WrestleMania 42 Fan Interest Rankings Revealed Based on Social Media Data

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Ahead of WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Lyra Valkyria appeared on TMZ’s Inside The Ring for an interview where she discussed Lola Vice’s recent NXT Women’s Championship win and gave her thoughts on the on-screen dynamic between Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss.

During the interview, Valkyria was asked what advice she would offer Lola Vice following her title victory. She stressed that the real challenge begins after reaching the top.

“Not to get comfortable, I guess, and to… keep working, and like, the hard work only really begins when you’re at the top, because then it’s easy to- when you’ve got a point to prove and you’re trying to prove you’re the best, it’s easy to have that fire in you. But then when people are looking at you, just expecting you to be the best as the champion, that’s when it’s really hard. So I’ve been in the ring with Lola, obviously she’s a star. You just look at her and you can see it. We knew it was only going to be a matter of time before she held that title and she’s been working and grafting down there, and she’s in Mexico, and she’s everywhere. I was actually quite happy to see her get her moment, because she was in the title contention when I was in NXT, and we’re two years on now. So I think that it must have meant so much to her to finally conquer the mountain. So I’m very happy for her, and I hope that I one day see her in the ring again.”

Valkyria also addressed the partnership between Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, raising doubts about how strong their alliance really is.

“Charlotte and Alexa could end up being a threat to each other because I don’t think they have a genuine friendship. I think they’ve got two big egos and I think they’re friends of convenience, and I think they use each other and their friendship is surface level, and that is the difference between what they have and what me and Bayley have, and that’s going to make the biggest difference when it comes to those titles.”

At WrestleMania 42, Valkyria will team with Bayley to compete for the WWE Women’s Tag-Team Titles. They are set to face Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, The Bella Twins, and The Irresistible Forces in a multi-team match at Allegiant Stadium on April 18 and April 19.

Lyra Valkyria Shares Advice for Lola Vice, Questions Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss Alliance

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Carmelo Hayes was originally set to compete at WrestleMania 42, but WWE ultimately made a late decision to take him off the card, altering his trajectory heading into the event.

In recent weeks, fans noticed Hayes was missing from the WrestleMania lineup, especially after his United States Championship reign came to an end. Reports indicate that Hayes had been scheduled for the show roughly a month and a half in advance before WWE shifted plans and moved in a different direction.

The timing of that change stands out. Hayes lost the United States Title to Sami Zayn following interference from Trick Williams, which led to a finish that cost him the championship. That result quickly changed his momentum, and he was unable to regain it in the weeks that followed.

That decision has drawn criticism from fans who believed Hayes should have entered the event as champion instead, creating backlash over Sami Zayn in the process.

Hayes was given another opportunity against Zayn on the April 3 episode of SmackDown, but the outcome remained the same. After the rematch, his path toward WrestleMania became less clear. Meanwhile, Zayn continued forward and is now scheduled to defend the title against Trick Williams at the event.

With that direction locked in, Hayes was removed from the WrestleMania 42 card entirely. There is still no official word on what his role would have been, but the late nature of the change has made the situation notable.

For a rising star like Hayes, missing WrestleMania after previously being included in plans is a setback. He had been heavily involved in the United States Title picture, and his absence from the biggest show of the year has raised questions about WWE’s creative direction during this period.

The situation highlights how quickly plans can shift, even for talent positioned in key storylines. Hayes now looks ahead to what comes next following a sudden change during a major point in the WWE calendar.

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Stephanie Vaquer has revealed that she seriously considered removing her Devil’s Kiss finisher shortly after signing with WWE, before ultimately deciding to keep it following feedback from coaches and support from Booker T.

Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Vaquer explained that she had been using the move for years before joining WWE, but began to question whether it still fit her style. She also raised concerns about how opponents were taking the move in the ring.

“Before WWE, I did that move for a long time. And at one point, when I did that move before WWE, was a little different than now. When I signed with WWE, I think, ‘Okay, I want to stop doing that move for many reasons. I think sometimes people take that move different ways, and I don’t like that.’”

Vaquer said she brought the move up during training in NXT, where coaches encouraged her to keep it due to its recognition among fans.

“In NXT one day, we were training, and I showed that move, and the coach is saying, ‘No, that’s good, people know that move and people like that move.’”

Despite that, she still had doubts about continuing to use it and how it was perceived.

“I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, but I don’t know why I don’t like it anymore. I don’t want to do that move because I hate what people say, ‘It’s just because of that move,’ and people can’t sometimes understand that move.”

Her mindset changed after Booker T publicly praised the move and helped increase fan interest in it.

“I started to do it again, and I feel good because Booker T made that move that people love this move, so I’m starting to love this move again, because Booker T made me feel like that.”

Vaquer added that even after moving on from NXT, fans still associate her with the move and continue to react to it.

“You know what? When I still go to NXT sometimes and watch the show, every Tuesday, when Booker T’s entrance people still say like ‘Booker T and Stephanie come back’. It’s amazing ‘cause people say my name and people say ‘ah, ah’ every time and after one year, I moved on from NXT after a year and people still remember that move, and this is for Booker T.”

Vaquer ultimately chose to keep the Devil’s Kiss, crediting fan reaction and Booker T’s support as key reasons behind her decision.

Vaquer will defend her Women’s World Championhip against Liv Morgan at WrestleMania 42.

Stephanie Vaquer Reveals She Nearly Dropped Devil’s Kiss Finisher

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Bully Ray isn’t pleased with TNA Wrestling for pulling Nic Nemeth out of his match with MJF, and says he’s legally allowed to wrestle the AEW star.

TNA’s recent directive to its wrestlers, which forbids them from facing AEW stars, led to several matches being scrapped, one of which was a clash between AEW’s MJF and TNA Wrestling’s Nic Nemeth at Create-A-Pro Wrestling. Bully Ray believes there’s no reason the match shouldn’t happen.

“Unless Nic’s TNA contract specifically says you are in no way, shape and form allowed to be on the same show as, be in the same ring as, work with in any way shape or form AEW contractual talent. Unless that very specific wording is in the independent contractor’s contract, he can go do whatever he wants and wrestle whoever he wants,” declared Ray on “Busted Open.” “And even in a court of law, if both sides are to go in front of a judge, the judge is going to want to know, is this an independent contractor contract? Because right off the bat, they understand the scope of what they’re dealing with. Now it’ll come down to nuance and gray area and the actual, the verbiage.”

Ray urged TNA and its president, Carlos Silva — who many assume decided to bar TNA stars from wrestling against and on the same card as AEW wrestlers — to let the match between MJF and Nemeth go ahead, but be clearer with restrictions in the future.

“If the perception is that Carlos Silva is to blame, and if the reality is that Carlos Silva is to blame, if I’m Carlos and I’m taking all this backlash, I’m just saying, you know what, let the match happen. For next time, we’re going to be a little bit more careful about it,” he added.

Ray questioned which party would be affected by the match and empathized with all parties involved, including the two wrestlers, the promotion, and its founder, Brian Myers. Ray is hopeful the match will take place in the future, which Nemeth thinks will happen too.