment to push WWE into the future. An IC title win at WrestleMania is a big deal, and Jevon’s performance will be huge for him regardless of the result.
Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill: Dave acknowledges Jade’s limitations but notes that Rhea is one of the company’s best workers and can make this match work. It’ll be passable at minimum and could surprise people.
AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch: Should be good. Two proven performers who know how to work a big stage.
Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams — US Title: Another match that should deliver. Sami has been on a roll, and Trick brings energy and athleticism.
Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre — Unsanctioned Match: Dave calls this the potential “quiet patch stealer of the event.” An unsanctioned stipulation with these two could produce something memorable.
Finn Bálor vs. Dominik Mysterio: It has to happen. Finn is a freshly turned babyface, and a win here sets him up for a post-Mania run — potentially even as a challenger for Roman if Roman wins the world title.
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan: Dave’s least anticipated match on the card, though LaRocca and Perez will probably get involved. It’ll happen. It won’t be bad. It just doesn’t generate the same excitement as the rest.
Women’s Tag Team Fatal Four-Way: Nia Jax and Lash Legend defending against the Bella Twins, Bayley and Lyra, and Charlotte and Alexa. A lot of star power, and it should be interesting even if it’s not match of the night.
Predicted additions: Dave expects two more matches to be made official — a six-man tag with The Usos and LA Knight vs. Logan Paul, IShowSpeed, and Austin Theory for the tag titles, and IYO SKY vs. Asuka. That would bring the total to 14 matches across two nights, seven per night.
IYO SKY Deserves Better Than a WrestleMania Snub
Dave went to bat hard for IYO SKY this week, and rightfully so. She stole the show at the last two WrestleManias — the triple threat last year, and the classic with Bayley the year before. She is arguably the best in-ring talent on the entire WWE roster, regardless of gender, and the fact that she doesn’t have a WrestleMania match right now — without any real outcry from fans — is a problem.
The setup is there for IYO vs. Asuka. IYO took a scary bump this week — a suicide dive where she landed on her head — during a match with Raquel Rodriguez that she lost due to Asuka’s interference. With Kairi Sane seemingly caught between them, this feud has WrestleMania written all over it. Dave is confident this match gets added and believes it could steal the show again, because that’s just what IYO does.
The bigger point is about respect. IYO Sky is not “Rhea’s little buddy.” She is one of the best, if not the best, in-ring performers WWE has. Wrestling fans need to advocate louder for talent like this instead of just accepting that she’ll be used as a sidekick in someone else’s storyline.
Chris Jericho Returns to AEW — And That’s Fine
Chris Jericho made his return to AEW this week when Dynamite was in Winnipeg, opening the show and proclaiming he’s happy to be home. The backstory is that WWE reportedly wanted Jericho to come in and work a retirement angle, but Jericho wasn’t interested in just doing that — he wants to keep wrestling.
Dave’s take is measured and fair. Jericho is one of the greatest of all time. His last run with the Learning Tree wasn’t great, but Dave argues that it had more to do with Big Bill and Bryan Keith being “duds” than anything wrong with Jericho himself. The man has reinvented himself more times than almost anyone in wrestling history — “A Little Bit of the Bubbly” wasn’t that long ago.
At 58, some people will say he should retire. Dave’s not one of them. If Jericho wants to wrestle in AEW, he’s earned enough rope to see what Y2J has up his sleeve this time. Hopefully, he doesn’t associate himself with “too many jabronis” in the process.
AEW Dynasty Preview: Darby Allin Should Be Champion
AEW Dynasty hits Rogers Arena in Vancouver next weekend with a card that currently has six matches — though knowing Tony Khan, expect that number to balloon. Here’s the confirmed lineup:
MJF vs. Kenny Omega — AEW World Championship: The main event. MJF had a strong win over Speedball Bailey on Dynamite this week to build momentum heading in.
Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay — AEW Continental Championship: Ospreay earned this shot through a strong match with PAC and Kenny Omega on Dynamite.
FTR vs. Edge and Christian — AEW Tag Team Championship: One of the marquee matches on the card.
Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo: If Darby wins, he gets a future AEW World Championship match. This is where it gets exciting. Dave has been beating this drum for years — Darby Allin needs to be the AEW World Champion.
The Jeff Hardy comparison is perfect. When Jeff was at his peak as a singles performer chasing the world title, everything he did felt mind-blowing. “How is this guy made of rubber? What is going on?” That’s Darby right now. Every time he’s on screen, you’re paying attention because whatever he does is going to be out-of-control nuts.
Dave’s argument has an urgency to it. Every wrestler who bumps like Darby eventually hits a wall. It hasn’t happened yet — he’s still peak crazy at 33 — but in a few years, something will hurt differently, and he’ll start toning it down. He’ll still be miles beyond what most wrestlers are willing to do, but it won’t be what he is right now. The Mick Foley parallel is instructive: Foley’s Hell in a Cell moment created a legend, a Hall of Famer, a multimillionaire. Those crazy moments pay off. But you have to capitalize on them while the window is open.
Give Darby the world title run now. Put him in the main event. Let people tune into AEW and see the champion doing things they’ve never seen before. MJF would be the perfect opponent for Darby to take it from — their history goes back to that incredible four-way with Sammy Guevara and Jack Perry, and even then, it was clear these two had the chemistry to build an entire show around.
Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter — AEW Women’s World Championship and Alex Windsor vs. Marina Shafir on the pre-show round out the announced card.
Reality Check
WrestleMania 42 has a card stacked with talent and unpredictable outcomes, but the builds have been mediocre at best and actively harmful at worst (see: Pat McAfee). Here’s the reality — when you sit down to actually watch the show, 12 matches deep across two nights with John Cena hosting, the production will be spectacular and the in-ring work will deliver. The disconnect between the underwhelming weekly TV and the actual quality of the WrestleMania card is wider than it’s been in years. Dave’s bottom line: stop being down on it. These matches are going to be good. Maybe some of them steal the show. And WrestleMania always has surprises. Be excited.
WrestleMania 42 Card FAQs
What matches are confirmed for WrestleMania 42?
WrestleMania 42 has 12 confirmed matches, including CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the World Title, Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins vs. Gunther, a Penta Intercontinental Championship ladder match, Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill, AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch, Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams, Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre in an unsanctioned match, Finn Bálor vs. Dominik Mysterio, Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan, and a women’s tag team fatal four-way. Two additional matches are expected.
Why did Pat McAfee join Randy Orton on SmackDown?
Pat McAfee appeared on SmackDown in a black Randy Orton t-shirt, declaring himself Randy’s voice and claiming Orton would bring back the Attitude Era. The segment was widely criticized for making no logical sense, as Orton was actually one of the wrestlers who helped move WWE away from the Attitude Era into the PG era.
Why did Chris Jericho return to AEW instead of going to WWE?
Reports indicate WWE wanted Chris Jericho to come in and work a retirement angle, but Jericho wanted to continue wrestling rather than simply retire. He returned to AEW on Dynamite in Winnipeg, appearing to recommit to the company rather than just running out his contract.
What is the AEW Dynasty 2026 card?
AEW Dynasty takes place at Rogers Arena in Vancouver and features MJF vs. Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship, Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay for the Continental Championship, FTR vs. Edge and Christian for the Tag Team Championship, Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo with a future title shot on the line, Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter for the Women’s World Championship, and Alex Windsor vs. Marina Shafir on the pre-show.
Who does Dave Simon think will win CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns?
Dave Simon predicts Roman Reigns will win, citing WWE’s historical tendency to put homegrown talent over returning former enemies at WrestleMania — the same logic that saw Triple H beat Sting. However, he acknowledges the romantic argument for Punk and says he could see a surprise CM Punk victory since Roman may not stick around after Mania.
Wrestling Uncensored airs live every Friday at 10 PM ET on the Ringside Report YouTube channel. Hosted by Dave Simon and Project X Pro Wrestling World Champion Genesis Johnny North with Ben Simon. Catch up on past episodes and subscribe for weekly wrestling analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
What do you think — should Roman go over Punk at WrestleMania, or is it finally time for Punk to close out the show with the belt? Drop your predictions in the comments below.
