Murphy’s Blog: WrestleMania 42 night two predictions – Will CM Punk or Roman Reigns end the show as the World Heavyweight Champion? Will Oba Femi continue to get the better of Brock Lesnar?

WrestleMania weekend continues! No long intro for this one, as I gave my overall thoughts during my Night One predictions. All I’ll say is that for the 9-year-old kid who became hooked from the first WrestleMania, it’s my pleasure to share my thoughts on these shows. If you choose to watch, sit back and enjoy! Let’s run down Night Two.

CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship. I don’t have the same strong opinion on the Night two main event as I did for Night One. The extra time between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania hurt them here. As you recall, Reigns decided to challenge Punk the night after the Royal Rumble on February 2. Since then, we’ve had a ten-week build and a robust series of talking segments. The first segment was great, where Reigns expressed his hatred for Punk because of Punk’s appearance on Colt Cabana’s podcast in 2014. That was good enough. We then went on a journey where Punk promised to bury Reigns next to his deceased father, and Reigns made Punk snap by calling him old. We also got some involvement from the Usos. And all of that was tied up by having both admit they were envious of the other. The punchline is that, glaringly, the title became the afterthought. So, I’m less excited for this match and more in the camp of, let’s get it over with.

As for the outcome, I think it’s time for a CM Punk heel turn. One possible scenario involves the Usos coming out to seemingly help Roman, only to turn on him and help Punk retain. And, if Roman’s other cousin, Dwayne Johnson, doesn’t make an appearance on Night One, I could see him playing a factor here. With WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia next year, I think it’s a good bet that Johnson faces either Reigns or Cody Rhodes and that story likely kicks off this weekend.

Don Predicts: CM Punk defeats Roman Reigns to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women’s Championship. Well, the Jade Cargill experiment leads to this. We’ve heard for months that Jade was a work in progress in the ring and on the mic. Yet, in an act of faith, WWE put the WWE Women’s Title on her and gave her a high-profile match at WrestleMania. If there’s anyone you want in there with Jade for a match like this, it’s Rhea. I’ll be interested to see how this one stacks up. In terms of the outcome, I don’t think it’s time to take the title off Jade just yet. I think we’ll see B Fab, Michin, and Iyo Sky all get involved. I tried this at the Royal Rumble and was wrong, but is this where Bianca Belair returns to unintentionally cost Rhea the title? She’s a likely challenger for Cargill down the road, and a program with Ripley could be a diversion until they get there.

Don Predicts: Jade Cargill defeats Rhea Ripley to retain the WWE Women’s Championship.

Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams for the U.S. Championship. Just to put this out there, I believe Trick Williams is on a Dwayne Johnson-level trajectory to be a mega star. If I’m WWE, we go full on with the babyface turn and strap a rocket to him. As for Sami, as others have said, you can do the double turn here, make him the complaining heel, but eventually have him be the holder of the Money in the Bank briefcase. And while we’re at it, can we lose Lil Yachty from the act? He can go home with Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll.

Don Predicts: Trick Williams defeats Sami Zayn to win the U.S. Championship.

Dominik Mysterio vs. “The Demon” Finn Balor. Seeing the Demon entrance on the big stage will be fun. In terms of the match, it will be fine, and I’m not concerned about Dom eating a loss here as he’ll get his heat back in short order. With Liv Morgan’s change in character, it will be interesting to see if the Liv/Dom dynamic changes post-Mania.

Don Predicts: “The Demon” Finn Balor defeats Dominik Mysterio.

(ESPN simulcast) Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi. This is the match I am most looking forward to out of both nights. And I was a bit surprised that they’re putting this match on ESPN. But, if you want eyes on the product and potential buyers of the streaming service, this is the match to do it with. Like Williams, Femi has star written all over him, and I would be genuinely shocked if he doesn’t go over. And, I suspect that it will be a quick one – a Brock Lesnar special. The one concern that makes me think that it could go the other way is that we’ve seen Femi get the better of Lesnar in every segment. That worries me a bit, but we’ll think positively because busting the Femi balloon would be a huge mistake.

Don Predicts: Oba Femi defeats Brock Lesnar.

(ESPN simulcast) Penta vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Rusev vs. JD McDonagh in a six-way ladder match for the Intercontinental Title. A good old-fashioned spot-fest ladder match to open the show…you can’t have a WrestleMania without one. This will be fun for those who like that style. It’s good to see Rusev get a Mania match even though he’s off TV more than he’s on. I’m also glad to see Rey get another Mania match, as he has fewer matches in front of him than he does behind him. In the end, we know WWE is high on Evans, and I think he gets the spotlight win here.

Don Predicts: Je’Von Evans defeats Penta, Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee, Rusev, and JD McDonagh in a six-way ladder match to win the Intercontinental Title.

John Cena is the WrestleMania 42 host. The six-man ladder match will open tonight’s show. WrestleMania has an early start time of 5CT/6ET, and the first hour will be simulcast on ESPN. Jake Barnett and Jason Powell will team up for another same-night audio review of WrestleMania 42 night two exclusively for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).

I’ll be back on Saturday for my review of AEW Collision. Until then, enjoy WrestleMania and enjoy wrestling!