Roman Reigns has dethroned CM Punk to claim the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, while a tearful Brock Lesnar left his boots and gloves in the ring at the Allegiant Stadium on Sunday night in what appeared to be the end of a nearly 25-year in-ring career.
The two-night spectacle, staged on 18 and 19 April 2026, delivered one of the most emotionally charged evenings in WWE history, combining a heavyweight main event that ran for more than half an hour with an unscripted-feeling send-off for one of professional wrestling’s most dominant figures.
WWE WrestleMania 42 was broadcast globally and streamed on Netflix, drawing an audience that included millions of fans across South Africa, where WWE content consistently ranks among the most-viewed sports entertainment on digital platforms.
Reigns Reclaims the Gold in a Las Vegas Thriller
In the night’s main event, Roman Reigns defeated CM Punk in a match that lasted 33 minutes and 57 seconds, reclaiming one of WWE’s top championships after a two-year absence from championship gold.
The result marks Reigns’ seventh world title reign in WWE, cementing his standing as one of the promotion’s most decorated performers of the modern era.
Reigns’ victory resets the landscape of WWE Raw for the remainder of 2026, with the Tribal Chief returning to the top of the card following a period in which CM Punk had held the World Heavyweight Championship.
The match was widely praised by wrestling media outlets as one of the strongest WrestleMania main events in recent years.
Oba Femi Ends the Beast’s Era in Opening Bout
Before the main event, Nigerian-born superstar Oba Femi opened Night 2 by defeating Brock Lesnar in a statement performance that shocked the Allegiant Stadium crowd. The match lasted just over four minutes, with Femi pinning Lesnar after hitting his finishing move, the Fall from Grace.
“I took 25 years of dominance from the Beast, and made it null,” Femi said after his victory, referencing Lesnar’s near-quarter-century run as one of WWE’s most feared competitors.
The aftermath proved even more significant than the result itself. Lesnar, visibly emotional, removed his gloves and boots and placed them in the centre of the ring before leaving to a standing ovation and sustained
“Thank you, Brock!” chants from the crowd. Lesnar then embraced his long-time advocate Paul Heyman in a moment that drew widespread praise from fans and wrestling media alike, signalling what most observers interpreted as the conclusion of his in-ring career, though WWE has not yet issued a formal retirement confirmation.
Rhea Ripley and Penta Also Claim Victory on Night 2
Elsewhere on the card, Rhea Ripley defeated Jade Cargill in a contest widely regarded as the best women’s match of the entire WrestleMania 42 weekend to claim the WWE Women’s Championship. Penta retained the Intercontinental Championship by winning a six-person ladder match.
Night 1, held on 18 April, saw Becky Lynch defeat AJ Lee to win back the Women’s Intercontinental Championship in a result that also trended widely across South Africa and the United Kingdom on Sunday.
