The grandest spectacle in sports entertainment is almost upon us — following one of the most peculiar roads to WrestleMania in recent memory. A string of bewildering creative choices from WWE has left fans scratching their heads ahead of the biggest night in professional wrestling.

The decision to insert Pat McAfee into the heart of WrestleMania 42’s Night 1 main event has left fans and pundits utterly baffled. A bout steeped in history and with a story that practically told itself has been overshadowed by the apparent need to drive ticket sales and stir social media buzz. Yet even with the unnecessary McAfee subplot, Randy Orton squaring off against Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed Title promises to be a compelling contest.

Night 2’s main event for the World Heavyweight title between Roman Reigns and reigning champion CM Punk is equally anticipated – but who will emerge victorious during the Showcase of the Immortals? While some bouts appear to have foregone conclusions, several intriguing matchups look set to deliver genuinely unpredictable outcomes.

We fired up WWE 2K26’s Universe Mode in a bid to forecast what will unfold in Las Vegas this weekend — and there are some unpleasant surprises lying in wait for several fan-favourite superstars. Expect bizarre betrayals, some unpredictable results and more than a few shenanigans from outside forces.

WrestleMania 42 simulated on WWE 2K26

Universe Mode has a reputation for going off-script — and very few of the most clear-cut favourites at WrestleMania 42 were simulated to emerge victorious. But fans may not find themselves pleased if many of the simulated matches come to life.

Numerous fan favourites were left shell-shocked in our simulation, with several eyebrow-raising outcomes throughout. The first contentious moment of the weekend arrived in the opening bout, which saw streamer IShowSpeed spear LA Knight to hand The Vision victory in six-man tag action over Knight and the Usos.

Logan Paul subsequently pinned Knight to claim the win, before the brutal unsanctioned clash between Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu produced considerable bloodshed. Yet, in a surprising twist given his forthcoming film commitments, McIntyre was declared the victor.

Another baffling conclusion saw Seth Rollins overcome Gunther in a surprisingly underwhelming singles contest. Given this encounter carries enormous potential to be the night’s showstopper — with interference highly probable, whether that be a Bron Breakker return or some form of Paul Heyman meddling — we feel 2K26 has misjudged this particular result.

Speaking of Heyman, the Oracle assisted Brock Lesnar in defeating Oba Femi in arguably the most eagerly awaited match of WrestleMania 42. Following the predictable slugfest we all anticipated, the Beast dispatched the Ruler to Suplex City on a one-way ticket ahead of his widely expected retirement later this year.

The most improbable outcome of the entire simulation arrived on Night 2, however, when Sami Zayn retained his United States Championship against Trick Williams. Considering how fan opinion towards Sami has shifted considerably in recent weeks, it feels like the ideal moment to hand Williams, who is rapidly growing in popularity, a push with the title and reignite his Carmelo Hayes rivalry.

Elsewhere, the beloved AJ Lee relinquished the Intercontinental belt to Becky Lynch after The Man avoided tapping out for a third time in the Black Widow and withstood three GTS’s to pin Lee after a Manhandle Slam. Liv Morgan discovered a frightening new level of ferocity to capture the Women’s World Title as her bitter personal rivalry with Stephanie Vaquer reached its climax.

The Irresistible Forces held onto their Women’s Tag titles in a suitably frantic 4-way bout, while Finn Balor’s ‘The Demon’ persona made a triumphant Mania return against Dominik Mysterio. Two more results raised eyebrows, however.

The legendary Rey Mysterio stunned his five rivals in the Ladder match for the Intercontinental title. After Rusev had locked virtually every participant in the Accolade, Rey scaled the ladder only to find himself dangling from the belt.

He eventually dropped to the canvas and rolled out of the ring in agony. Yet while the contest continued inside the ring, he used the opportunity to recover before slipping back in, crawling through the pain, to ultimately scale the ladder and seize the championship.

The other major bombshell came during Rhea Ripley’s defeat at the hands of Jade Cargill, supported by B-Fab and Michin. However, it was the manner of the defeat rather than the outcome itself that truly caught everyone off guard.

Cargill’s newly-acquired allies stepped in to distract Ripley, enabling Cargill to heap further punishment on the Eradicator. However, close friend and tag partner Iyo Sky, watching from ringside, simply looked on in a puzzling act of betrayal, opting not to come to Rhea’s aid when she needed it most.

In the main events, both principal men’s singles titles changed hands. Randy Orton’s victory meant that Pat McAfee has no reason to walk away from the business as Orton and Rhodes exchanged finishers, with Cody kicking out of the RKO on two occasions, before Orton captured his 15th WWE championship.

On Night 2, Roman Reigns went on to claim the World Heavyweight Championship by defeating CM Punk. Despite absorbing two GTS attempts, Roman responded with three spears to Punk, the last of which proved sufficient to secure the pinfall victory.

WrestleMania 42 simulated – Night 1 results in full

• The Vision (Logan Paul and Austin Theory) and IShowSpeed def. The Usos and LA Knight in 6-man tag team match
• Drew McIntyre def. Jacob Fatu in unsanctioned match
• Liv Morgan def. Stephanie Vaquer (champion) in singles match for Women’s World Championship
• Becky Lynch def. AJ Lee (champion) in singles match for Women’s Intercontinental Championship
• The Irresistible Forces (Nia Jax and Lash Legend) retain Women’s Tag Team Championship by def. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria, The Bella Twins and Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss in Fatal 4-Way
• Seth Rollins def. Gunther in singles match
• Randy Orton (w/Pat McAfee) def. Cody Rhodes (champion) in singles match for Undisputed WWE Championship

WrestleMania 42 simulated – Night 2 results in full

• Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) def. Oba Femi in singles match
• Rey Mysterio def. Penta, JD McDonagh, Je’Von Evans, Rusev and Dragon Lee in 6-way Ladder Match for Intercontinental Championship
• Jade Cargill (w/B-Fab and Michin) retains Women’s Championship by def. Rhea Ripley (w/Iyo Sky) in singles match
• Sami Zayn retains United States Championship by def. Trick Williams in singles match
• ‘The Demon’ Finn Balor def. Dominik Mysterio in singles match
• Roman Reigns def. CM Punk in singles match for World Heavyweight Championship