When the dust settled and all the results came through, WrestleMania 42 felt like two sides of a coin. Media outlets rated Night 1 as among the worst Manias of all-time, while Night 2 definitely stepped up to the plate and delivered. Over 100,000 fans at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, emptied their bank accounts to witness the biggest show of the year. What they got in return was a roller coaster of emotions. John Cena may go down as one of the worst WM hosts in WWE history. Not through the fault of his own, but all he did was kick off the show and announce the attendance. Sure, Bianca Belair shared a ring with him, and he interacted with Danhausen. However, Cena added very little to the spectacle, dressed up in a suit and tie.
The first hour of Night 1 was on ESPN 2, while the first hour of Night 2 was on ESPN. Rather than give you a recap of the whole event, I’m going to give you the results of both nights with the winners in bold. Then highlight the best and worst of each night, going through the match order.

Night 1

Worst Men’s match
The Vision (Austin Theory/Logan Paul) and iShowSpeed vs The Usos and LA Knight
This was a really bad match. Like REALLY BAD. The entrances for both teams were better than the match itself. It certainly looked like WWE/Triple H wanted the spotlight on iShowSpeed, as his fellow wrestlers were selling out like crazy for him. After the heels lost their match, Logan Paul attacked Speed, but Speed got the comeuppance when he jumped off the ringpost onto the announcer’s table. I guess when you’re on ESPN 2, you need to cater to the casual fans and deliver a viral moment.

Best finish: Unsanctioned Match Jacob Fatu vs Drew McIntyre
I wasn’t able to watch the entire match due to the ESPN app buffering, but Fatu needed this win. The Samoan Werewolf can now be catapulted into the main event picture. With a moonsault off the top rope, Fatu put his opponent through the table to get the win. The Unsanctioned Match as a whole was pretty tepid, but the result was exactly what it needed to be.

Fatal-Four Way Match for the Tag Titles: Bayley/Lyra Valkyria vs Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs Nia Jax and Lash Legend vs Brie Bella and Paige

Worst Women’s Highlight: No Kaire Sane, Asuka, Tiffany Stratton, or Guilia
The fans erupted when Paige made her return to the WWE after an eight-year absence to take Nikki’s place in the tag title match and win the titles. It was a great moment, but it is criminal that WWE left all the talent mentioned above off the card. Some fans did the math and calculated that Hulk Hogan’s Netflix documentary preview got more airtime than all three women’s matches combined. With only one women’s match on Night 2, I fear for the worst.

Worst Finish: Intercontinental Championship: AJ Lee vs Becky Lynch
The match was fine, but we’ve seen these two in action several times already. The finish makes it seem the story will continue, and it shouldn’t. It also involved the same ref whom Lynch claims keeps screwing her over. The exposed turnbuckle was already played out in their previous matches, so it felt like a dud when Becky regained the title. The right person won, but the wrong finish. AJ Lee said after the match that this isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later.

Best Men’s Match: Gunther vs Seth Rollins
Had this been built since the Elimination Chamber, it would have had the potential to be a five-star match. Instead, with a two-week build, fans were wondering why this showdown felt so thrown together. Before the bell rang, these two were at each other’s throats. The Ring General and Visionary burned the house down before Bron Breakker made his return. Rollins passed out to Gunther’s sleeper, but the highlight of the night was Breakker sprinting down the ramp and spearing the daylights out of Seth Rollins. Really excited for what’s in store between these two, and having Gunther win was the right call.

Best Entrance of the Night: Seth Rollins
Rollins walked down the WM ramp for the fifteenth time in his career. Shawn Michaels might have some competition with the “Mr. WrestleMania” name. Rollins wore black contacts and marvelous gear while smoke emerged from the surface. Many are comparing his gear and presentation to a character from Game of Thrones.

Best Women’s Match: WWE Raw Women’s Championship Stephanie Vaquer vs Liv Morgan
With only three women’s matches on Night 1, there wasn’t much to choose from. This title bout had interference from the Judgment Day, but overall, it was the best women’s match. When Liv Morgan’s entrance is choreographed to her new theme song “Trouble,” how can she lose? Vaquer’s future does look cloudy, but she is one of the best all-around performers on the roster.
WWE Championship: Randy Orton (w/Pat McAfee) vs Cody Rhodes

Worst Entrance of the Night: Pat McAfee
The TKO/Ari Emanuel’s golden boy got his own entrance, and all he did was flick off the audience and harp at them.

Match that Exceeded Expectations: Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes
This one got a lot of flak online, but I thought the match itself was okay. When Pat McAfee got involved in this feud, fans rioted online and had their voices heard at every arena around the nation. However, he was taken out by Jelly Roll (you read that right), who elbowed him through the announce table and stretchered him out. Pat returned to eat an RKO, which led to the finish. These two didn’t hit a home run, but they told a great story, bell to bell, where both men bled. Rhodes suffered a swollen eye after getting a punt kick. The only questionable booking was having Orton close the show with the title despite losing.
Biggest Loser of the Night: CelebMania
For a five-hour broadcast, WWE didn’t have any backstage segments to get more superstars on the ‘Mania screen. Instead, they panned to the audience multiple times to show celebrities ranging from professional sports players to comedians. We didn’t need to see TE George Kittle chug down three beers, or the General Guy and Drumstick. WWE’s obsession with celebrities is getting out of hand as they prioritize these A-Listers over their own roster.

Biggest Winner of the Night: Bianca Belair
She made her triumphant return to WWE to probably the biggest pop of the night. The EST was welcomed by fans at Allegiant Stadium and revealed she was pregnant. How can you not call her a winner? The only thing that would’ve made this better is if the Street Profits returned.

Night 2

Oba Femi vs Brock Lesnar

Best Moment of the Night: Oba Femi winning
Fans were worried that Brock Lesnar was going to win, but Femi got the rub. He may as well be the MVP of the night, as the match was the opener and seen by millions of viewers.

OMG Moment of the Night: Brock Lesnar retiring?
Oba Femi slayed the beast Sunday at WrestleMania 42, but very few could have anticipated what happened next. Brock took off his gloves and shoes before hugging Heyman and leaving the stadium. People might have been expecting Gunther to come out and attack the Beast to kickstart their rivalry, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the biggest headline coming out of WM is whether Brock Lesnar is indeed hanging up the boots.

Best Match of the Night: Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match Rusev v Rey Mysterio vs Je’Von Evans vs Penta vs Dragon Lee vs JD
The main event gave this a run for its money, but I thought the use of stairs by Reigns should’ve resulted in a DQ. The ladder match was a banger and showcased everyone involved. The sad part is that Dragon Lee, JD, and Rusev didn’t get televised entrances. Plenty of spots, and Penta winning is the right call.

Holy **** Moment: Penta’s Mexican Destroyer onto another ladder
JD needs to get a prize for the amount of damage he took during that ladder match. Penta hit a Mexican Destroyer on JD in the highlight of the night. Je’Von’s move on Rusev would’ve been the spot, but Rusev jumped off the ladder to help make that look amazing.

Worst Match: United States Championship Trick Williams (w/Lil Yachty) vs Sami Zayn
Someone’s got to take the hit. Trick Williams won the US title and celebrated with Lil Yachty afterwards. The match was average, and the rumored double turn didn’t happen. Instead, Sami Zayn looked on from the ground without exploding or having a post-match attack. For that reason alone, this one gets the least praise.

Best Gear of the Night: Trick Williams
Lil Yachty probably had too much involvement in Williams’ entrance, but Williams’ jacket was a sight to behold. It was at least twenty yards long, and the guy even won the title.

Street Fight: Dominik Mysterio vs The Demon Finn Balor

Worst Booking of the Night: The Demon Finn Balor having a competitive match
Give me a second. The Demon should’ve squashed Dominik Mysterio. Instead, WWE made this a Street Fight to add variety to the night. Finn won, but he didn’t look as dominant as he should’ve been.

Match that Exceeded Expectations: SmackDown’s Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill vs Rhea Ripley
For a WrestleMania build that was one of the worst ever, this was pretty good. Jade Cargill walked down the ramp without her sidekicks, foreshadowing their involvement later on. Iyo Sky made an appearance to take out B-Fab and Michin. Rhea winning was the right move, and this one was worth watching.

Best Segment: Danhausen and John Cena, along with the Miz and Kit Wilson
We finally got it, and it was interesting. Danhausen hit a five-knuckle shuffle on The Miz after Kit Wilson called Hausen’s midgets toxic. Of course, it was corny, but even Cena couldn’t help but smile.

World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk vs Roman Reigns

Entrance of the Night: Roman Reigns
There wasn’t much competition for this, but when I saw this, I knew it was special. The live performance of drums, a vocalist, and piano with graphics showing the Samoan family was a nice touch. The two fought one heck of a match, and Reigns is back on top.

Worst Moment of the Night: The ESPN App Crashing
I couldn’t watch most of the show without exiting out and re-entering. The app buffered every two minutes and even froze three times. I missed two pinfalls, a lot of entrances, and several in-ring performances.

On the post-show, Oba Femi called out Roman Reigns, and it looks like the WWE Universe is going to get a match between them before the year is over. Fans are calling for the return of a one-night WrestleMania, as it was plagued by hours of ads. With the event being held in Saudi Arabia next year, it’ll be interesting to see whether WWE can pull off a two-night spectacle. It’s clear Oba Femi, Trick Williams, and Royal Rumble winners Liv Morgan, along with Roman Reigns, are the faces of the company going forward. Only three returns happened across both nights, and it looks like CM Punk could take some time off after one of the best matches of his career. Lastly, this could be the last we see of Brock Lesnar. What could be in store for this week’s WWE programming? Hopefully, plenty of surprises and new stories. Don’t be surprised if Pat McAfee goes back on his word and returns despite saying we’ll never see him again if Randy loses. With all that being said, this WrestleMania will fall into the middle of the pack (sigh). With the top stars nearing their swan songs, it’s time for WWE to make new stars. Tune into Monday Night Raw to see the aftermath.