Ranking 7 WWE Stars Who Need to Win the Most at WrestleMania 42
Winning at WrestleMania is always ideal, but at WrestleMania 42 in particular, there are several WWE stars who need a win more than most.
Multiple matches have already been made official for the event and others will be added in the coming weeks. For as inconsistent has the build has been, what ultimately matters is whether the matches will deliver and who will be booked to emerge victorious.
A handful of fresh faces will be competing at their first 'Mania this year, most notably Oba Femi for his highly-anticipated battle with Brock Lesnar. It isn't imperative for everyone to win in their WrestleMania debut, but it does send the message that they're destined for greatness if they do.
The importance of winning isn't exclusive to just the newer names, either. There's a lot riding on the outcomes to Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk as well as Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill. Damage could be done depending on who comes out on top in both of those bouts.
These are the seven wrestlers who have the most to gain from going over, ranked.
7. Randy Orton
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Randy Orton has taken part in his fair share of WrestleMania installments throughout his two-decade-plus run with WWE. He's also missed a few as well, but this year, he finds himself back in the main-event for the first time in over a decade challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Orton vs. Cody Rhodes was already a marquee match on paper, but the match was made immediately more interesting when Orton betrayed Rhodes out of nowhere on the March 13 edition of SmackDown. It reminded fans of when Orton was at his peak as an antagonist in 2009 and all of the heinous acts he was responsible for back then.
In under two weeks, Orton has scored more momentum than he's had at any other point since returning from injury at the end of 2023. It would be foolish for WWE to squander that by having him lose at WrestleMania.
His heel run wouldn't be ruined if Rhodes were to get the best of him to extend the feud so Orton could take the title at Backlash a few weeks later, but there's no reason to delay the inevitable. Rhodes would be better off back in chase mode for an extended period, anyway.
6. Jacob Fatu
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It's been refreshing to see Jacob Fatu slotted toward the top of the card since resurfacing on SmackDown at the onset of 2026. He was a natural fit in the Undisputed WWE Championship picture and his feud with Drew McIntyre has been fun to follow.
Their scheduled SmackDown match this past week didn't come to fruition because the two decided to brawl instead, leaving fans to assume the outing will instead be saved for WrestleMania. A stipulation is bound to be added as well to up the ante.
In order for Fatu to continue his ascent to world championship contention, he must beat McIntyre when it matters most.
McIntyre is fresh off losing the title to Cody Rhodes, so he could use a win as well, but Fatu should be the higher priority going forward. He could be contending for the championship right after WrestleMania if he manages to give McIntyre his comeuppance in Las Vegas.
5. Becky Lynch
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Becky Lynch is one of the most established and decorated women on the entire WWE roster, so she hardly loses any credibility whenever she comes up short in her matches.
That's been the case more often than not in recent months, not only when she lost the Women's Intercontinental Championship to Maxxine Dupri but also getting submitted by AJ Lee at Wrestlepalooza, Survivor Series and Elimination Chamber.
Their bad blood has to be building to Lynch finally getting that elusive win over her, and there's no better place for that to happen than at WrestleMania 42.
Their rematch has yet to be announced for the event, but that appeared to be the direction WWE was heading in after Lynch returned to television to attack Lee on last week's Raw. No other match would make as much sense for the Women's Intercontinental Championship at 'Mania.
If Lee isn't going to be a full-time champ, then it's crucial that Lynch regain the gold at The Show of Shows and eventually drop it to someone on the active roster who will benefit from beating her.
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4. CM Punk
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CM Punk is in the midst of a fantastic run as World Heavyweight champion that could be in jeopardy of ending come WrestleMania 42.
He's successfully defended the prestigious prize against the illustrious likes of Bron Breakker, AJ Styles and Finn Balor and now has his sights set on Roman Reigns. The odds aren't exactly in his favor, especially based on the story they've been telling going into the event, but it's the much smarter outcome.
Reigns held the Universal Championship for nearly four years, and for as historic of a reign as he had, it would be ridiculous to rush him back into that role. He lost at WrestleMania the last two years but can afford another loss, even if it isn't necessarily clean.
Meanwhile, Punk hasn't won at a WrestleMania since 2012 when he retained the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho. More importantly, it's less about Punk and more about Raw having a world champ that will be around and wrestling most weeks, which just isn't going to happen if Reigns dethrones Punk.
3. Jade Cargill
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Despite approaching the five-month mark as WWE Women's champion, Jade Cargill's reign has been far from impressive. Outside of one standout title defense against Jordynne Grace last month, her in-ring time has been limited and her lack of direction has been painfully apparent.
Cargill looks the part and can play the part well, but the company hasn't had her involved in anything of note whatsoever. The booking's been basic and therefore her run has been a dud.
That might lead fans to believe that WWE should pull the plug on the Cargill experiment at WrestleMania 42 and have her lose the strap to Rhea Ripley, but in actuality, it's the opposite.
Ripley hasn't held a singles title in over a year, but this isn't her time. Cargill needs a definitive victory over a top talent to give this reign a boost and Ripley is the perfect person for her to beat.
Cargill shouldn't lose the belt until her former tag team partner Bianca Belair is ready to return. Perhaps Belair and IYO SKY make the save for Ripley and combat Cargill and her new crew of "baddies," but only after Cargill steals the win.
2. Gunther
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Gunther has noticeably been absent from WWE TV since defeating and unmasking Dragon Lee in humiliating fashion on the post-Elimination Chamber edition of Raw.
That doesn't necessarily mean he'll be absent from WrestleMania 42, nor should he be considering how aggressively he's been pushed over the last year.
WWE not having any firm plans in place for the man who retired John Cena mere months ago and AJ Styles soon after is almost unfathomable. That said, it seems to be more of an issue with Rey Mysterio getting hurt per a recent report from BodySlam+.
Regardless of who Gunther ends up waging war with at the event, he has to have his hand raised in victory. He can't be conquered until later down the line, not to mention he's lost his last two WrestleMania matches against Sami Zayn and Jey Uso.
A dominant win can get Gunther back on the right track coming out of WrestleMania.
1. Oba Femi
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Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi facing off at WrestleMania 42 looked unlikely for a while with there being no follow-up to their intense interaction in the men's Royal Rumble, but they thankfully circled back around to it on last week's Raw when Femi officially answered Lesnar's open challenge for the event.
Femi decimated everyone on the NXT roster for nearly two years and has been on an absolute tear since arriving on the main roster. If Lesnar wasn't his 'Mania opponent, there's a good chance he would have been excluded from the card entirely.
No one has posed this much of a threat to Lesnar in several years. Strictly from a visual standpoint, anyone can buy into the idea that Femi would be capable of taking Lesnar down and doing so decisively.
If Lesnar is indeed retiring from WWE at SummerSlam, the company could want Lesnar to win their first outing so Femi can avenge the loss in a rematch and retire him there. While Femi's push wouldn't be dead in the water if that were to happen, they'd be running the risk of hindering his aura when it would be much more logical for him to win instead.
Lesnar became as big of a star as he did by being booked like one from the get-go, and with how high his own ceiling is, Femi should receive similar treatment and best Lesnar in grand fashion in his WrestleMania debut.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
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