NFL legend Tom Brady has taken a few heavy shots at pro wrestling in the past few months, specifically towards Logan Paul, leading many to believe that he will likely be involved in WrestleMania to some effect. Now, he has an explicit invitation from wrestling royalty, specifically WWE’s Charlotte Flair.

“I respect Tom and maybe it was like, he was trying to be funny … but I say this to any professional athlete — and Tom is, what, the greatest of all time — it is very different being in the ring than watching it,” Flair expressed during an interview on ESPN’s “Unsportsmanlike.” “Tom, please come to WrestleMania! See what it’s like! Please. Take on Cody [Rhodes], Roman [Reigns], [CM] Punk, anybody!”

While Flair was careful to say she doesn’t know whether Brady is on his way to a WrestleMania appearance, WWE and Brady were in talks last month, per reports from the Wrestling Observer. It remains to be seen whether those talks bear fruit. It should be noted that not everyone thinks WWE has been handling Brady’s potential WrestleMania inclusion correctly — Tommy Dreamer expressed that having Brady act as a heel going into WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, where he’s a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, makes no sense, and it would’ve been better to have him act as a babyface instead.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike,” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

The Undisputed WWE Championship feud between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton took an incredibly unexpected turn when it was revealed that ESPN host and former WWE commentator Pat McAfee was Orton’s mystery ally. Things have only gotten more intense between Rhodes and the former NFL punter in recent weeks, with McAfee stealing the title belt from him during their most recent promo segment and subsequent beatdown. Rhodes appeared on “Get Up” on ESPN Tuesday morning and played a word association game, where he didn’t mince words when asked about McAfee.

“A rat. A full-blown, full-blooded rat,” Rhodes said. “Who is surrounded by people who don’t tell him ‘no’ enough and now he’s fully involved in what we’re doing. Pat McAfee is on the marquee next to Randy Orton. No one expected that.”

Rhodes explained that he and Orton have 20 years of history, and their fathers “came up on the roads” together. He said that Orton brought him into WWE, and his first match in the company was against “The Viper.” Rhodes said that he learned everything it will take to beat Orton, from Orton.

“Get ready to look up at the lights, pal,” Rhodes said. “All that love that exists between us got thrown away for this Pat McAfee element. Great, get ready to look up at the lights.”

As for McAfee, Rhodes said that he thinks the star is treading water, for now, but he’ll be in the “deep end” on Saturday. He said that he believes McAfee is the type to have to get ready.

“He clearly works hard, but this is a whole new ballgame for Pat and I don’t know if he’s ready,” Rhodes said.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit ESPN and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Undisputed World Super Featherweight Champion Alycia Baumgardner said talks were happening about a potential crossover with WWE. 

Baumgardner holds a 17-1 (1 NC) record in boxing having reigned as Undisputed World Champion in the super featherweight division since 2023, and in March 2025 she signed with Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian’s Most Valuable Promotions. 

MVP will present its first foray into MMA on May 16, with a card headlined by Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano streaming on Netflix. But Baumgardner might also be looking at a new landscape, telling Ariel Helwani that she had always been a fan of WWE. 

“I’m a diva for real,” she said. “Funny story, me, my sister, and our friend growing up were big WWE fans. We literally thought we were divas and we lit fireworks in the room to have our own walk-out. That’s how serious it was. Mom came in the room like, what’s that smell? We had sparklers and s***.”

Baumgardner named Trish Stratus and John Cena as favorites growing up. And then she said that something is in the works for her to make that step. 

“It’s in the works. Conversations are being had. As we speak. I don’t turn no deal down, only if it makes sense. And when we talk about building a brand, we talk about bigger and better. I’m not just a fighter, I’m not just a boxer… I don’t have to box, I love to box, I choose to box.”

Is it only a matter of time before Alycia Baumgardner crosses over into WWE? 👀

“Listen, it’s in the works. Conversations are being had, for real.

I’m not just a fighter. I’m not just a boxer… That’s why they’re mad—because they have to box. I don’t have to box. I love to box…. pic.twitter.com/ra2p0kaWjl

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 14, 2026

She said WWE reached out to her and her team had reached out to them, though she has yet to have tried out. But it has been talked about. When asked if she had any friends she could rely on to make the transition, she named WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill. 

In her first WrestleMania since 2015, AJ Lee is set to defend the Women’s WWE Intercontinental Championship against now-bitter rival Becky Lynch. The two last faced off at Elimination Chamber 2026, where Lee captured the title after making Lynch tap out, and according to the reigning champion, she’ll walk away with the win again at WrestleMania.

“I’m hoping Becky just, you know, gets out of my life now,” Lee said during an interview with ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” expressing that she feels that she’s proven that she can still hang with the current day stars at this stage, but feels Lynch won’t back down unless she’s humiliated at WrestleMania. “And then I can move on to the rest of the roster and get my hands on anybody who wants a shot at the title!”

When asked what she plans to do first after beating Lynch at WrestleMania, Lee had an even simpler answer.

“Eat so much cake,” Lee said. “So many cookies! All I want is just all the carbs in the world, you know? I believe carbs are life, I still have them, I still have treats while I’m training but minimal, because we’re trying to be as top shape as possible. But the second that match is over, it is on!”

At the time of writing, Lynch has yet to make any predictions of her own when it comes to WrestleMania 42. Ahead of the Royal Rumble back in January, however, ‘The Man’ claimed that her tapping out at WrestlePalooza was a fluke, and proclaimed that she was planning to beat Lee and send her off to another ten-year retirement.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “ESPN’s Sport Center,” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Despite many fan gripes about the build to WrestleMania 42, “WWE Raw” has stayed consistent in viewership on Netflix over the last few weeks. The red brand didn’t manage to top three million global views for the April 6 edition of the show, but it came close.

According to Wrestlenomics, with data from Netflix, the April 6 episode of “Raw” drew 2.9 million global views, down from a solid three million the week before. “Raw” has drawn 2.8 million global views or above since February 16, where it drew 2.7 million. The January 26 episode of the show is the most recent time “Raw” failed to crack the top 10 on the streaming service.

The April 6 episode ranked sixth for the week around the globe for English television. The show was fourth domestically for the week. In the US, it fell behind “Trust Me: The False Prophet,” “Danny Go!,” and season four of “Love on the Spectrum.”

The episode saw World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk open the show with a scathing promo not just against his WrestleMania 42 opponent, Roman Reigns, but toward WWE’s parent company, TKO, and Pat McAfee, following the former commentator’s promo about needing to save the business from “how much it sucks” on “WWE SmackDown.” Elsewhere on the show, Bayley defeated Lash Legend, and IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley bested Michin and B-Fab.

The main event was meant to see a contract signing for WrestleMania 42 between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi. That signing, however, broke down into a brawl that saw the men throwing office furniture at one another, as Paul “Triple H” Levesque tried to intervene.