Tag: wwe wrestlemania 42

Report: Talent share thoughts on security issues during WWE WrestleMania 42 weekend

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas is officially over; however, several concerns regarding security issues popped up soon after the PLE weekend.

According to a recent report by Fightful Select, several WWE stars raised their concerns about the lack of proper security at official talent hotels. When asked about the situation, several wrestlers responded to Fightful with, “What security?“

A WWE source claimed that certain fans crossed boundaries during meet-and-greet sessions, where they attempted to initiate hugs with the talents. This was strictly not encouraged, not just for personal reasons but also due to health factors.

Another wrestler claimed to believe that things were worsening because of the sky-high ticket prices set by WWE under TKO and Fanatics. The wrestler believes they are no longer financially accessible to fans who want to meet them and normally pay for meet and greets. The “inaccessible prices” could be a reason behind the fans getting aggressive.

“A lot of fans use their kids to get us to sign things,” a former WWE Champion said. “If we don’t, they put phones in our face and try to guilt trip us.” Another WWE superstar claimed, “It’s WrestleMania, and there are wrestling fans in town. What do people expect?“

Throughout the weekend, there were several security concerns, including Sean Waltman getting assaulted, Booker T getting filmed inside a bathroom, CM Punk’s heated fan altercation, Drew McIntyre voicing his opinion on fan behavior, Royce Keys protecting his personal space, and Damian Priest confronting a fan who refused to respect women’s wrestlers’ personal space. The incidents were not just limited to these few.

Talents across the board from multiple locker rooms unanimously agreed that WWE and TKO should provide on-site security to talents during major events when the wrestlers are staying at a centralized location. While wrestlers arrange for their own accommodations, WWE provides and takes care of hotels during bigger events like WrestleMania. Despite this, multiple WWE Superstars chose to stay at different locations to avoid the rush of fans. Fightful was told that it made arranging travel more difficult.

A WWE staff member jokingly said, “I think we should be allowed to superkick one annoying fan a day.” The overall sentiment amongst the talents is that TKO and WWE should spend the money to protect their talent, or instead start paying for the talent to get security themselves.

Another top women’s talent told Fightful, “It’s Vegas, we were fucked from the beginning. WWE never actually pre arranges good security . It’s like they wait until shit happens, then they do damage control or add security. We love the personal security teams, and they did as much as they could but hotel security was busy taking care of the problems you already have in Las Vegas.”

WWE has not yet officially shared a statement regarding the situation as of this writing.

Drew McIntyre responds to fan behavior during WWE WrestleMania 42 week

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Drew McIntyre has opened up regarding the fan behavior he received during the WWE WrestleMania 42 week.

WWE WrestleMania 42 recently took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Superstars were met with different types of behavior from the fans. At the WrestleMania 42 weekend in Las Vegas, security concerns were reported by Fightful Select, Sean Waltman was assaulted, and even CM Punk got into a heated fan altercation. Now hours after the show, McIntyre has opened up on something similar.

Known for his outspoken nature, McIntyre took to social media to slam the disrespectful fans who “rushed” him and his family in Las Vegas. Although he also had a few kind words to share about the fans who displayed respect.

“For those fans who spent hard earned money on a chance to say hello, take a photo, have something signed, or give me one of my many, many bracelets, I appreciate each and every single one of you,” McIntyre said.

“To those who rushed my family and I in the hotel, kept your kids up till 2am throwing them in front of us, or shoved a camera in my face without asking, you’re lucky I’m a calm natured person outside the ring. Please don’t do that ever again.”

At WrestleMania 42, McIntyre faced and lost to Jacob Fatu in an unsanctioned match.

X-Pac says he was assaulted, stalked by fans during WWE WrestleMania weekend

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Sean “X-Pac” Waltman also experienced some issues with fans at WWE WrestleMania 42 weekend.

In the aftermath of WrestleMania, one of the biggest stories has been the lack of effective security at the MGM Grand hotel, where WWE talent were staying in Las Vegas. CM Punk got into an altercation with a fan who followed AJ Lee & Bayley and was trying to film them. Booker T said the fan situation was the worst he’s ever seen, with one person even filming him in the bathroom.

Waltman posted a tweet today saying a fan stalked him in the bathroom as well, and Waltman also got “physically assaulted” and had a camera shoved in his face during the weekend.

“That guy & all the rest like him can get f***ed,” Waltman tweeted about the fan from the Punk incident. “It was insane how these people were. I got physically assaulted & camera shoved in my face, stalked in the bathroom, & more.”

In a follow-up tweet, Waltman added that he doesn’t have a problem with fans recording or taking pictures in public but takes issue when they invade wrestlers’ personal space. He added that the situation at the Horseshoe, a different hotel in Vegas where WrestleCon was held, was much better with fans being “totally respectful.”

The biggest security issue seems to be that not enough was done at the MGM Grand to protect wrestlers while they were in spaces where fans would be present like the hotel lobby.

Waltman, a Hall of Famer himself as a member of D-X and the nWo, helped induct NBA legend Dennis Rodman into the WWE Hall of Fame last weekend. Waltman also helps out behind the scenes in WWE by coaching indie talent in the ID program.

Nikki Bella: It was ‘extremely hard’ to miss out on potentially last WWE WrestleMania moment

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Missing out on WrestleMania 42 was “extremely hard” for Nikki Bella, especially given that it might have been her last chance to have a real WrestleMania moment.

Nikki and her twin sister Brie were supposed to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team titles this past Saturday. But Nikki suffered an ankle injury prior to WrestleMania that prevented her from wrestling at the show. The event instead saw Brie team with the returning Paige to become the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Nikki did end up factoring into the match, interfering and using a crutch to help Brie & Paige get the win.

On a new episode of The Nikki & Brie Show, Nikki reflected on not being able to compete at Mania. She and Brie are expecting to retire when their WWE contracts come up in early 2028. With next year’s event being held in Saudi Arabia, that means Nikki probably won’t get to compete on another WrestleMania in the United States.

“I don’t think a WrestleMania moment for me is going to come around. I get that I’ll probably have my last WrestleMania next year in Saudi maybe, but other than that, that will be it for me,” Nikki said. “So this would have been my last WrestleMania moment to share with family members and share with people here and, you know, really feel something.

“And I’ve worked really hard the past year and a half and I haven’t complained. I’ve done what I’ve been told. You know, I’ve helped put people over — even though I don’t care about that. But I’ve really, as far as my character and the impact that I can have, I’ve been very okay taking a step back and helping out and not bitching about it.

“So this was my moment that I worked really hard for this past year and a half. And for that to all go away is extremely hard.”

Nikki is currently expecting to miss 6-8 weeks after tearing, spraining, and fracturing her ankle. But if it takes longer than that, she’s okay with it. Her primary focus right now is on longevity and making sure she doesn’t negatively impact her quality of life going forward.

Pulling out of WrestleMania 42 is something Brie Bella considered after Nikki’s injury. But opportunities like this are rare, and teaming with Paige in her return was especially appealing because the Bellas consider Paige to be family.

Booker T: We ‘needed some better security’ at WWE WrestleMania hotel

Posted on by Joseph Currier

More reports continue to emerge detailing how bad the security situation was in Las Vegas during WWE WrestleMania 42 weekend.

On his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T said Mania weekend this year was the toughest situation he’s ever had to deal with in terms of fan behavior. People were being disrespectful and mobbing WWE wrestlers and legends at the MGM Grand hotel. He urged fans to give the wrestlers more privacy and space in the future. And Booker T said there needed to be better security at the hotel.

“Walking through MGM Grand, we needed some better security at MGM Grand this year,” Booker T said. “Just because, it was really, really hard — I can only imagine what the superstars, the guys that’s actually going out there and doing it in the ring, how it felt for them. Because I got mobbed, and I’m not even doing this anymore. So hopefully we can get that fixed.”

There was an incident after night two of Mania where a fan had their phone knocked away by CM Punk as the fan was trying to film an interaction between AJ Lee and Bayley. Security was said to have been an issue all weekend with not enough being done to give talent privacy when they had to go through common areas where fans would be.

Booker T said fans were following wrestlers everywhere — and one even filmed Booker T while he was in the bathroom.

“They were camped out — everywhere — they were camped out. You couldn’t walk anywhere,” Booker T said. “And they were following you. In the bathroom, I remember the guy literally was filming me in the bathroom. And when I walked out he goes, ‘Hey, Booker.’ And I just kept walking because I was so mad because he was filming me in the bathroom.”

A two-time WWE Hall of Famer, Booker T is now part of the commentary team for NXT. He emphasized that he loves his fans but said people really need to understand what wrestlers are going through during such a hectic weekend, especially when they have their families with them.

Fan wants ‘an apology’ after CM Punk post-WWE WrestleMania incident

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The fan who had his phone smacked away by CM Punk after WWE WrestleMania 42 is asking for an apology.

On Monday, TMZ Sports published video of an incident that took place in a Las Vegas hotel lobby after Mania. A fan was filming Punk’s wife AJ Lee and Bayley as they hugged and said goodbye to each other. In response, Punk knocked the man’s phone to the ground. Punk was visibly angry, but the incident did not escalate any further. Security and Punk’s mentor Ace Steel stepped in to help diffuse the situation.

The fan, asking to remain anonymous, has now spoken to TMZ and said he is not planning to sue Punk, instead asking for an apology and a handshake.

“I want an apology — shake my hand — I’m not gonna sue him or put him in jail,” the fan said. “I just want an apology.”

Punk has frequently spoken out against fans who show up at hotels and airports looking for wrestlers, and security was said to have been an issue all of WrestleMania weekend with not enough being done to give wrestlers privacy while they had to go through common areas where fans were going to be.

TMZ has also shared some more video of the incident between Punk and the fan. It shows that, before Punk slapped his phone away, Bayley and Lee had multiple fans filming them. The two then went into an elevator bank looking for privacy, but this man followed them.

“We love you, Bayley,” the fan said before Bayley responded by putting her hand up to block the man’s phone and telling him to get out of there. Punk then smacked the phone away.

The incident happened shortly after Punk main evented night two of WrestleMania 42 in a loss to Roman Reigns. Punk appeared on Raw last night and teased an upcoming match against Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.

Kenny Omega reacts to Jade Cargill using his finisher at WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Kenny Omega has acknowledged Jade Cargill using his One Winged Angel at WWE WrestleMania 42.

On Sunday, Rhea Ripley faced and defeated Jade Cargill to win the WWE Women’s title. Toward the later stages of the match, Cargill busted out Omega’s finisher with commentary saying it was called the Sandstorm.

Ripley kicked out of the move and the moment soon went viral on social media, soon becoming tribal.

However, Omega reacted to Cargill’s move Monday on X and was positive about it without directly mentioning Cargill or WWE by name:

“When I see the moves I do elsewhere, I only take it as a compliment. If somehow I inspired people to use them, I can only be grateful. Besides, seeing the OWA on the WM ring was kinda neat, right? It’s all good with me.”

Cargill parted ways with AEW in September 2023 and signed with WWE, debuting at January 2024’s Royal Rumble.

Bianca Belair reflects on WWE WrestleMania pregnancy announcement

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After a tough year, Bianca Belair is excited about what’s to come.

Belair made a surprise appearance at WWE WrestleMania 42 night one and revealed that she and husband Montez Ford are expecting their first child together. In an Instagram post today, Belair reflected on making the announcement in the same venue where she injured her hand at WrestleMania 41 last year. She’ll be back in WWE eventually but is looking forward to the road ahead as she embarks on this new journey.

“Same venue. Different result. This year. I win. @montezfordwwe,” Belair wrote.

“I was so nervous to pop my little private bubble and share this moment but I’m so overwhelmed and truly overjoyed with the outpouring love and support. I was literally shaking and crying backstage before I came out. This year has been so hard in ways you guys just REALLY don’t even know but everything TRULY happens for a reason. There has been so many twists and turns but ending here has made it all worth it. I’ll be back! But until then enjoy this ride with me!”

Belair has not wrestled since she helped steal the show with IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 41. The injury she suffered proved to be significantly more complicated than originally expected, with Belair undergoing surgery this February in hopes of finally fixing the issue.

A multi-time Women’s Champion, Belair is a stepmother to Ford’s two children from a previous relationship. The WWE couple has been married since 2018.

Triple H comments on Brock Lesnar WWE retirement tease

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Paul “Triple H” Levesque didn’t offer much clarity while addressing Brock Lesnar’s apparent retirement at WWE WrestleMania 42.

After losing to Oba Femi on Sunday night, Lesnar left his boots and gloves in the ring before becoming visibly emotional as he seemed to bid farewell to the crowd. There has been no official confirmation of a retirement yet — and Levesque claimed during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter that he did not have a conversation with Lesnar backstage after the match.

“Well, it certainly seemed that way,” Levesque responded when asked if this was the end for Lesnar. “Brock is not a walk back through the curtain and have a long conversation guy. Brock is a walk back through the curtain very angry and go to his bus and that is the end of it. So there was not a discussion had after. I will say this — [Lesnar is] probably the most famous combat sport athlete of our generation. One of a kind, nobody like Brock Lesnar.”

It was expected that Lesnar would be retiring soon, with him admitting recently that he was only back in WWE for a short time. Most rumors suggested that Lesnar would retire at SummerSlam this August given that the PLE is being held in his former home state of Minnesota.

Levesque, keeping kayfabe, suggested to SportsCenter that the retirement decision was one Lesnar made in the moment after losing to Femi. Praising Femi, Levesque called this result a changing of the guard.

“The one thing that nobody gives him credit for is the intelligence of a fighter. They see Brock as this hulking brute. ‘The Beast,’ right? They see him as all that,” Levesque said. “There comes a point in time when somebody comes along that’s bigger and badder and just pushes you to a place that you can’t come back from. The smart ones know when that happens, and they call it a day.

“I don’t think that was a planned thing. I think Brock went to the ring, he walked into a wall called Oba Femi. Brock walked up to the next big thing and ran into a brick wall. And the intelligence in him said, ‘Maybe I should call it a day.’ And he took his boots off and he put his gloves down and he walked away. That is not a statement of Brock being afraid of it. That is an intelligent man meeting something that cannot be stopped. It is as much of a statement of Oba Femi as it is Brock Lesnar. You witnessed a changing of the guard at the apex of our business.”

Femi vs. Lesnar aired on the ESPN TV simulcast portion of the WrestleMania night two broadcast, with WWE clearly pushing Femi as one of the company’s biggest stars for both the present and future. It was Femi’s first-ever WrestleMania match after being called up from NXT at the start of 2026.

Trick Williams addresses whether he’ll continue WWE US title open challenges

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Weekly open challenges have been a staple of the United States Championship, but it doesn’t sound like Trick Williams plans on continuing the tradition.

The United States title changed hands at WrestleMania 42 with Williams defeating Sami Zayn. Appearing on SportsCenter after his victory, Williams said he doesn’t know about defending the belt every single week. He wants it to be a big deal whenever he puts the championship up for grabs.

“That’s why Trick Williams, you know, I’m a superstar and I wear that very seriously,” he said. “So I don’t know about these free matches every single Friday night. When the people see Trick Williams, he’s going to be in the main event. It’s going to be a show when I defend this title.”

Zayn instituted weekly open challenges after winning the United States Championship in August 2025. Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes then picked up the mantle during their reigns before Zayn dethroned Hayes leading into WrestleMania.

In the SportsCenter interview, Williams said he’s on cloud nine after his first main roster title win. He’s grateful for how the fans have responded to him and thanks God every day for the position he’s in.

Williams, when asked about a potential title match against Hayes, did tell SportsCenter that he’s open to defending against all comers.

“Man, whoever wants some of Trick Williams, you better strap your boots on tight because you’re going to get the best version of Trick Williams,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who signs up.”

Triple H praises WWE WrestleMania 42 main event: ‘One of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Appearing on ESPN after the conclusion of WrestleMania 42, Paul “Triple H” Levesque had very high praise for the show’s main event.

Night two of Mania concluded with Roman Reigns defeating CM Punk to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. Levesque told SportsCenter that it was among the greatest wrestling matches he’s ever seen.

“Just epic,” WWE’s Chief Content Officer said. “You can see the passion and the pride of two guys that absolutely to the very core of their soul believe that they are the best in the world. And they’re out there to prove it to each other, they’re out there to prove it to the 55,000+ fans that were here tonight. Everything about them screamed, ‘I have to show I am the best.’

“And you see it all the way down to the end. Knock-down, drag-out fight that just someone won’t give. And you finally get to the end of it, no one really loses. But Roman Reigns comes out the winner. Roman Reigns is the new World Heavyweight Champion. To me, one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen, doesn’t get bigger.”

The match went nearly 34 minutes before Reigns got the win, beginning his first title reign since dropping the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40. Reigns said after the show that he will not be a part-time champion and plans to be around all summer.

Roman Reigns reflects on WWE WrestleMania 42 main event against CM Punk

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

In the main event of WWE WrestleMania 42 Night Two, Roman Reigns defeated CM Punk.

Reigns became the new World Heavyweight Champion after keeping Punk down for the three-count in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shortly after celebrating his title win with his family, Reigns appeared on the WrestleMania 42 post-show.

Responding to Oba Femi’s challenge and revealing his Summer 2026 schedule, Reigns also reflected on his match against Punk.

“It feels good. It feels as it should. That’s what’s so pure about our business is we know right away, there’s nothing like this,” Reigns said.

“That’s the beauty of how subjective this is, you have two extreme examples of professional wrestlers and sports entertainers in me and CM Punk, and somehow we can go out there and find a middle. That’s how I love this business.”

He further opened up and answered whether he gained any respect for Punk after their match. “The fact that I’m the Tribal Chief and I still hear people out here chanting for CM Punk, I have to respect that. Do I respect the man and his personal life? I don’t know.

“But when it comes to when he steps into the arena, when the ring’s set up, when the pyro is gonna go off, I got a lot of respect for the man that steps into the arena and performs in front of all these people because he puts his heart and he puts his soul, he puts his physicality on the line. Do we see eye-to-eye? Hell no. Are we cut from the same fabric? Hell no. But at the same time, we’re a part of the same fraternity, just like you (Corey Graves) and I, just like me and (Big) E. There’s very few of us. So, when you can go out there and you can main event, and you can put it on the line, and you can actually hold your own. CM Punk didn’t just run his mouth. He backed it up. He just ran into a better man today.”

In a match lasting over 30-minutes, Reigns defeated Punk after executing two spears and stood tall to close the night.

Report: Original scrapped plans for Randy Orton at WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

At WWE WrestleMania 42, Randy Orton paired up with Pat McAfee to take on Cody Rhodes; however, such was not always the plan.

According to a recent report from PWInsider, the original pitch for Randy Orton’s WWE WrestleMania 42 story involved Aleister Black. Black was originally planned to be in McAfee’s spot.

“The role would have involved Aleister Black tormenting Orton, trying to bring out the old Apex Predator version of Orton. The idea was that if Black succeeded, it would prove Orton had never changed or evolved and was still the old Orton deep inside,” the report from PWInsider read.

The report noted plans for Black and Orton to face off during WrestleMania weekend, where Orton would hesitate on the Punt Kick and likely lose. He would later attack Rhodes, using the Punt kick to revive his “Apex Predator” persona and prove Black right.

However, WWE did not move along with this story, and instead, it evolved into McAfee aligning with Orton.

Roman Reigns responds to Oba Femi’s challenge following WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

At WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nevada, both Oba Femi and Roman Reigns emerged victorious in their respective matches.

Shortly after, at the post-show, Femi, oozing confidence after defeating Brock Lesnar, called out the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Roman Reigns. “I think tomorrow is a celebration. I think in the coming weeks is the establishment of a new main event player. And I think at the end of the year, the OTC [Roman Reigns] can get some!”

Later during Reigns’ appearance at the post-show, the crowd behind started chanting Femi’s name as well as the chant, “Oba’s gonna kill you!” Reigns took notice of it and responded to Femi.

“Oba [Femi] had a big night. Oba, you gonna kill me? You still seem a little fresh in this business. You did a big thing tonight, but I’ve done that many times. I did that with the title on the line. Let’s see how you do in the Summer, then we’ll see if you can step to the Greatest of All Time.”

Femi recently made his way to the main roster a few months ago. Despite his dominating win over Lesnar at WrestleMania 42, he still has a long way to go before challenging Reigns for the World title.