The Most Impactful WWE WrestleMania 42 Results for the Rest of 2026
WrestleMania 42 is officially in the books, and while the event may have received a mixed reception online, some of the results will have lasting effects.
Night one saw the return of Paige, Bron Breakker and Bianca Belair, although The EST was not there to compete. She announced that she is pregnant and would be taking additional time off.
Some feuds were settled, others don't seem to be anywhere near over, and a few titles changed hands.
Let's look at which results will have the greatest impact on WWE moving forward.
Paige Returns to Win Tag Team Gold with Brie Bella
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Saturday night, Nikki Bella revealed she would be unable to compete due to an injury, but she found a replacement. That is when Paige returned to WWE for the first time in eight years.
Not only did she make her comeback, but she was victorious alongside Brie to claim the women's tag team titles for the first time in either of their careers.
We don't know what kind of schedule either of them will work as champions, but needless to say, this throws a big curveball into the women's division.
Brie, Nikki and Paige are three former women's champions who all returned after extended hiatuses, which means anything is possible when it comes to former stars returning at any point.
It's going to be very interesting to see how long their reign lasts and who steps up to challenge them first.
Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley Win Gold
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WrestleMania featured four women's matches across two nights. All four were for championships, and all four titles changed hands.
Liv Morgan became the new women's world champion after beating Stephanie Vaquer, Rhea Ripley beat Jade Cargill to win the WWE Women's Championship, and Becky Lynch regained the Women's Intercontinental Championship from AJ Lee.
With Tiffany Stratton having an upcoming shot at Giulia's women's U.S. title, we might just see every single belt for the women's division change hands in a matter of days.
This feels like WWE doing a bit of a reset with the division, which will definitely affect both shows for the rest of the year.
Having so many new champions in such a short time can be an exciting shift, but how those reigns go will determine if it was the right call or not.
The Ruler Conquers The Beast
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The first match of Night 2 saw Oba Femi pick up a decisive victory over Brock Lesnar in under five minutes.
This was the easiest slam dunk decision of the weekend. Pushing a new, young talent like Femi is exactly what WWE needs to do to revitalize it's main event scene.
However, the biggest surprise of the night came when Lesnar seemingly indicated his retirement by leaving his gloves and shoes in the ring.
He waved goodbye to the crowd as if it was the last time we would see him. Whether you like him or hate him, Lesnar leaving WWE is a big story.
Femi celebrated on the post-show with confidence and seemed ready to take the next steps toward becoming a true top star in WWE.
Trick Williams Bests Sami Zayn
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Trick Williams winning the United States Championship is his biggest win to date in his young career, but this match also saw a shift that could have lasting consequences.
In recent weeks, Sami Zayn has been getting booed more and more by the WWE Universe, and it culminated with Williams being the overwhelming favorite during their encounter.
Zayn embraced it and got some heat by attacking Lil Yachty at ringside, so it's going to be very interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks.
WWE might pull back on it and keep him a babyface, but it might also embrace this by having a full double turn with Trick Willy becoming a babyface while Zayn becomes more of a heel.
A double turn is one of those things that has to be organic for it to work, and WWE hasn't had an opportunity as good as this to pull it off in years.
Cody Rhodes Retains
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Many fans expected Night 1 to end with Randy Orton winning his 15th world title by beating Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship, but WWE had different plans.
Having Cody retain kept the weekend from being a clean sweep of new champions across both the men's and women's main event scene.
With Orton having turned heel just for this feud, he has one of two options. He can either continue to chase the title, or he can take a little time off to recharge and come back strong.
Rhodes being one of the main faces of WWE means he is unlikely to lose the belt at one of the smaller PLEs, so there is a good chance he holds the title at least through SummerSlam, if not longer.
The Tribal Chiefs Beats The Best in the World
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The main event of Night 2 was also the longest match of the weekend by a wide margin, which added to how big it felt.
Roman Reigns was able to dethrone CM Punk and claim the World Heavyweight Championship in what was easily one of the most exciting bouts of the show.
Reigns said during the post-show that he plans to be around all summer, which means him being a part-time champion might not be how this reign goes.
If he is truly going to be there every week as the top star on Raw, it's going to benefit the brand in a big way at a time when WWE desperately needs to give fans a reason to tune in.
Punk without the title might actually be good for him and for WWE. He can't be in the main event every time, so WWE is going to have to find some new ways to keep him occupied until the time is right for him to pursue gold again.
WrestleMania had a lot of ups and downs. What was your favorite moment from this weekend's festivities?
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