With roughly 25 days until WrestleMania 42, WWE has only six confirmed matches and almost no meaningful storyline momentum behind them. Top stars are directionless, feuds are being rushed in the final stretch, and creative feels completely lost heading into the biggest show of the year.
WWE WrestleMania 42 Build Feels Directionless
WrestleMania is supposed to feel massive weeks in advance. Instead, WWE is still scrambling to figure out what matches even belong on the card.
Right now, the confirmed lineup includes:
- CM Punk vs Roman Reigns (World Title)
- Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton (WWE Title)
- Jade Cargill vs Rhea Ripley (WWE Women’s Title)
- Stephanie Vaquer vs Liv Morgan (Women’s World Title)
- Brock Lesnar vs Oba Femi
- AJ Lee vs Becky Lynch (Women’s Intercontinental Title)
On paper, that looks strong. However, the problem is the lack of meaningful build behind almost all of them.
Roman Reigns just laid out CM Punk on this week’s RAW in a major angle, but it feels like they are rushing heat instead of building a layered story.
That is the theme across the board. WWE is trying to speed-run WrestleMania.
WWE Has Wasted Weeks of Storyline Time
This is where things fall apart.
Instead of stacking meaningful segments over months, WWE has burned time on filler. Now they are trying to force urgency in the final stretch.
Take Brock Lesnar vs Oba Femi. This feud has heat, but it only recently escalated on RAW with face-to-face confrontations and attacks.
That is not how WrestleMania feuds should feel. These matches should already be peaking, not just getting started.
The same applies across the card. There is no sense of progression. No layered storytelling. Just last-minute chaos.
LA Knight and Logan Paul Feels Like a Placeholder
LA Knight is one of the most over stars in WWE, yet he is stuck circling The Usos and teasing something with Logan Paul.
Nothing is official. Nothing is locked in.
This is exactly the issue. Instead of capitalizing on momentum, WWE is stalling. Fans can see it. When a top star like LA Knight is still floating without direction this close to WrestleMania, something is broken.
Gunther Missing From WWE TV Is Inexcusable
This is where the situation goes from bad to unacceptable.
Gunther, arguably WWE’s top heel, has not been on television for weeks and still does not have a WrestleMania match.
There is no excuse for that.
WrestleMania should be built around your most dominant performers. Instead, WWE has left one of its most credible stars completely off the board.
That is not just poor planning. That is a failure of creative.
SmackDown Storylines Are Getting Weird, Not Better
The Drew McIntyre vs Jacob Fatu build is a perfect example of what is going wrong with the SmackDown side of things.
Instead of delivering something intense and grounded, WWE is leaning into over-the-top segments that feel more confusing than compelling.
There is a difference between creative risks and losing the plot.
Right now, SmackDown feels like it is trying too hard to be unpredictable instead of telling a story that actually matters.
WWE WrestleMania 42 Build Shows Creative Is Lost
This leads to the biggest issue.
Triple H was supposed to bring structure, long-term storytelling, and consistency. Instead, this WrestleMania build feels like complete disorganization.
Top stars are directionless. Feuds are rushed. Matches are being thrown together late.
And the worst part is that this is not due to one bad week. This has been building for months.
Even recent changes, last-minute booking decisions, and shifting match plans suggest WWE is constantly adjusting instead of executing a clear vision.
That is not what WrestleMania season should look like.
Final Thoughts on WWE WrestleMania 42 Build
WWE WrestleMania 42 build should feel electric right now.
Instead, it feels unfinished.
There is still time to fix some of this. However, the reality is that storytelling takes time, and WWE has already wasted too much of it.
At this point, even if the matches deliver, the build will still be remembered as a failure.
And that falls directly on creative.
