Six WWE Superstars Who Could Miss WrestleMania 42

We are five weeks away from WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas. The main events have been announced. Night 1 will be the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes taking on the Viper Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. 

Night 2 is headlined by CM Punk facing Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship. There are six women’s matches rumored to be featured on the card, and 14-16 bouts total. 

So, when looking at the WWE roster right now, who is in danger of missing out on the grandest stage of them all? Let us look at six WWE superstars who might not have their WM moment this year. We are also not counting injuries, so Bianca Belair, Roxanne Perez, or Bron Breakker will not be included on the list.

Tiffany Stratton and Guilia

It might not be Tiffy Time at WrestleMania this year. 

Stratton has not appeared on WWE television since losing the Elimination Chamber match and has been on television only five times this year. She defeated Kiana James on Friday Night SmackDown, along with Chelsea Green, Alba Fyre, and Guilia. The reason I paired these two together is that Stratton has her eyes on the Women’s US Championship, and Guilia currently holds the belt. The problem is that the title has not been featured on a PLE since its debut at Saturday Night's Main Event in December 2024. They could find themselves competing for the belt on the SmackDown before ‘Mania or the Raw a day afterwards. Let’s hope Triple H makes the right decision and gives this championship the spotlight it deserves

Lyra Valkyria

Last week on Monday Night Raw, Bayley won the Gauntlet Match to become the No. 1 contender for the Women’s Intercontinental Champion. She will face AJ Lee, and there could be some shenanigans. Becky could interfere, and so could Lyra. If Becky gets added to the match at WM, where does that put Lyra? They could make it a Fatal-Four-Way, but the odds of that happening are slim. Valkyria is the inaugural Intercontinental Champion, and it would be nice to have to be involved in the title picture somehow. Perhaps she is in Bayley’s corner at WM. That would be worth an appearance.

Gunther

The career killer has not had much of a direction since retiring AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble. He last beat Dragon Lee on Raw and took off Lee’s mask, causing a controversy. Now, Gunther is without an opponent for WrestleMania. He could face Rey Mysterio, but I do not see Mysterio putting his career on the line and losing. Or he could answer Brock Lesnar’s open challenge, but the rumor is these two will collide at SummerSlam in what would be Lesnar’s last match. Heading into WM, the “Ring General” is the biggest heel in the company, and not having him on the card would be disappointing.

LA Knight

LA Knight cannot catch a break. He is one of the most over superstars in WWE, but never gets the push. 

Reports suggest Triple H has a personal dislike for Knight, and this could be the reason he is not the WWE Champion yet. Knight is currently feuding with the Vision in a nothing burger of a rivalry. He is rumored to be one of the options to face Brock Lesnar at WM, but fans don’t want to see him get squashed. Knight has been letting out his frustrations with the company, and as reported by Ringside News, he asked to move to Raw because he was done feuding with the MFTs. Hopefully, WWE can find a slot for him in Vegas because the WWE Universe is clamoring for it.

Aleister Black

Seriously, what were we even doing with him? His last two appearances on SmackDown have been interactions with Sami Zayn. The two are not reported to be headed towards a collision course at WrestleMania, so what is the point? He is relegated to backstage segments even though his match with Randy Orton was fine. Black and Vega are being portrayed as Karrion Kross and Scarlett when they were in WWE. Not adding much to the program, and not having any real character development. I really do not know what they will do with him, and would not be shocked if he did not get his WM moment.

Triple H has a lot of work to do, and it is rumored WWE Creative is hoping Bron Breakker can return before ‘Mania to kickstart a rivalry with Seth Rollins. The dominoes will soon fall, and WWE fans will have a clearer picture of what they will be seeing come April 18th and 19th. Speaking of which, there are five matches announced for the event, and by the end of this week, more will be added. In the next article, I will delve into each match and the rivalry between the competitors.