John Cena is set to return to the WWE stage as the host of WrestleMania 42. This will be his first appearance since retiring from in-ring competition 42 months ago. Cena concluded his wrestling career on December 13, 2025, after a match against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event held at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Highlights from Cena’s Career
Throughout 2025, Cena’s journey was marked by significant events:
- Won the men’s Elimination Chamber match, earning a title shot against Cody Rhodes.
- Turned heel and aligned himself with The Rock, promising to “ruin professional wrestling.”
- Achieved his record-breaking 17th WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41.
- Returned as a face and lost the title back to Rhodes before dropping the Intercontinental Championship to Dominik Mysterio at Survivor Series: WarGames.
Details about WrestleMania 42
WrestleMania 42 will take place over two nights, on a Saturday and Sunday, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. This marks the second consecutive year the event is hosted in this location. The event is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET each night and will air on ESPN programming.
Match Card for WrestleMania 42
This year’s matches are set to showcase an exciting lineup:
- Night 1:
- LA Knight, Jey Uso, and Jimmy Uso vs. Logan Paul, Austin Theory, and IShowSpeed (six-man tag match)
- Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre (unsanctioned match)
- Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan (Women’s World Championship)
- AJ Lee (c) vs. Becky Lynch (Women’s Intercontinental Championship)
- Seth Rollins vs. Gunther
- Nia Jax and Lash Legend (c) vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria vs. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Bella and Brie Bella (fatal four-way tag match for Women’s Tag Team Championship)
- Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton (Undisputed WWE Championship)
- Night 2:
- Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar
- Penta (c) vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Rusev vs. Je’Von Evans vs. JD McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee (ladder match for Intercontinental Championship)
- Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley (WWE Women’s Championship)
- Sami Zayn (c) vs. Trick Williams (Intercontinental Championship)
- Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio
- CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns (World Heavyweight Championship)
Cena’s hosting signifies a notable milestone in his career. Fans eagerly anticipate his comeback at WrestleMania 42, marking a momentous occasion in WWE history.
