My WrestleMania 42 Weekend Predictions

It’s that time of the year when I make Predictions a year in advance, and this time it’s all about WrestleMania 42 Weekend! As always, I will start with NXT Stand and Deliver followed by Night 1 and Night 2 of WrestleMania in New Orleans, Louisiana! Right, let’s just get straight into it!

Credit: Wrestlezone

NXT Stand and Deliver 2026

NXT Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match: Arianna Grace VS Izzi Dame VS Jazmyn Nyx VS Karmen Petrovic VS Kylie Rae VS Wren Sinclair

As always, I had to start with a Ladder Match! To be fair, NXT absolutely loves doing them so they’re always a decent shout in one of these types of articles, and then it’s trying to choose who’s going to be in the match that’s the harder part. I like the idea of Arianna Grace winning the NXT Women’s North American Championship and then being forced to defend it in a Ladder Match, that’s quite funny, and I feel like Izzi Dame, Jazmyn Nyx, Karmen Petrovic, and Wren Sinclair will all still be on NXT in a year’s time! Because of how NXT works, there is probably going to be some current members of the Evolve roster that appear more frequently on NXT over the next 12 months, and that’s why I’ve picked Kylie Rae to be in this spot!

Hank VS Tank

It would’ve been easier just to have left Hank and Tank off these Predictions, but there’s also a storyline there with them facing each other a year after they won the NXT Tag Team Championships! I hope this doesn’t happen, Hank and Tank need each other, but I just felt like this was something that was worth predicting!

NXT North American Championship: Josh Briggs VS Myles Borne

Now, this might seem like the most random matchup ever, and that’s because it is! However, Josh Briggs as the NXT North American Champion makes a lot of sense, like I think he would do a great job as Champion! Also, I feel like NXT sees something in Myles Borne, and he could end up getting a decent singles push. Most likely, the people that compete for this Title at next year’s Stand and Deliver aren’t even in NXT right now, but going off the current roster, this one felt the best!

NXT Tag Team Championships: DarkState VS Motor City Machine Guns VS Swipe Right

DarkState seem to be the new force of NXT, they recently beat The D’Angelo Family at Stand and Deliver, and they’ve also pinned Je’Von Evans! To say they will be NXT Tag Team Champions at some point over the next 12 months feels like a safe bet, and another safe bet is to expect Swipe Right to appear at some point given they’ve already faced FRAXIOM after impressing on Evolve! However, I also feel like those two teams need experience around them, and I could see the Motor City Machine Guns having a run in NXT, especially given the veteran status of Chris Sabin and Alex Shelly!

Zaria VS Masha Slamovich

I’ve very much gone for two powerhouses here! Zaria is someone that I expect to stick on NXT longer than some of the other people she signed with, I also expect her to remain on NXT after Sol Ruca heads up to the Main Roster, but I don’t think she’ll be in the Championship picture come next April! However, I do expect Zaria to be on the show, so it was all about finding a great opponent for her, and I thought why not go with the current TNA Knockouts World Champion, Masha Slamovich! Going for a TNA wrestler to appear at Stand and Deliver both is and isn’t bold, but I could see Slamovich appearing!

NXT Women’s Championship: Jordynne Grace VS Thea Hail VS Kelani Jordan

I feel like Jordynne Grace is destined to hold the NXT Women’s Championship at some point in the near future, if not, she’s probably heading straight to the Main Roster! Thea Hail will probably stay in NXT for a while yet, she’s very young, and she can be a Main Event star in WWE’s third brand! Now, Kelani Jordan feels like the risk here, I’m not sure if I can see her being on the Main Roster or not, certainly not right now, but if she was to stay in NXT for another year, Lani would be another person I would expect to be in contention for the NXT Women’s Championship! Also, after this year’s WrestleMania, predicting multi-person matches is a good way to go!

NXT Championship: Ricky Saints VS Je’Von Evans VS Mustafa Ali

And in the Main Event of NXT Stand and Deliver 2026, I’m predicting that Ricky Saints will put his NXT Championship on the line against both Je’Von Evans and Mustafa Ali in a Triple Threat Match! Stand and Deliver takes place in New Orleans next year, the home of Ricky Saints, and that guy seems destined for the top! I expect Je’Von Evans to hold the NXT Championship at some point in 2025, I do, and I could see him being in a similar spot to what Trick Williams was this year (which is terrific irony if does come true)! And when it comes to Mustafa Ali, I expect him to show up on NXT at some point, I expect him to want the NXT Championship, and there’s a good chance that he could be TNA’s top star this time next year, so if anyone from that promotion would Main Event the biggest NXT show of the year, I think it would be Ali (I would also lose my mind)!

WrestleMania 42

Night 1

United States Championship: Jacob Fatu VS Bronson Reed VS Oba Femi

I’d argue this is the perfect way to start WrestleMania 42! Jacob Fatu can easily be United States Champion for the entire year, that’s more than manageable! Bronson Reed should come back as a beast, he was on a roll before his injury last November, and he also has history with Fatu having teamed together at WarGames! Now, Oba Femi has to feature at some point on WrestleMania Weekend next year, it could easily be as the NXT Champion, but I feel like the Main Roster might come calling sooner! Oba is a specialist when it comes to Triple Threat matches, so I like this idea a lot!

Dominik Mysterio VS Sami Zayn

Dominik Mysterio versus Sami Zayn is up next, and part of the reason for that is I just needed to get both guys onto the show! I can’t see Sami missing another WrestleMania, and Dominik Mysterio feels like a regular fixture on the show nowadays! What I do like about this match though is the crowd could react in a multitude of different ways, and that’s pretty cool!

WWE Tag Team Championships: FRAXIOM VS Finn Balor and JD McDonagh VS The Bloodline VS The Lucha Bros

I was very confident about FRAXIOM becoming Tag Team Champions at some point in the next 12 months, and their recent debut at SmackDown has made me go with them defending the WWE Tag Team Championships! In terms of their opponents, I think Finn Balor and JD McDonagh will stick together, whether that’s as The Judgment Day though is another thing entirely. The Bloodline gets Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga on the show, and The Lucha Bros feel like a pretty good pick here!

Gunther VS Ilja Dragunov

I had to do this match; it needs to be done! I think Gunther won’t be in the Title picture come WrestleMania 42, so I think he’s just going to be in a blood feud! Because of this, there’s simply no one better to face The Ring General here than Ilja Dragunov, their history dates back over 5 years, and I just want this to happen, it’s as simple as that!

Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Giulia VS Iyo Sky VS Asuka

Another match that I would love to see is an all-Japanese affair for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship! Giulia being the Women’s IC Champ makes a lot of sense, especially given that Lyra Valkyria is the current Champion. Iyo Sky always has amazing WrestleMania matches, I don’t see why this would be any different, and Asuka can’t miss another WrestleMania so I had to put her in here!

CM Punk VS Logan Paul

Whilst I got it wrong this year, I’m going to keep coming back to CM Punk VS Logan Paul! For some reason, I feel like this could be a money feud, both Punk and Paul are great on the mic, and I think they’re capable of having a very good wrestling match! I also feel like CM Punk isn’t going to be in the Main Event next year, I think he had his moment this year, and so a match with Logan Paul seems reasonable!

Women’s World Championship: Becky Lynch VS Stephanie Vaquer

In the semi-Main Event of next year’s WrestleMania Saturday, I have Becky Lynch defending her Women’s World Championship against Stephanie Vaquer! Becky is going to be a top Heel on Raw for the next year at least, she’s a pretty safe bet to be the Women’s World Champion at some point soon, and she would definitely have a big match at The Showcase of the Immortals! Now, I’ve picked Stephanie Vaquer as her opponent because Stephanie is clearly being positioned as the next star, you see that from both her run in NXT and the small moments she’s had on the Main Roster, and I actually think Vaquer can and will win next year’s Women’s Royal Rumble, so this works out quite nicely!

Undisputed WWE Championship: Bron Breakker VS Cody Rhodes

And in the Main Event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 42, Bron Breakker and Cody Rhodes collide with the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line! I have no idea what WWE is going to do with John Cena, if he’s going to retire as Champion or lose it at the end of the year, it really could go either way! However, Bron Breakker winning the Men’s Royal Rumble to become WWE Champion makes a lot of sense, that would work quite well. And with Cody Rhodes, he wants to restore prestige and honour back to the Championship he once held, and The American Nightmare is also a Main Event guy so it would be a surprise for him not to appear in one!

Night 2

WWE Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley VS Roxanne Perez VS Tiffany Stratton

Night 2 of WrestleMania 42 kicks off with the WWE Women’s Championship on the line as Rhea Ripley defends against both Roxanne Perez and Tiffany Stratton! Rhea Ripley is always in big Championship matches at WrestleMania, so she was pretty easy to put in her slot. I have hope that Roxanne Perez will be treated like a star on the Main Roster soon, she should have a great year, and Tiffany Stratton is going to be on many more WrestleMania’s to come!

Drew McIntyre VS Jey Uso

It’s another year where I’m worried WWE isn’t going to have Drew McIntyre in a Main Event feud at WrestleMania, and I think the same about Jey Uso too. Jey had his big moment last weekend, but I’m not sure that that is going to continue for another year! Because of that, Drew VS Jey felt like an easy Prediction to make, especially given their history!

Intercontinental Championship: Damian Priest VS Ethan Page VS Trick Williams VS LA Knight

Yes, the multi-man matches are well and truly back! Damian Priest is a guy that I rate very highly, I think he is at a much higher level than a mid-carder, but the problem for Priest is there are almost too many Main Event guys! Because of this, WWE putting the Intercontinental Championship on Damian could be a good solution! As for his opponents, I wanted to predict some current NXT stars to be on next year’s WrestleMania so that’s why I’ve gone with Trick Williams and Ethan Page whilst I simply couldn’t not predict LA Knight in this article!

Carmelo Hayes VS Randy Orton

Carmelo Hayes and Randy Orton have faced off a few times in the past year, but this would be a proper rivalry! I have hope that Carmelo Hayes is going to start having proper feuds and get an actual push, and that will result in him being on WrestleMania 42. I then picked Randy Orton as his opponent because there’s a really good story to tell there!

Women’s United States Championship: Jade Cargill VS Bayley VS Liv Morgan VS Nia Jax

I’ll be honest, this was definitely a match I made just to get as many people on the show as possible! I do see Jade Cargill being a Champion within the next 12 months, but if that’s the case, I really hope it’s the Women’s United States Championship that Jade holds! I then put Bayley and Nia Jax here because they can’t miss another WrestleMania whilst it would be stupid of me to leave Liv Morgan off the list!

Charlotte Flair VS Bianca Belair

In the penultimate match of next year’s WrestleMania, I have Charlotte Flair going one-on-one with Bianca Belair! I always feel like this is a pretty good match to pick in these types of articles, at some point it will happen, and I think Bianca-Charlotte speaks for itself in terms of star power! Whilst it might not come true, this is definitely one of the matches I’m most confident of actually happening!

World Heavyweight Championship: Seth “Freakin” Rollins VS Roman Reigns

And in the Main Event of WrestleMania 42, I have Seth “Freakin” Rollins putting his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Roman Reigns! This was my pick for Night 1’s Main Event this year, and that was almost true, but I feel like it has to happen at some point! Seth and Roman’s story dates back over 12 years, and this would be the blowoff of what the last two WrestleMania’s have entailed! It’s also a massive dream match of mine, but I really think this could and should happen!