New WWE Rumors on Pat McAfee, Brock Lesnar, Cody Rhodes and More Ahead of WrestleMania 42
The rumor mill is running wild ahead of WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas on April 18 and 19, with updates on top matches, stories, and Superstars.
From the opening contests of each night's action to the roles of prominent celebrities on the ESPN broadcast, industry insiders have the latest on the 2026 Showcase of the Immortals.
Opening Matches Revealed for WrestleMania 40
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Wrestlevotes Radio on Fightful Select reported that The Usos and LA Knight vs. Logan Paul, Austin Theory, and IShowSpeed will open up the Saturday night portion of this year's WrestleMania card.
Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar will kick off Sunday's event.
Regarding the titanic battle between The Beast and The Ruler, the report added, "ESPN pushed for Brock Lesnar to be included in a part of the package of matches to be included on the traditional ESPN platforms, which WWE was happy to do."
This will be the second consecutive year that Jey Uso is in the first match of WrestleMania, with last year's being his career-defining World Heavyweight Championship victory over Gunther.
The opening contest of any show is nearly as important as the main event in that it kicks the show off, brings the energy from the crowd, and gives everyone a taste of what they can expect from the rest of the broadcast.
Considering the talent involved and the connection they share with the audience, both matches figure to jumpstart the biggest extravaganza of the year.
WWE Making Plans to Main Event Storyline
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WWE has opted to rework the storyline involving Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Pat McAee, WrestleVotes reported.
"Sources stated that CM Punk's comments on Monday were an indicator of the shift and the plans becoming fluid throughout the week, as his comments were not a part of the plan as of the Friday of the Pat McAfee reveal," the report stated.
It added, "Wrestlevotes also says that additional outside involvement that was speculated to be Jelly Roll. It was said that WWE went back to the drawing board to discuss any possibilities regarding the story."
McAfee responded to Punk's promo from Monday's Raw on Friday night's SmackDown and revealed a huge surprise that he hyped for days on his ESPN podcast: a ticket discount for WrestleMania 42.
The storyline has been a disaster since McAfee returned to WWE TV last week. It is so disjointed that it is clear that there has been significant upheaval to whatever the creative team originally had in store. The crowd has not been receptive, McAfree has hurt what should have been a lay-up of a story, and the result is a second, consecutive mess of a story for Rhodes to try and carry entering the biggest show of the year.
More on Jelly Roll's WrestleMania 42 Status
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Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Jelly Roll will accompany Rhodes to the ring for his title defense against Orton on WrestleMania Saturday.
Considering the major music star has been all over WWE television in recent weeks, including showing solidarity for The American Nightmare Friday night on SmackDown as he confronted McAfee, there would seem to be validity to that report.
Of course, Rhodes vs. Orton is a match 20 years in the making and the last thing it needs is the abundance of celebrities weighing it down. Unfortunately, it is too little, too late for that and Jelly Roll appears on his way to at least making his presence felt in the main event, if nothing else.
At least he has established history with Orton, with whom he teamed for his first match in pro wrestling back at last August's SummerSlam.
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