WrestleMania 42 Predictions After Royal Rumble: The Rock Will Save Cody Rhodes

WrestleMania Predictions are here for April 18, 2026, live on ESPN Unlimited, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, and The Rock will save Cody Rhodes in the main event against Drew McIntyre. The Rumble Winners have already been established, and it seems that they have made their decisions. Roman Reigns picked CM Punk and Liv Morgan has teased picking Stephanie Vaquer. The following will provide some match card predictions for Night 1 of WrestleMania 42 on April 18, 2026.

Bron Breakker vs. Seth Rollins [Vision Storyline]

Bron Breakker betrayed the man who took him under his wing in the Vision, Seth Rollins. Now, he will pay for the sin he has committed. When Rollins was vulnerable, injured, and in his worst state, Breakker no longer saw use in Rollins. He took advantage of that and thought it would reap benefits in the form of championship gold. However, all it did was create a little buzz for a few weeks until karma hit him where it mattered most. Breakker realized this when he was screwed out of the Rumble.

In record time, due to a masked man curb stomping him, Breakker was eliminated quicker than the time it takes for a cheeseburger from Johnny Rockets to be grilled. As postulated before, Austin Theory was a masked man too. He seemed suspicious after delivering the patented Curb Stomp and could have been a spy working for Seth Rollins in The Vision all along. It can be presumed that he helped The Vision win War Games only to gain their trust until Rollins was set to return and get his revenge.

That second masked man obviously was not Austin Theory, but could it be his former tag partner, Grayson Waller? A-Town-Down-Under never officially broke up and they could still be in cahoots with each other under the leadership of Seth Rollins. In a plethora of interviews, Rollins said that he plans to be back for WrestleMania 42. When he does, he will get a big return victory over Breakker to solidify his master plan in a feud that can be stretched out into a trilogy over the summer.

Prediction: Seth Rollins

Rhiyo (c) vs. Kabuki Warriors vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. Judgment Day vs. Bayley & Lyra vs. Secret Hervice vs. Bella Twins vs. Nia Jax & Lash Legend [Women’s Tag Titles]

The women’s tag division has been absolutely stacked in WWE recently. It’s stacked to the point that most of the women don’t even bother battling for the mid card or world titles anymore. Nonetheless, Rhiyo has led this tag division well as champs after an epic feud with Kabuki Warriors over the winter months. Now, they have a big target on their backs with the likes of Nia Jax & Lash Legend, Bayley & Lyra, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, Judgment Day, Giulia & Kiana James, and Bella Twins.

Since there is not a specific storyline that stands out, it is likely that WWE just clusters all of these teams together for a gauntlet match. Like the Kabuki Warriors, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss will have issues co-existing after the seeds of dissension they planted recently. Since Giulia dethroned Chelsea Green to become U.S. Champion, she will likely focus on defending the belt at Mania while Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre focus on the tag titles. They will probably be here to eat the pin.

Bayley and Lyra have had great character work all year and are deserving of tag gold. Jax & Legend have been impressively dominant and should win the tag titles to solidify Legend’s call to the main roster. However, Bella Twins are the betting favorites to win tag gold after the emphatic reactions they received from the casual fans after Brie Bella’s return. Since Mania appeals to those casual fans, they will win to solidify their reunion, especially after proclaiming themselves the “OG Tag Team.”

Prediction: Bella Twins

Dirty Dom (c) vs. “Demon” Finn Balor [IC Title]

Speaking of the Bella Twins, Nikki Bella was a heel in her feud with Stephanie Vaquer during the winter months and suddenly became babyface when her sister returned to the Rumble. While Nikki Bella has an identity crisis pertaining to whether she is babyface or heel, Finn Balor has that same issue. He was babyface for a week after showing respect to CM Punk and decided to throw that out the window and go back to being a heel by disrupting AJ Styles’ last World Title match in WWE.

Since Balor lost in his home country of Ireland, he will want to embarrass CM Punk in his hometown of Chicago, which is conveniently the location of this year’s WWE Elimination Chamber. However, Dom has already returned from injury and will screw Balor in that title match as revenge for trying to deceive him in the past for that orchestrated love triangle with Roxanne and Liv. After that betrayal, Balor will have to take Punk’s advice, leave the Judgment Day, and bring back the Demon.

Last year at WrestleMania 41, Dirty Dom stole Balor’s WrestleMania moment by stealing his pin-fall victory in the Fatal Four Way IC Title Match with Bron Breakker and Penta. Ever since that day, Balor has not gotten his revenge because Dom is supposed to be his ally in the Judgment Day. Now is the time to get that revenge. The time for playing video games is over. Balor must unleash the Demon and win that IC Title from Dom at WrestleMania to revive his career and freely do things his way.

Prediction: “Demon” Finn Balor

Becky Lynch (c) vs. AJ Lee [IC Title]

Becky Lynch and AJ Lee will inevitably battle on the biggest stage possible to put an end to their feud, and it should be for the InterContinental Championship. This feud all started when Becky slapped CM Punk in the face. That was the biggest mistake she made in her entire career because it sparked the return of a “crazy chick” who showed Becky no mercy after she laid hands on her husband. Ever since then, AJ has had Becky’s number, making her tap out on two separate occasions.

AJ Lee made Becky tap out to the Black Widow at WrestlePalooza in their mixed tag match with their husbands, CM Punk and Seth Rollins, respectively. She also made Becky tap out at Survivor Series inside War Games with their respective teams that they handpicked. In the interim, she screwed Becky out of the IC Title against Maxxine Dupri. However, Becky has since won the title back, and AJ has a good case to challenge for the title after those key victories in multi-contestant situations.

Despite not showing up at the Rumble to continue the onslaught, AJ can still show up at the Elimination Chamber to make Becky’s life a living hell in her hometown of Chicago, Illinois. However, there comes a point where they have to battle in a generational one on one marquee match. Although Lynch and Lee deserve a world title program, the IC Title will be enough for AJ Lee to win, acclimate to this new era of wrestling in WWE, and get her feet wet with the young, rising talent on the roster.

Prediction: AJ Lee

Gunther vs. Chris Jericho [Retirement Storyline]

There are rumors of Chris Jericho leaving AEW, returning to WWE and doing a “retirement storyline.” If that rumor is true, look no further than the “career ender” himself, Gunther. Gunther has retired Goldberg at SNME XLI, John Cena at SNME XLII, and AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble. He would not hesitate to retire Chris Jericho at WrestleMania too. Many fans would expect Jericho to return and win his first match back and perhaps win his 10th IC Title or go on one more world title run.

However, Gunther can shut those hopes and dreams down right there and then and put Jericho on his “list” of old timers that he retired. Gunther is not here to put smiles on people’s faces. He is here to put a nasty taste in their mouths. Currently, he is doing that by taking down every single one of their heroes. At some point, Gunther will have to use that momentum to go for the World Title. That way, there can be more stakes to these retirement matches with the headlines reading “title vs. career.”

That would be suitable for Brock Lesnar when SummerSlam comes around. It is heavily rumored that Gunther will retire Lesnar in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota at SummerSlam. It was originally questionable as to why WWE did not spread the wealth and have different stars retire these legends, but Gunther fits this role very well. The names he takes with him in his career are gradually transforming him from a trail blazer to a mega star that will lead the company for years to come.

Prediction: Gunther

Jade Cargill (c) vs. Bianca Belair [WWE Title]

When Bianca Belair returns to in-ring competition from her debilitating finger injury, her main target will be Jade Cargill due to the storyline they had with Naomi. Belair will be puzzled at Cargill’s new villainous attitude, as Cargill has been bullying all the women backstage. As the babyface, Belair will call Cargill out on this, but Cargill will be justifiably angry at Belair for suspiciously teaming with Naomi for the tag titles after Naomi heinously attacked her on the windshield of a car last year.

Jade Cargill already defeated Naomi last year at WrestleMania. She will follow that up by defeating Bianca Belair this year at WrestleMania. Belair should put Cargill over, as her winning streak at Mania is already ruined and she already had her moment at WrestleMania 37 against Sasha Banks. It is understandable that Belair is the fan favorite. However, if the fans are ever going to take Cargill seriously as champion, she needs to defeat a top star instead of wasting time with Michin and B-Fab.

The days of battling mid carders need to remain in the past with Cargill’s TBS run in AEW. If Cargill is going to truly learn from the best and look her best, she has to be in the ring with the best. The bEST is the EST of WWE, Bianca Belair. And, you know what she says? You can’t spell WrestleMania without “EST.” Belair took Cargill under her wing when they were tag champs, and she will teach her even more at opposite sides of the battlefield. This will be Cargill’s biggest moment in her career.

Prediction: Jade Cargill

Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Cody Rhodes [WWE Title]

Drew McIntyre should not lose the title back to Cody Rhodes, but it seems that WWE is going in that direction. When McIntyre won the WWE Title from Cody in their three stages of hell match, that should have been the end of the feud. McIntyre even had Cody sign a contract that did not guarantee him a rematch clause for the title. However, Cody still has the Rumble and the Chamber as a means to return to the title picture. Rhodes lost the Rumble due to McIntyre screwing him with a Claymore.

Rhodes could also lose the Chamber due to McIntyre breaking into the Chamber and screwing him with a Claymore. At some point, Rhodes will become desperate to get his revenge on McIntyre and will do anything it takes to get that title match at Mania. In a recent interview, Drew McIntyre said that Cody Rhodes has thick skin and does not run to management if he’s offended. When it comes to Nick Aldis, that may be true, but what if Cody Rhodes runs to the head of the TKO board, The Rock?!

Bloodline has a history of screwing McIntyre out of the WWE Title, and Cody has been offered the opportunity to sell his soul to The Rock. It must be noted that Jacob Fatu is just a buffer, not the end goal, and McIntyre will finish his story with Fatu at Elimination Chamber once the real mystery attacker screws Fatu out of the title picture. So, if WWE wants to give the title back to Cody, Cody must turn heel to spice things up, and selling his soul to Rock would create the buzz they need.

Prediction: Cody Rhodes

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