WWE WrestleMania XLII Night One in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Streaming Live on ESPN Unlimited, April 18th, 2026 — The Premium Live Event Preview:

Cody Rhodes, the WWE Undisputed Champion, will be defending his World Title against the man who was his mentor at the beginning of his career, the Viper, Randy Orton, in the Men's Elimination Chamber Match. These two men have been friends for decades. Now, in one of the biggest Main Events in WWE History, we see Mentor vs. Student clash in the Main Event of WrestleMania XLII. Don't miss WWE WrestleMania XLII Night One, Live on ESPN Unlimited at 6 P.M. ET / 5 P.M. CT / 3 P.M. PT. International viewers, it'll be Streaming Live on Netflix. The first hour of WrestleMania XLII Night One will be live on ESPN2. (Image Courtesy of WWE)

• Start Time: 6 P.M. ET / 5 P.M. CT / 3 P.M. PT, First Hour on ESPN2, and Streaming Live on ESPN Unlimited. (WWE WrestleMania Pre-Show Countdown starts at 3 P.M. ET / 2 P.M. CT / 12 P.M. PT on ESPN & WWE Digital Platforms).

• Location: Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

• WrestleMania XLII Host: John Cena.

• The WrestleMania XLII Night One Main Event: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton (with Pat McAfee) in a WWE Undisputed Title Match.

The WWE WrestleMania XLII Night One Event Preview & What You Need To Know:

• The WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes, who regained his title defeating Drew McIntyre on the March 6th Episode of Friday Night SmackDown, earned his opportunity to face a man he knows quite well. See, Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton have a rich history dating back to 2007 as Cody Rhodes first ever match, and feud was with Randy Orton. Cody Rhodes’ first taste of stardom was under Randy Orton as they were in a group called Legacy. Cody Rhodes lost his job in 2013 at the hands of Randy Orton. So much history, but one thing is for certain: you can never trust a snake in the grass. Randy Orton attacked and bloodied Cody Rhodes, reverting himself to the sadistic, malicious, and crazed Randy Orton we all knew and hated. Now at WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes, in a Student vs. Teacher Match, will have to defend his honor and pride, as in the Main Event of Night One of WrestleMania, Randy Orton will not only be chasing his 15th World Title win, but he wants to make an example out of Cody Rhodes in the process.

• WWE Women's World Champion Stephanie Vaquer will be walking into her 1st WrestleMania as Champion, a special moment for La Primera. But she has someone who has done this before, in Liv Morgan, who won the 2026 Women's Royal Rumble Match and chose the WWE Women's World Title to chase after. Stephanie Vaquer has had some run-ins with Liv Morgan in the past, as Stephanie Vaquer feuded with her stablemates, Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez. Liv Morgan and Stephanie Vaquer have had things personal between each other, with multiple brawls, with each woman on the receiving end of some form of injuries. This match is personal. Who'll walk out of WrestleMania One Night as the WWE Women's World Champion?

• Gunther the “Career Killer” has been on a rampage since returning in November of last year. He retired AJ Styles & John Cena, destroyed the likes of Carmelo Hayes, Dragon Lee, Je’Von Evans & Solo Sikoa. He has gone 9-0 since returning in Singles Action. Now steps in one of the greatest in this generation, in Seth Rollins, who was dealing with Paul Heyman, but because Paul Heyman made a deal with Gunther, this match has happened. This is a Professional Wrestling Match, a match in which gunther accused of Seth Rollins being scared of Gunther when he was World Champion, not wanting to step up to him, this is personal, and Gunther said to Paul heyman that he owed him one, one of the biggest matches of the year, and many considered this to be a Dream Match, the Career Killer, and The Visionary will be going one-on-one tonight at the Showcase of the Immortals.

• AJ Lee has been in the throes of Becky Lynch since her return in September of last year. AJ Lee not only beat Becky Lynch at WrestlePalooza, but also at Survivor Series. But at the Elimination Chamber, she defeated Becky Lynch to take away the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Title to have AJ Lee win her first piece of gold in twelve years. This match is a rematch of Elimination Chamber with the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Title on the line. Becky Lynch has been wanting to beat AJ Lee for some time, but she couldn’t help being stuck on beating her, which cost her a lot of things in the process. With this being AJ Lee’s first WrestleMania Match in eleven years, what will happen? Can we see her continue her undefeated WrestleMania Streak of 2-0 to go to 3-0, or will Becky Lynch become a 3x WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion tonight?

• Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu, over a personal feud, it’s in a territory that needed an Unsanctioned Stipulation, anything goes, and WWE won’t have any liability for it. Drew McIntyre won his 4th World Title thanks to Jacob Fatu by mistake, and then lost his WWE Title due to Jacob Fatu. This feud started last year in October with the accusation of Drew McIntyre being the man who attacked Jacob Fatu, causing him to have fractured teeth and a bloodied mouth. To this point, no one knows who attacked Jacob Fatu; they fell off platforms and were brutalized all over the arena. This feud is such a deep, personal blood feud; someone isn’t waking up after this match, and someone will be gone for months on end. We’ll see what happens tonight as this will be the 2nd Match at Night One of WrestleMania. A deep personal feud, and Jacob Fatu wants to end the man he thinks tried to end him in October of last year, taking two months of his career. Drew McIntyre is looking to end Jacob Fatu and then prove his innocence. It goes down tonight.

• The Irresistible Forces will defend their WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles in a Fatal-Four Way Tag Team Title Match against Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair, Bayley & Lyra Valkyria & The Kabuki Warriors. This match is looking to be a show-stealer tonight as four of the top Women’s Tag Teams will be all in the ring looking to become WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions tonight. Lash Legend & Nia Jax have a lot on their plate as they can lose the titles without being pinned tonight. The Bella Twins are looking to add another title to their Hall of Fame resume tonight. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria have had many ups and downs as they have been inconsistent, but have been building some steam with how things were last year, as they were supposed to face The Judgement Day for the WWE Women’s Tag Teams Title, but Bayley was attacked. Now, they have a chance to rewrite what happened last year and become champions. Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair have been a team we didn’t see lasting, but they want the titles they lost, and look to become champions again. A stacked match is looking to steal the show tonight.

• This is a Six-Man Tag Team Match involving the biggest streamer in the world, IShowSpeed. This all started when Danhausen did his tactics, which affected IShowSpeed live. He was going downhill, then came in LA Knight & The Usos. He helped Vision win the WWE World Tag Team Titles by accidentally striking LA Knight with the Brass Knuckles. Then, everything spilled over as LA Knight hijacked his stream, throwing him into his monitor. The Vision with Austin Theory & Logan Paul will have IShowSpeed by their side, as he had no choice. As for LA Knight, he’ll be with The Usos in the Opener for Night One of WrestleMania, as it kicks things off for the Biggest Show in all of wrestling. A fun Six-Man Tag Team Match is ready to open the show, and everyone will see how IShowSpeed will do in his official debut at WrestleMania.

The Official Slated Matches for WWE WrestleMania XLII Night One:

1. Cody Rhodes (with Jelly Roll) (c) vs. Randy Orton (with Pat McAfee) in an Undisputed WWE Title Match.

2. Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan in a WWE Women's World Title Match.

3. Gunther vs. Seth "Freakin" Rollins in a Singles Match.

4. AJ Lee (c) vs. Becky Lynch in a WWE Women's Intercontinental Title Match.

5. Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu in an Unsanctioned Match.

6. The Irresistible Forces (Lash Legend & Nia Jax) vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria vs. Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. The Bella Twins (Brie Bella & Nikki Bella) in a WWE Women's Tag Team Title Fatal-Four Way Tag Team Match.

7. LA Knight & The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) vs. IShowSpeed & The Vision (Austin Theory & Logan Paul) in a Six-Man Tag Team Match.

The Official Match Order for WWE WrestleMania XLII Night One:

1. LA Knight & The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) vs. IShowSpeed & The Vision (Austin Theory & Logan Paul) in a Six-Man Tag Team Match.

2. Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu in an Unsanctioned Match.

3. The Irresistible Forces (Lash Legend & Nia Jax) vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria vs. Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. The Bella Twins (Brie Bella & Nikki Bella) in a WWE Women's Tag Team Title Fatal-Four Way Tag Team Match.

4. AJ Lee (c) vs. Becky Lynch in a WWE Women's Intercontinental Title Match.

5. Gunther vs. Seth "Freakin" Rollins in a Singles Match.

6. Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan in a WWE Women's World Title Match.

7. Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton in an Undisputed WWE Title Match.