Tag: wwe wrestlemania

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.

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.

Pat McAfee: WWE ‘doesn’t need to be saved after all’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Pat McAfee is claiming to be done with pro wrestling after WWE WrestleMania 42.

Going into Mania, McAfee said he would leave the wrestling business forever if Randy Orton did not win the Undisputed WWE Championship. With Cody Rhodes retaining, McAfee claimed on his ESPN show today that he is sticking to that stipulation. McAfee gave Rhodes his props and said Rhodes proved that WWE does not need to be saved after all.

“The good news is, the business doesn’t need to be saved after all. And good for them. And for me, I finished my story,” McAfee said. “I came up in the indies, IWA East Coast. I went through development, NXT. I was a wrestler, trained by Rip Rogers, the same guy that trained everybody that’s retiring kind of currently, out of OVW…

“Get to WWE, commentated, lucky to do that. Did pre-shows, lucky to do that. Wrestled, lucky to do that. Reffed, lucky to do that. Managed, lucky to do that. It’s been a hell of a run. Thank you, wrestling. It was an honor to be over there.”

McAfee has kept kayfabe by wearing a neck brace since being put through a table by Jelly Roll during the Rhodes vs. Orton WrestleMania match. There was also a spot where Orton turned against McAfee and gave him an RKO.

“Maybe he didn’t know it was me,” McAfee said about the RKO. “[But] it felt like he knew.”

Whether McAfee is actually done with WWE for any considerable amount of time remains to be seen. The Rhodes vs. Orton feud was kept alive coming out of WrestleMania (once Rhodes is over his eye injury), but McAfee’s involvement in the angle looks to have ended.

“The wrestling business just kind of — rearview mirror,” McAfee said. “And to the wrestling business, I’d like to say: thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.”

TMZ publishes video of CM Punk fan incident after WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Joseph Currier

An altercation between CM Punk and a fan took place in Las Vegas overnight after WWE WrestleMania 42.

TMZ Sports has published video of Punk smacking a fan’s phone away in an incident that took place in a hotel lobby in Vegas. It appears that Punk got upset over the fan filming his wife AJ Lee and fellow WWE star Bayley as they were hugging and saying goodbye to each other after Mania. In the video, security can be seen stepping in to stop the altercation from escalating any further. Punk’s mentor Ace Steel is also there and helps to diffuse the situation.

The fan can be heard apologizing to Punk, who is still visibly angry and replies, “No, you’re not.” The video then ends with Punk and Lee leaving together.

“Punk was captured on video just after midnight Monday, getting into it with the fan, who was filming Punk’s WWE friend, Bayley, as she was hugging someone in the lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on the Vegas Strip,” TMZ wrote.

“Punk steps right up into the face of the fan before slapping down his phone. Security promptly jumps in between Punk and the other dude to prevent things from really going awry. Punk then coldly stares at the man, who is so terrified that he runs off while apologizing profusely.”

Speaking out against fans who show up at airports and hotels is something that Punk has done repeatedly. As recently as October 2025, he posted a message telling fans to respect wrestlers’ boundaries.

The main event of WrestleMania 42 night two on Sunday saw Punk drop the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns. Appearing on ESPN SportsCenter after the event, Paul “Triple H” Levesque praised both Punk and Reigns and called it one of the greatest matches he’s ever seen.

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.

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.

Rhea Ripley wins WWE Women’s title at WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With IYO SKY helping to even the odds, Rhea Ripley ascended back to the top of the women’s division at WWE WrestleMania 42.

Night two of the event saw Ripley defeat Jade Cargill to become the new WWE Women’s Champion. The match contained interference with Michin and B-Fab — who formed a new faction with Cargill on the road to WrestleMania — trying to help Cargill retain. But Ripley got help from her tag team partner SKY, who took out Michin and B-Fab with a moonsault leading into the finish.

Ripley hit a headbutt and went for Riptide after SKY neutralized the heel interference. Cargill was able to slip out, hit a kick, and go for Jaded — but Ripley escaped and then delivered Riptide for the win. After the match, Ripley and SKY celebrated together with Ripley thanking SKY for having her back.

The result means Ripley, who had been on Raw, is now officially moving over to SmackDown as she becomes the brand’s champion.

At 29 years old, Ripley has now already competed at seven WrestleManias, owning victories over the likes of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Asuka, and Cargill. WWE President Nick Khan had high praise for Ripley ahead of WrestleMania, saying she’ll be one of the faces of the company for years to come.

Oba Femi defeats Brock Lesnar in WWE WrestleMania debut

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The opening match of WWE WrestleMania 42 night two was a showcase for Oba Femi.

Further establishing him as one of WWE’s top stars for both the present and future, Femi made his WrestleMania debut on Sunday night by defeating Brock Lesnar. It was a passing-of-the-torch moment with Lesnar leaving his gloves and boots in the ring after the match, all but announcing his retirement.

The commentary teamed hyped up Femi vs. Lesnar as being one of the most anticipated matches in WrestleMania history. When he took Lesnar off his feet near the start, Femi received a big pop from the crowd. Lesnar then mostly had the advantage until Femi was able to pop up after an F5. Femi followed with a chokeslam and Fall From Grace on Lesnar for the win.

Femi vs. Lesnar aired during the ESPN TV simulcast portion of tonight’s broadcast, with WWE positioning this as a star-making night for Femi. He’s built significant momentum with the audience since being called up from NXT at the start of 2026 and received praise from the likes of Roman Reigns and Paul “Triple H” Levesque during WrestleMania week.

After joining WWE as part of the company’s NIL program for college athletes, Femi was a two-time NXT Champion. He made his official main roster debut in the Royal Rumble this year, where he and Lesnar had their first confrontation.

It was expected that Lesnar would be retiring from WWE soon, though most rumors had him continuing until SummerSlam 2026. He left his gear in the ring after losing to Femi, embraced Paul Heyman, and was visibly emotional as he took in cheers from the fans after what looks to have been his final match.

Nikki Bella reveals extent of injuries that kept her out of WWE WrestleMania 42 match

Posted on by Josh Nason

The questions about whether Nikki Bella would be able to compete at Saturday’s first night of WWE WrestleMania 42 action were answered early as she was unable to wrestle.

Now, we know why.

Bella revealed on Instagram Saturday that she “fractured, tore and sprained my ankle. It’s been a painful two weeks,” noting she will finally fill fans in soon on what’s been going on, assumed to be on her and sister Brie’s podcast.

Bella was replaced in the match by the returning Paige who won the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles with Brie. On the post-show, she said he had surgery in Birmingham, Alabama, and happened to see Paige there at the same time.

It’s unknown how long she will be out for.

The 42-year-old Bella was seen in a walking boot following a late-March SmackDown match, later saying she would be back in a week’s time. Even though she was still in a boot Saturday, she said she’d still be in the match, keeping the illusion alive.

Bianca Belair announces pregnancy at WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Bianca Belair delivered some great news at WWE WrestleMania 42 — though it wasn’t the announcement people were expecting.

Out of action for a year now, Belair made a surprise appearance at night one of WrestleMania, coming down to the ring after host John Cena had announced the attendance. She revealed that Cena would need to add one more to that number, because she and husband Montez Ford are expecting a child.

“Thank you so much for all the love and all the support,” Belair told the crowd. “Whether it’s me at home or me in this ring, thank you so much. Now you know you can’t have WrestleMania without a few surprises now, right? So, John, I think we need to add one more to the attendance list, because the E-S-T is having a baby.”

Cena then thanked Belair for allowing the WWE family to share this moment with her family.

At WrestleMania 41 last year, Belair helped steal the show in a triple threat match against Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY. But Belair suffered a hand injury that night that proved to be significantly more complicated than originally expected. This February, she underwent surgery in hopes of finally fixing the injury. She had been doing post-surgery rehab in recent weeks as fans hoped she would return soon.

The attendance number announced by Cena, before Belair’s addition, was 50,816.

This is Belair and Ford’s first child together, with Ford also having two children from a previous relationship.

New Women’s World Champion crowned at WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Liv Morgan has halted Stephanie Vaquer’s title run at WWE WrestleMania 42.

In the second last match of the night at WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Morgan entered the match with a special self-performed entrance featuring dancers and her new theme song.

What followed was a hard-hitting match between the two, with both of them stealing each other’s offenses. However, both women stood resilient to the attacks, before Vaquer fell prey to Morgan’s finishing move.

The final moments of the match saw Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez of The Judgment Day interfere and cause a distraction. Morgan took advantage of that moment and hit Vaquer with an ObLIVion to secure the three count and the gold.

In the end, Perez, Rodriguez, and Dominik Mysterio of The Judgment Day came out to celebrate Morgan’s title win with her.

Vaquer was the champion since September when she defeated IYO SKY to win the title at Wrestlepalooza. The title was previously held by Naomi before vacating it due to her pregnancy. Morgan previously held the Women’s World Championship from May 2024 to January 2025.

Bron Breakker returns at WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Joseph Currier

An injury disrupted his WrestleMania plans, but Bron Breakker still ended up playing a big role on Saturday night.

The returning Breakker interfered in Seth Rollins vs. Gunther at WWE WrestleMania 42 night one, costing Rollins the match as the two resumed their rivalry. Breakker laid out Rollins with a spear before Gunther used a sleeper to pick up the victory.

Rollins had momentum on his side after giving Gunther a Pedigree onto the announce table and delivering a stomp. But Breakker then ran down and laid out Rollins. After the match, Breakker sprinted down the entrance ramp so he could give Rollins another spear. Breakker then posed with Paul Heyman on the stage.

In February, Breakker was forced out of action due to hernia surgery. He was cleared in time for WrestleMania, but WWE decided to hold off his return until tonight. Breakker vs. Rollins was considered as a potential WrestleMania match at one point as the card took shape over the past few months.

Both Rollins and Breakker suffered injuries on the road to WrestleMania. Tonight was Rollins’ first match since October 2025, when he was sidelined due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. At that time, WWE wrote Rollins off television in an angle where Breakker turned against him and kicked him out of The Vision.

Appearing on The Bill Simmons Podcast ahead of WrestleMania, WWE President Nick Khan named Breakker as one of WWE’s biggest stars for the future. Khan said everyone in WWE is on the same page about Breakker’s path, saying they can’t rush him and need to let him develop at his own pace.

Paige returns, wins gold at WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE is Paige’s house once again.

At WrestleMania 42 night one, Paige returned to WWE and worked her first match for the company in nearly a decade, teaming with Brie Bella to win the Women’s Tag Team titles. It was scheduled to be Nikki & Brie Bella teaming together in the match, but Nikki was unable to be cleared in time after suffering an ankle injury on SmackDown three weeks ago.

Nikki walked out with a crutch as The Bella Twins made their entrance tonight. Announcing that she would not be able to compete, Nikki said an “old friend” would be taking her place — bringing out Paige for her return.

That crutch ended up playing a big role in the fatal four-way match. Interfering during the finish, Nikki used the crutch as a weapon and struck Charlotte Flair with it. Paige then got her knees up when Alexa Bliss went for Twisted Bliss. She followed up with RamPaige on Bliss for the victory.

Nia Jax & Lash Legend were Women’s Tag Team Champions heading into tonight. The four-way bout featured Jax & Legend, Brie Bella & Paige, Charlotte & Bliss, and Bayley & Lyra Valkyria.

On commentary, Michael Cole brought up that Paige won the Divas Championship on her first night on the main roster back in 2014 and had now won gold again her first night back.

Paige was once medically disqualified from WWE due to neck issues, last wrestling for the company in December 2017. She remained with WWE in a non-wrestling role until departing the promotion in 2022. She then joined AEW, returning to the ring there and holding the AEW Women’s World Championship one time.

In March 2025, Paige (Saraya) and AEW mutually parted ways. She took the past year off from pro wrestling but had been training for her return recently.

Emotional John Cena kicks off WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Joseph Currier

John Cena was a man of his word as he kicked off WWE WrestleMania 42.

When he retired, Cena said he would not wear his wrestling gear in a WWE ring again. That stayed true as he ditched his signature jorts for a suit as he welcomed fans to WrestleMania. In his first time back since retirement, Cena — the host of WrestleMania 42 — immediately became emotional upon receiving a big reaction from the crowd.

“Wow, I didn’t expect that. Thank you so much,” Cena said. “Sorry, long-time fan, long-time performer, first-time host, how am I doing so far?”

Cena noted that the road to WrestleMania has been chaotic, unpredictable, vocal, and — a word Cena is very familiar with — polarizing.

“One could say it’s — Michael Cole, is it polarizing? Polarizing. Now I see why I got the hosting gig.”

To close his message, Cena said it was “such a great honor” to welcome everyone to WrestleMania. He declared that it was now time to see who would step up and seize the moment.

Cena concluded his WWE retirement tour in December 2025 with a loss to Gunther. Now working for the company as an ambassador, he appeared at the WWE World convention today, took part in a live podcast recording on Six Feet Under with The Undertaker, and is hosting both nights of Mania.

Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the host of this weekend’s event, is also where Cena had his final WrestleMania match last year, defeating Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.

Paul Heyman confirms original WWE WrestleMania 42 plans for four top stars

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

For the first time in many years, no Paul Heyman guy is set to main event WWE WrestleMania; however, Heyman recently made it clear that WWE’s original plans for WrestleMania would’ve seen something else.

In the past few months, WWE altered several of its WrestleMania plans due to injuries and other creative decisions. During an interview with his son, Jacob, on Instagram, Paul Heyman was asked if he was upset with the lack of representation on WrestleMania’s main event scene this year.

The Hall of Famer opened up and revealed that WrestleMania’s original scrapped plans included him being involved in the main event.

“I don’t think it’s a big secret that everything was driving this year to be Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns, and then that fell apart. And then it was going to be Bron Breakker vs CM Punk, and that fell apart,” Heyman said. “So I was in line to be a part of the main event this year, and fate intervened not once but even twice.”

However, it is also to be noted that these were not the two main events for WrestleMania’s two nights. Instead, these were just the planned World title matches with Breakker vs. Punk coming after the Rollins vs. Reigns match was scrapped.

When Rollins vs. Reigns was planned for the World title, the Undisputed WWE Championship main event was rumored to be Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk.

However, later, when things changed due to Rollins’ injury, the World title plan was switched to Punk vs. Breakker, and the Undisputed Title was changed to Rhodes vs. Reigns.