Date: April 13, 2026
Location: Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA
The Big Takeaway —
WrestleMania 42 is this weekend.
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Show Recap —
Raw kicked off immediately with a pre-taped Roman Reigns promo. Reigns said that when he won the Royal Rumble, he told CM Punk to enjoy his time as the World Champion, but instead, he lied and exposed himself as a hypocrite.
The video cut to clips of Punk’s hypocritical statements. Punk claimed he brought in the Shield, even though when the angle first happened, he claimed he had nothing to do with it. Punk claimed the company treated him like garbage, even though he was champion for 400+ days. Punk claimed he didn’t surround himself with a wiseman or yes-men, even though he previously had Paul Heyman or the Straight Edge Society by his side.
They also showed Pat McAfee’s comments about Punk taking the money to go to Saudi Arabia. Reigns said he liked McAfee, but never has a punter run his mouth to him. Nobody believed in Punk anymore because it wasn’t 2012. Reigns didn’t lie. That’s why people liked him and trusted him. Either Punk would tell the truth tonight, or Reigns would.
(This was well done, and a good idea to start the show with this as a hook for their segment later tonight.)
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Wrestlers were shown arriving at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, and a video package for Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi aired.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman segment
Adam Pearce and Paul “Triple H” Lesvesque stood in the ring together. Pearce wanted to ensure the Lesnar-Femi match actually happened, so he decided they would sign their match contract separately.
Heyman marched out and agreed with Pearce’s sentiment. We were close to WrestleMania, and nobody should get close to Lesnar.
Lesnar entered and signed the contract. Heyman said it might as well be a Nigerian death warrant. Lesnar ripped the microphone away from Heyman and said we wouldn’t even know Femi’s name after Sunday. Heyman gave us a spoiler for the real WrestleMania main event—Lesnar would win, and Femi would lose.
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After all the talking to kick off the show, we were treated to a video involving the Vision. IShowSpeed was having doubts about his upcoming match. Logan Paul and Austin Theory tried to psych him up and did some in-ring training with him. Speed was full of confidence following this short training session.
During a break, Michael Cole said WrestleMania was all about the moments, and they aired a clip of Giannis Antetokounmpo saying his favourite Mania moment was Lesnar ending Undertaker’s streak.
There was footage of the Mania stage being built at the stadium in Las Vegas.
Charlotte Flair (w/ Alexa Bliss) vs. Lyra Valkyria (w/ Bayley)
Flair had control throughout a break after hitting a big boot, but Valkyria came back with a middle rope leg drop onto a hunched-over Flair for two. Flair responded with a moonsault for a nearfall before Valkyria hit a fisherman’s suplex for two.
Flair chucked Valkyria outside the ring, knocking over Bayley in the process. Back in the ring, Flair rolled up Valkyria, but Bayley tripped up Flair, and Valkyria managed to fall backward into a cover for the pinfall win.
Flair was pissed, and the two teams got into a shoving match until the referees backed them off.
Match result: Lyra Valkyria defeated Charlotte Flair (10:25)
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Cole let us know there were still tickets available for the SmackDown and Raw surrounding WrestleMania. (Both shows are also in Vegas.)
The MFTs confronted LA Knight and the Usos backstage. Solo Sikoa couldn’t believe Jimmy and Jey were hanging out with Knight every week. Knight challenged three of them to a six-man tag match tonight so he could smack them back to factory settings.
Penta cut a commercial break promo plugging the Intercontinental title ladder match at Mania. He planned on bringing pain, and the match would be a war.
They plugged the Hulk Hogan Netflix documentary. (The new one, not the one from 2017.) There was only a split-second crowd reaction to this because the video was followed by Stephanie Vaquer’s entrance, but it sounded like people were booing the Hogan plug. We’ll see what the live reports indicate.
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Stephanie Vaquer and Liv Morgan segment
Vaquer entered the ring for an interview with Cathy Kelley, but she was immediately attacked from behind by Liv Morgan. (Morgan still has a knot on her forehead.) Vaquer collided with Kelley, who was knocked down (perhaps Kelley’s first ever bump).
This led to our latest pull-apart brawl, as the two women brawled until officials broke things up. With Vaquer out of the ring, Morgan grabbed a mic and said, “I knew your mother was trash, but I didn’t know she raised a little bitch.” (Enlightening stuff.)
Vaquer stormed back into the ring to brawl again until officials broke it up again.
(Kelley was helped to the back, and later in the show, Cole said she was checked on by trainers and would be fine.)
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Jackie Redmond interviewed Iyo Sky backstage. Sky said she may have lost to Jade Cargill on SmackDown, but she did not regret fighting for her friend, Rhea Ripley. Sky would be rooting for Ripley at WrestleMania.
Asuka and Kairi Sane interrupted. Asuka said Sky went into Mania as the world champion last year, but this year, she was just Ripley’s sidekick.
Sky said she had enough of Asuka and told Sane she didn’t have to put up with this. Asuka put Sane in a match against Sky tonight (presumably because Pearce didn’t make any matches himself).
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Six-man tag team match: LA Knight, Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Solo Sikoa, JC Mateo & Tanga Loa (w/ Talla Tonga)
This was a short match with a commercial break, so not much happened.
Jey went for a suicide dive, but Sikoa caught him and drove him into the announce desk. Tama Tonga showed up behind the barricade and was confronted by Sikoa and Tonga. This distracted Loa, so Knight hit him with a BFT for the pinfall win.
Match result: KA Knight & The Usos defeated Tanga Loa, JC Mateo & Solo Sikoa (6:45)
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Jelly Roll’s favourite WrestleMania was The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 in Toronto.
Gunther and Seth Rollins segment
Gunther entered for a promo, but like the earlier segment with Vaquer and Morgan, he was immediately attacked from behind by Seth Rollins. Gunther bailed.
Rollins said Gunther jumped him two weeks in a row, so tonight was his receipt, and Rollins would finish the job at Mania. Rollins said if this really was personal for Gunther, like he claimed—and not just him seeking a favour from Heyman—he should return to the ring and tell him why he wanted this match at Mania.
Gunther grabbed a mic and got back into the ring and into Rollins’ face. Gunther said he was indeed solving Heyman’s problem, but he was also doing it with a smile on his face, because Rollins was pissing him off. Rollins strutted around like he was the best in the ring, but he wasn’t—Gunther was, and Rollins never wanted to find that out.
When he was the world champion, Rollins didn’t seek him out. Instead, Rollins became a useful idiot for Heyman. WrestleMania was personal for him because he wanted to expose that Rollins could not lace his boots.
They butted heads before exchanging blows. Rollins got the better of this brawl and tried to curb-stomp Gunther’s head onto the ring steps, but Gunther escaped through the crowd.
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Dominik Mysterio confronted Pearce backstage. Dom didn’t like that Rey Mysterio was getting an IC title shot, while he had to face the Demon Finn Bálor. Dom said Bálor told him the demon was dead. He also signed a contract to fight Bálor, not the demon, and wanted the match cancelled. Pearce said Rey was a Hall of Famer and was getting the IC title match he deserved—and Dom would get what he deserved, too.
Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Sacramento Kings player Dylan Cardwell were in the crowd.
IYO SKY vs. Kairi Sane (w/ Asuka)
During a break, Asuka and Sky played tug-of-war with Sane until Asuka forcefully let go, and Sane collided with Sky as a result. Sane took over in the match, and Asuka took some cheap shots on Sky while the referee was distracted. Sky made her come back following the break with a missile dropkick and running corner meteora.
Sane distracted the referee after being knocked off the top rope, allowing Asuka to shove Sky into the ring post. This made a loud thud, but Jessika Carr had to play dumb like she didn’t hear anything, even though she turned around and Sky was dead.
Ripley ran out to her music and hit Asuka with a headbutt (which actually missed by a mile), but was attacked from behind by Jade Cargill. Sky wiped out Cargill in response.
Sky went to the top rope, but with the referee distracted for at least the third time in the match, Asuka tripped her off, and Sane applied a small package for the pinfall win.
Match result: Kairi Sane defeated IYO SKY (9:56)
That’s three straight singles losses for Sky, who does not have a singles win in 2026.
This match probably would’ve been pretty good without all the outside stuff, but the outside stuff is what we’re paying for.
*******
There was a video package for AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch.
Triple H and Pearce entered to Triple H’s music during a break for the next segment.
Oba Femi segment
Pearce called out Femi to sign the WrestleMania contract. Femi entered to a strong reaction, and he quickly signed the contract. Triple H alerted Femi to Heyman, who was suddenly standing on the stage. The crowd chanted for Femi.
Heyman said he’s never seen someone come across as the biggest star in the industry as fast as Femi. Heyman knew when he was safe and knew when he was not, and knew Femi was a violent man. That was also the thing Heyman liked most about Femi. He was the most violent man to come to WWE since Lesnar. He was the fastest rising star since Lesnar. He was the most impressive athlete, fighter, and combat athlete—
Heyman’s sentence was cut off by the crowd, who continued to chant loudly for Femi. Heyman informed them that it would all come to an end on WrestleMania Sunday. It would all come crashing down in Suplex City with an F5 by Lesnar. Heyman said Femi would have to rebuild his career after WrestleMania and that his door would be open.
Femi said it was taking everything in his being not to beat Heyman pillar to post. The crowd chanted, “Beat his ass.” Femi wasn’t interested because Heyman’s physical scars would heal, but the emotional scars from his beast losing would last forever. Femi told Heyman to close his door, because the only door Femi needed was the door to WrestleMania.
Femi said Heyman thought no one could beat Lesnar because of the past 25 years, but over the past four weeks, Femi showed that he absolutely can be beaten. It wasn’t personal for Femi, it was business. But it wasn’t business as usual because this was different. He could feel it, Heyman could feel it, and the fans could feel it. This was the end for Lesnar.
Femi said Heyman has always been there with Lesnar as his mouthpiece, but he has never been an honest one. If Heyman were honest, he would have come out there and announced that his client was scared of him. He was the mountain that Lesnar could not climb, and he would win at WrestleMania. Femi was the one and always was. Everyone knew it, and at WrestleMania, Heyman would know it, too.
(This was a good final segment for this match. Femi had to fight through some overwritten dialogue, but he was really good here, particularly when he got more and more fired up.)
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They aired Liv Morgan’s Terrible Trouble music video.
Je’Von Evans & Dragon Lee vs. Rusev & JD McDonagh
There was an impressive spot during a break where Evans hit a frog splash with Rusev positioned more than halfway across the ring. The impressive spots continued when Dragon Lee made a hot tag. Lee leaped over the top rope and used a hurricanrana to yank McDonagh off the apron and into Rusev.
Lee hit a snap German suplex, but McDonagh responded with a Spanish fly. Evans broke up the cover and wiped out Rusev with a dive. Lee followed moments later with a Styles Clash on McDonagh for the pinfall win.
— Rusev attacked Lee and Evans after the match. Rey ran out to attack Rusev and went for a 619, but Rusev cut him off with a clothesline. Penta ran out next, but Rusev cut him off with a Machka Kick. Rusev laid out everyone (minus McDonagh) and put Lee in the Accolade. Rusev stood tall.
Match result: Dragon Lee & Je’Von Evans defeated JD McDonagh & Rusev (8:11)
Every Raw match is ten minutes or less with a commercial break in the middle, but at least the last 90 seconds of this was fun. And nobody interfered.
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Danhausen accosted Pearce backstage. Danhausen assumed Pearce was on the phone with John Cena and wanted to talk to him. Pearce said no. The comedy here was Danhausen saying, “You can’t see me,” while Pearce was on the phone, then disappearing when Pearce turned back around.
(Danhausen also came out in front of the live crowd during break earlier to do his usual bit.)
Somebody in the crowd had a “We want Naomi” sign. You know why she’s out of action, right?
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Roman Reigns and CM Punk — WrestleMania 42 go-home segment
Roman Reigns entered. He told Sacramento to acknowledge him. They did.
CM Punk’s music hit and entered through the crowd. He slapped hands with fans and really, really took his time to get to ringside. Punk stood atop the announce table and addressed Reigns’ cold-open promo.
It sounded like a political smear campaign to Punk, and he assumed Reigns put it together himself. Punk wanted to tell his truth. The fans could be witnesses, and Reigns could be the judge. Punk wanted Reigns to tell him when he was telling lies.
Punk made his way up the steps and started his promo while standing on the apron. Punk said he hated Reigns because he envied him. This was all he ever wanted. This was the only dream he wanted since he was a kid. He envied that it was handed to Reigns. He hated that Reigns was champion 1,316 because, after some self-reflection, Punk knew how hard he worked to be that great.
In the history books, when they talk about legacy, they wouldn’t ask how, they would ask how many. Punk hated the number 1,316. He hated how many times Reigns main-evented WrestleMania. He hated that he felt this way.
Sika was a great man, a great wrestler, a champion, and a Hall of Famer. Punk loved and respected the old-timers. He hated the fact that he invoked Reigns’ father’s name in vain, “and I sincerely apologize to you.” (Punk entered the ring and cut the rest of his promo face-to-face with Reigns.)
Punk said there was more than one royal family in professional wrestling. He hated that he envied that he wasn’t born into a dynasty. He didn’t know what it was like having that kind of family.
Punk was born in the backyard and back alleyways of Chicago. He was a misfit who had to find his own family. He found his own family in the streets of Sacramento. He found his family in the locker rooms of every VFW hall, dilapidated Midwest barns, bowling alleys, and abandoned churches.
Punk found his family on the indies, then he conquered Japan. He went to England and Puerto Rico. He went around the world twice. He wasn’t born on third base with a silver spoon. He busted his ass and made pro wrestling his home, and made them his family.
Punk hated that he felt this way, or that he had to share anything with Reigns, including his first singles match headlining WrestleMania. Just like he had gold on his shoes and around his waist tonight, on April 19th, there would be gold above his head with his blood-caked face when their match was over, with Las Vegas chanting his name.
Reigns responded. He said that was probably the truest stuff he’s heard Punk say—until the last part. Reigns wanted to say something true, too. He hated Punk. He hated him for a long time. But the main reason was his relationship with the fans.
Reigns hoped that when he left, the fans would miss him as much as they missed Punk for ten years. That was the truest thing Punk had, the relationship with their fanbase. No one could take that from him. On Sunday, that was Punk’s truth, but not the reality.
The reality was that Punk’s time was up. He had months to be relevant (as the world champion), but did nothing with it. This nostalgia experiment would be done, and we would fix the mess that Punk started. They would make this place where they had it (before Punk returned)—at the very top worth every single dollar.
On Sunday, the Tribal Chief would take over, and Punk, although with the rest of the world, would acknowledge him.
They stared down as the show ended.
Steve Khan
WWE Raw and PLE recapper/reviewer. Contributed to WrestlingObserver.com as the SmackDown reviewer in the 2000s before turning to WONF4W in 2015.