WWE’s WrestleMania 42 Card Is Almost Complete, And Some Huge Names Aren’t On It

We’re just a few weeks away from WrestleMania 42, and the card is finally starting to come together. We officially have 12 announced matches, with a couple others that are being heavily teased. If recent history is any indication, it’s likely we’re going to get either 14 or 15 spread across the two days. That’ll leave room for a handful of additional superstars to get their moments, but even so, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that a ton of huge names are not going to make The Showcase Of The Immortals.

We’ll get a lot more clarity over the next week, but after last night’s Raw at Madison Square Garden, I thought it would make sense to check in on where we’re at. Let’s do a quick overview of what matches have already been announced, what matches I think have a chance to get added and who that would leave on the outside looking in.

What Matches Have Been Announced

Roman Reigns vs CM Punk for The World Heavyweight Championship

Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton for The WWE Championship

Stephanie Vaquer vs Liv Morgan for The Women’s World Championship

Rhea Ripley vs Jade Cargill for The WWE Women’s Championship

AJ Lee vs Becky Lynch for The Women’s Intercontinental Championship

Penta vs JD McDonagh vs Je’Von Evans vs Rusev vs Dragon Lee For The Intercontinental Championship

Sami Zayn vs Trick Williams for The United States Championship

Nia Jax And Lash Legend vs Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs The Bella Twins vs Bayley and Lyra Valkyria for The Women’s Tag Team Championships

Oba Femi vs Brock Lesnar

Dominik Mysterio vs Finn Bálor

Seth Rollins vs Gunther

Drew McIntyre vs Jacob Fatu

What Matches Could Get Announced

I think there are two matches we are almost certainly going to get. Logan Paul and Austin Theory have been feuding with The Usos and LA Knight for weeks. Last night, streaming legend IShowSpeed interfered in their brawl and helped Paul and Theory. I think we’re going to get a 3v3 match at ‘Mania featuring these guys. I also think we’re going to get Iyo Sky vs Asuka or Iyo Sky vs Asuka vs Kairi Sane. Those three have been interacting on a regular basis for weeks now, and they’re clearly telling a story about Kairi eventually turning on Asuka. ‘Mania would be the place to do that, and Iyo is, in my opinion, way too over with the crowd to leave off the card. She’s reached that level.

I also think we’re probably going to get something with Jelly Roll on the WrestleMania card. He’s been a regular fixture on SmackDown the last few weeks. Rumors have swirled he may introduce Royce Keys as part of some kind of tag team program with The Miz and Kit Wilson. It’s also possible Danhausen could factor in somehow. I’m not sure what exactly the configuration and specifics are gonna be, but I do think Jelly is gonna get his ‘Mania moment, especially after he put over Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul at SummerSlam.

Beyond that, there are a few other matches that could sneak in. Tiffany Stratton and Giulia have been circling each other for awhile, with a still injured Chelsea Green on the periphery, as well as Kiana James. I figured some configuration would make the card for sure, but as each week goes by, I’m having more doubts. I also thought El Grande Americano vs El Grande Americano would make the card for sure, but given that feud is mega-over in AAA and only somewhat over in WWE, it’s possible they may want to save that for TripleMania instead of WrestleMania.

Who That Leaves On The Outside

Damian Priest and R-Truth recently won the tag team titles, but the SmackDown tag division has largely been ignored this year. Since there’s already a ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship and a big multi-woman match for the Women’s Tag Team Championships, I don’t really know that WWE is gonna throw something together for this division. I think they’re probably out, which especially sucks for Damian since he put on a low-key banger last year at 'Mania.

I’m also worried about Carmelo Hayes. He had a fantastic run as United States Champion but was, much to the frustration of fans, unceremoniously dethroned this past week. There’s some hope he could get added to Sami Zayn and Trick Williams’ match, but that would need to happen quickly. I have even less hope for Ilja Dragunov. It seemed like him and Melo were going to finally pay off their storyline at ‘Mania, but then they burned the match off on SmackDown a few weeks ago. Now Ilya is directionless with no clear path.

Raquel is another major head-scratcher. She’s been a huge part of Raw the past year and has taken big steps forward in her career. She beat Iyo earlier this week, as an example, and it wasn’t even a big surprise. There were rumors for a long time that she might get added to Liv and Stephanie’s ‘Mania match for The Women’s World Championship. That’s how high her stock has risen. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. I also suspect her Judgment Day running mate Roxanne Perez is going to be left out too.

The Wyatt Sicks and MFTs feuded for months, but it looks like that angle has gone cold at the worst possible moment. They’re likely all going to be left off the ‘Mania card, which is particularly rough for Solo Sikoa, considering his mic work has been on point for the last year. I really believe in him long-term (Tama Tonga too), but it looks like the timing isn’t going to work out this time around. Natalya and Maxxine’s feud also seems to have run out of steam ahead of ‘Mania and is probably going to get left off the card.

There are also a lot of notable names that don’t really even seem in consideration. Matt Cardona, Aleister Black and Zelina Vega all played a role in the Randy Orton/ Cody Rhodes feud, but their roles don’t look like they’ll carry forward to ‘Mania. Shinsuke Nakamura has mostly been used to further Tama Tonga’s character, but neither of them is likely to get on. Johnny Garagno is still working with his wife on the plotline about him being comatose, but there’s no antagonist to that story yet.

Tag teams like The Street Profits, The Motor City Machine Guns, Los Garza, Fraxiom, Otis and Tozawa, the Viking Raiders and the Creed Brothers haven’t had prominent storylines in a hot minute. The New Day and Grayson Waller have at least been regular fixtures on TV, but that hasn’t progressed into anything ‘Mania worthy yet. Rey Fénix was building some nice momentum with Andrade before his release and has kind of been stuck in the mud since then. They’ll likely all be off.

And then of course there are injuries. Bianca Belair, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Sheamus, and Rey Mysterio would all likely be on the card if they were healthy, as would Naomi who has taken time off for her pregnancy. Their absence has shifted some major storylines in recent months, and it’s entirely possible if they were healthy and around, some other wrestlers on the outside may have been in because of the ripple effects.

To Sum Up

It might sound like I’m complaining about some people being left off the card, but the truth is WWE employs too many talented wrestlers to get everyone a moment. Huge names get left off every year. We don’t want multiple five hour nights, and we don’t want to shoehorn everyone into a battle royal just to say they were on. Spots on the card should be earned.

That being said, do I think it’s ridiculous if performers like Raquel and Carmelo Hayes who have done fantastic work over the last six months are left off? Yes, I do. I think WWE should find a way to get its most important performers on the card. Fortunately, there’s still a few weeks for WWE to find a way.