Powell’s WrestleMania 42 Night Two Hit List: CM Punk and Roman Reigns stole the weekend, whether Brock Lesnar is truly retired, one celebrity who didn’t wear out his welcome

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

WrestleMania 42 Night Two Hits

CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship: They saved the best for last. The two-night WrestleMania closed with a match that will be remembered on the list of all-time greats that have taken place during WWE’s annual premier event. The storytelling and the variety of emotions that both wrestlers displayed throughout the match were outstanding. They took fans on a hell of a ride with a back-and-forth battle that had the suspenseful near falls that we’ve come to expect from a great WrestleMania main event. I am very much looking forward to seeing where these characters go next. Reigns stated during the post-show that he will be around all summer, so it doesn’t seem like he will be taking the belt and disappearing for a couple of months. It was interesting that Punk resorted to using a low blow in hopes of stealing the win. Punk and his wife, AJ Lee, both lost this weekend. As fun as their babyface runs have been, the two of them working as heels would be a blast. At this point, Punk has to be thrilled with the way things have gone since he returned to WWE. While it was special when he wrestled in the main event of WrestleMania Saturday last year, he reached the true pinnacle by closing WrestleMania weekend in an epic singles match for a world championship on WrestleMania Sunday this year. Creatively, Punk’s return to WWE has been everything he and fans could have hoped for, complete with his wife having a successful return of her own.

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar: The show opened with what was the most anticipated match of the weekend for many fans. The build to several WrestleMania matches left a lot to be desired this year, but the creative forces really got it right in this case. Oba’s manhandling of Brock during each of their television segments sparked concerns that Lesnar would win the match to set up a rematch. Rather, the company did the right thing by having Lesnar put him over clean and decisively on the biggest stage possible. Lesnar went above and beyond to elevate Oba, and it worked like a charm. The post-match scene of an emotional Lesnar leaving his gloves and boots in the ring to symbolize his retirement was a major moment. I still wonder whether Brock is legitimately retired or if this is leading to a final match against Gunther. Paul Heyman owes Gunther’s character a favor, and Lesnar closing out his career with a match against “The Career Killer” at SummerSlam in his adopted hometown of Minneapolis would be perfect.

Penta vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Rusev vs. JD McDonagh in a six-way ladder match for the Intercontinental Title: The build for the match was underwhelming, but the wrestlers came through in a big way, as expected. The match had all the big spots that one expects from a ladder match, and everyone involved had a moment to shine. I was happy to see Penta win rather than this serving as Evans’ crowning moment. I’m as high on Evans as anyone, but I’d rather see him in a good chase to set up a more satisfying first main roster title win.

Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women’s Championship: Jade came through with arguably the best performance of her career when it mattered most. Ripley won the match and the championship, while Jade won over her skeptics, at least for one night. I wonder if this will turn out ot be a brief title reign for Ripley. Jade has a good thing going with Michin and B-Fab playing her unofficial Baddies, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she regained the title at Backlash.

Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams for the U.S. Championship: Was the train on Trick’s robe so long because it featured the name of every company that paid TKO to advertise during the WrestleMania broadcasts? Anyway, the creative team didn’t mess around. They could have waited to give Trick and Oba Femi their biggest main roster wins, but they wisely did it under the bright lights at WrestleMania. It will be fun to see how Zayn’s character reacts to this loss. Lil Yachty was really good in the role of Trick’s buddy and hypeman. While I’m happy that most of the celebrities will go home now that WrestleMania is finished, Yachty is an exception because he actually added something to Trick’s act. It was also really cool to see Trick’s parents in the crowd, dressed in white, and beaming with pride while chanting, “Whoop That Trick.”

WrestleMania 42 Night Two Misses

“The Demon” Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio in a Street Fight: A minor Miss. The ring work was Hit worthy, but they played the Demon card too soon. I get that this was WrestleMania, but it’s not like the creative team didn’t know when the event would be held. If they really wanted Balor’s alter ego at WrestleMania, they should have started this feud sooner. The Demon persona should only be used when Balor’s feuds reach a high level of intensity, not just because it was WrestleMania. This was the only minor disappointment of the night. As bad as WrestleMania Saturday was, the weekend was saved by a terrific WrestleMania Sunday. The show didn’t overstay its welcome, and even the Danhausen comedy segment clicked.

(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)