After a shaky WrestleMania season, and an even shakier WrestleMania 42 Saturday, this year’s Showcase of The Immortals is in the rearview mirror. WrestleMania Sunday, and particularly the main event, rescued this year’s event from complete disaster.

The Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton match should have had a slam-dunk storyline setup. They are both second generation stars and they had a 20-year friendship shattered over this match. That story writes itself.

But they were thrown a curveball late in the game in the form of a nonsensical Pat McAfee involvement in the match. It did not make sense before the match, and none of what happened during the match made any sense either.

It seemed like Cody was leaning into a possible heel turn during the match, but never fully crossed the line. McAfee was removed on a stretcher only to make a “heroic” return in a neck brace and a referee uniform late in the match. Orton turned on McAfee with an inexplicable RKO. Orton punted Rhodes after the match. Nobody turned, McAfee’s involvement was a mess, and nothing really came out of the match. Orton and Rhodes did their best to polish that turd but were unsuccessful in doing so.

The best matches on Saturday were the unsanctioned contest between Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre, and the hastily arranged match between Gunther and Seth Rollins. But both matches were lost in the shuffle of everything else that happened. The show was full of commercials and filler material, and the wrestling matches themselves were too short.

Sunday night healed a lot of Saturday’s wounds. It started off with Brock Lesnar passing the torch to Oba Femi and then laying his gloves and boots in the ring to signify his emotional retirement. The six pack ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship was action packed and dramatic. “The Demon” Finn Bálor and Dominik Mysterio did the best they could with the time they were given. But the main event was the best match of the weekend.

Roman Reigns and CM Punk brought out the best in each other. They told a believable story that only involved the two of them, there were no outside distractions. This was quite possibly both of their best WrestleMania performances and a match that will define their legacies when they are retired.

The way WrestleMania finished made me feel better about the weekend overall. But it left me with a lot of questions about the presentation of the product going forward. I’m a TKO shareholder so I certainly get why they are chasing every penny, but you must ask how wise it is to cut the wrestling out of WrestleMania. I mean, it’s in the name! What’s the point of making it a two-night show if it is full of filler material and commercials? Imagine if the Super Bowl was a 35-minute game. That’s what WrestleMania 42 felt like.

The WWE does a good job of listening to its fan base. But in this case, the numbers will dictate the future. If TKO is satisfied with the profits from the gate, merchandise, and the media rights deal with ESPN, expect WrestleMania to look like this every year.

In the here and now, we have a good sense of who the big winners and losers of WrestleMania 42 were.

Losers

• AJ Lee: Looked terrible in her first WrestleMania match in over a decade.
• Pat McAfee: He was set up to fail and failed.
• Damien Priest: The big man was featured on TV headed into WrestleMania, but he couldn’t make the show. The WWE should either use him or cut him and let him do something else.
• Rusev: This lifelong underachiever didn’t do much to distinguish himself. Maybe he should go back to the minor league AEW promotion.
• Bianca Belair: Does she have any idea how much it costs to rais a child born in 2026?

Winners

• IShowSpeed: From social media influencer to WrestleMania competitor. That was a good performance by the young man.
• Jacob Fatu: Headed straight to the next PLE main event, good for him.
• Gunther: This wasn’t as high a profile match as it could have been, but he looked good.
• Seth Rollins: Good to see him medically cleared after a bad injury cost him several months.
• Cody Rhodes: At least he retained the championship. Still QB1 for the WWE.
• Oba Femi: Talk about a career-defining WrestleMania moment for the newcomer. How is he going to top squashing Brock Lesnar?
• Brock Lesnar: What a great way to cap a legendary career.
• Trick Williams: Scored a singles championship at WrestleMania, you would think the WWE has big plans for him.
• Sami Zayn: He should be back to his roots as a heel now, right where he belongs.
• CM Punk: Finally got his first singles WrestleMania main event, and he hit it out of the park.
• Roman Reigns: Was not necessarily known for the quality of his matches until now. Great showing for The Tribal Chief.

Following both nights of WrestleMania, and the “Raw After ‘Mania” we have a good idea where things are headed. Roman Reigns will be challenged by Jacob Fatu for his championship, and CM Punk and Cody Rhodes teased a feud for Rhodes’ championship. Oba Femi is the new special attraction “freak of nature”, and Trick Williams looks to be high on their list of talents they want to make into a star. Even if this wasn’t the best WrestleMania we’ve seen, there is a lot to look forward to.