10,502 articles
Leon Slater wrestled on John Cena's WWE retirement show and described the experience as "like a dream." Slater said he had to pinch himself after participating in the event.
Pat McAfee posted a video on April 4 taunting wrestling fans and mocking Cody Rhodes following the previous night's SmackDown attack, while continuing to praise Randy Orton ahead of WrestleMania. In the video, McAfee told fans they should thank Orton "for what he's going to do at Wrestlemania" and referred to Rhodes having "a tough one last night," accompanied by a social media caption calling out "wrestling marks." This follows McAfee's involvement in the April 3 SmackDown segment where he was revealed as Orton's mystery caller and helped orchestrate an ambush on Rhodes, delivering a low blow that set up Orton's chair attack.
Mark Henry defended Pat McAfee's involvement in the Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes storyline during an appearance on Busted Open Radio, arguing that McAfee wants to bring back toughness and aggressiveness to wrestling and move away from the current PG direction. Henry suggested that the fan backlash actually proves the angle is working and predicted that the Orton vs. Rhodes storyline will become "Attitude Era-esque" by WrestleMania 42.
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has expressed his intrigue regarding the upcoming match between Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42. The matchup will feature main roster newcomer Oba Femi taking on Lesnar at the event.
Liv Morgan is heading into WrestleMania 42 with a Women's World Championship opportunity after winning the Royal Rumble. Speaking with 8 News Now — Las Vegas, Morgan said she plans to stay focused and avoid distractions during WrestleMania week, unlike last year when she explored more of the city and hosted Club LIV. Morgan expressed confidence about her championship match and said having her family there to watch makes the moment even more significant.
Sami Zayn retained the United States Championship against Carmelo Hayes on the April 3 episode of WWE SmackDown, but the match received heavy negative reactions online when WWE uploaded it to YouTube. The YouTube clip currently shows 3.7K likes compared to 14K dislikes (approximately 79.1% negative), following a similar pattern from their previous match on March 27 when Zayn first won the title from Hayes. Social media reactions have included fans criticizing WWE creative and Triple H for the storyline direction, with some questioning why Hayes appears to be left off WrestleMania.
Je'Von Evans has reflected on not winning the WWE NXT Championship before being called up to the main roster. Evans indicated that he wasn't bothered by not capturing the title during his time in NXT.
WWE NXT Stand & Deliver 2026 will take place as a standalone event for the first time in its history, breaking from the tradition of being held during WrestleMania week.
The April 3 episode of WWE SmackDown received a historic 0.25 rating on Cagematch, making it the lowest-rated SmackDown episode in the platform's history and the second lowest-rated wrestling event ever. The backlash was largely driven by the reveal that Pat McAfee was Randy Orton's mystery ally in his storyline with Cody Rhodes, with fans criticizing the decision to insert a celebrity into what they felt should have been a grounded WrestleMania feud.
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry reacted to Trick Williams standing tall at the end of SmackDown and called one moment "the kiss of death." Henry specifically referred to Williams holding the US Championship on WWE SmackDown as "the kiss of death."
Charlotte Flair has discussed her struggle to "grow into" the WWE Divas Championship, identifying it as a title she felt she had to develop into during her career.
Ricky Saints praised the NXT women's division during an appearance on Getting Over: Wrestling Podcast, stating that the women "go out there and they kill it every single time" and push the entire roster to perform at a higher level. Saints explained that when wrestlers have to follow the women's matches, there's a "heightened level" of pressure to keep up with their consistently strong performances. He said he welcomes this internal competition as it drives better performances across the board heading into NXT Stand & Deliver.