CM Punk defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern on ESPN, closing WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. [1] It is just the second one-on-one match the two have had — the first, on Raw in January 2014, preceded Punk's decade-long departure from WWE. [1]

Reigns enters his eleventh WrestleMania main event, the most in the event's history and three ahead of Hulk Hogan. [1] He earned the title shot by winning the Royal Rumble on January 31 and chose Punk over SmackDown's champion on the following night's Raw. Punk is undefeated in 2026 with four successful World Heavyweight title defenses, including two against Finn Bálor. Two days before the match, Reigns said he would leave WWE if he loses. [1]

The undercard runs thirteen matches across both nights, eight of them for championships. Jade Cargill defends the WWE Women's Championship against Rhea Ripley; Brock Lesnar fights NXT champion Oba Femi; AJ Lee returns to WrestleMania after an eleven-year absence. [1] Cody Rhodes retained the Undisputed WWE Championship Saturday, taking a post-match punt from Orton that left his left eye swollen shut and pulled him out of Sunday's WWE World event for concussion protocol. [2]

This is the first Mania on ESPN platforms since WWE's $1.6 billion move from Peacock. Night One opened with a cold-open narration from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Austin Theory. [3] Vegas hosts WrestleMania back-to-back for the first time since 1988 and 1989. Ticket prices are, for this summer, coming down. [1]

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Las Vegas