The road to WrestleMania saw new developments in already announced matches, but no new bouts were added to the card. After an eventful week on Raw and SmackDown, a family reunion seems imminent, while a longtime friendship was shattered and left drowning in a pool of blood.
The Card
- World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns
- Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton
- Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan
- WWE Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
- Open Challenge: Brock Lesnar vs. TBD
Latest Developments
The Usos demanded an apology from World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk for his controversial comments about Roman Reigns’ deceased father, but instead, Jimmy Uso punched Punk in the mouth. WWE later released a playlist of Jimmy and Jey
protecting Reigns and the family. The Tribal Chief returns to Raw this Monday, where his response to his cousins’ involvement could reveal where the story goes next.
With five weeks to go, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton began their WrestleMania build on SmackDown at breakneck speed. After Rhodes professed love for his friend and mentor during a contract signing, Orton beat and bloodied him. Fans cheered “The Viper,” a bad sign for Rhodes, the story’s hero.
Things turned physical between Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer and Liv Morgan after Vaquer stopped Morgan from interfering in a gauntlet match, leading to Raquel Rodriguez’s defeat. In a taped vignette, Vaquer took aim at Morgan’s ego in an attempt to coax her into a fair fight at Mania. She said Morgan has all the tools to be great but chooses to “hide behind a trashy man” while letting her friends handle the dirty work.
WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill refused to fight Rhea Ripley following a match with Michin. Later, she was backstage having a civil conversation with B-Fab. As Ripley comes to WrestleMania alone to face Cargill, the champion may have backup waiting to tip the odds in her favor in Las Vegas.
Brock Lesnar comes to Raw this Monday to see who will answer his open challenge for WrestleMania. Oba Femi raised expectations as the favorite to face “The Beast” after defeating former United States Champion Rusev in under three minutes. The win extends Femi’s undefeated streak on WWE’s main roster.
When and Where to Watch
Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, hosts WrestleMania on April 18–19. The first hour of Saturday’s show airs on ESPN2 and Sunday’s on ESPN, with full streaming on ESPN Unlimited. Select movie theaters will host live screenings of the two-night event, with tickets coming soon via Fandango. Internationally, WrestleMania streams on Netflix.
