Backstage Report On Names Expected At Tonight’s WWE Raw

Tonight, “WWE Raw” will be held from “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” Madison Square Garden, and in addition to several title matches taking place on the show, there has been an update on some of the stars who will be appearing on the red brand.

According to PWInsider Elite, The Judgement Day’s Roxanne Perez is expected to return to WWE programming this week, and with her being assigned to the “Raw” roster, the current plan is for her to be at MSG tonight. For the last two months, Perez has been out of action in order to have a benign cyst removed from her back. As of Sunday morning, PWInsider Elite reports that Perez is still scheduled to return to “Raw” tonight.

Elsewhere in the women’s division, “WWE SmackDown’s” Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss are also expected to appear on Monday’s episode of “Raw.” Over the past few weeks, Flair and Bliss have been involved in WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship picture, and have started to feud with teams from both “Raw” and “SmackDown.” On tonight’s episode, Nia Jax and Lash Legend will defend the Women’s Tag Team Championships against Bayley and Lyra Valkyria, a match that Flair and Bliss could definitely be present for.

Other matches that have been announced for tonight include The Usos defending the WWE World Tag Team Championships against The Vision in a Street Fight, Penta versus Kofi Kingston for the Intercontinental Championship, and IYO SKY versus Raquel Rodriguez. Additionally, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar will both be in attendance for tonight’s show to build to their respective WrestleMania 42 matches.

Backstage Report On European Indie Wrestler Ricky Sosa Signing With TNA

During “TNA” Sacrifice on Friday night, Carlos Silva and Tommy Dreamer brought out Chris Bey to announce that one of wrestling’s hottest international prospects, Ricky Sosa, has signed with the company. Sosa debuted on the March 12 episode of “TNA Thursday Night IMPACT”. The Netherlands native has kept a busy schedule on the European independent scene and naturally, there is speculation on how signing with TNA will affect that.

According to Fightful Select, the reaction from promotions where Sosa frequently wrestles, such as KHAO and wXw, was “universally positive”. wXw, where is the European Champion, still expects Sosa to be part of their roster unless there are dates that coincide with his TNA’s schedule. He is scheduled for KHAO’s show on May 2. After that, it becomes more unclear what his availability will be.

The report goes on to clarify a story going around that KHAO’s general manager tweeted his unhappiness with Sosa signing a TNA deal. It was stressed to Fightful that it was a kayfabe tweet with fans also pointing that out. Nobody at KHAO “has a bad word” to say about Sosa.

Sosa is currently scheduled to appear at Joey Janela’s “Immortal Clusterf*ck” on Saturday, April 18. In addition to his wXw title, he is also Legion Industrial Champion for Legion Wrestling. 

Dave Meltzer: WWE Sources Deny The Rock’s Involvement In WrestleMania 42 Storyline

So far, one of the most intriguing figures of the build for WrestleMania 42 is a person who hasn’t even been revealed yet. That would be the person on the other line of Randy Orton’s mysterious phone calls, calls that began occurring right after Orton turned on his long-time friend, WrestleMania 42 opponent, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. 

The mysterious nature of the caller has led to speculation on who it could be, and one popular candidate to emerge has been The Rock, Rhodes’ long-time foil. While Rock hasn’t been seen or heard from since Elimination Chamber last year, he has developed a knack for going after “The American Nightmare” during WrestleMania season, feuding with him in the lead-up to WrestleMania 40 and serving as the catalyst for John Cena turning on Rhodes last year.

During the latest edition of “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Dave Meltzer discussed the theory that The Rock was Orton’s mystery caller after co-host Bryan Alvarez suggested that Rock had to be the caller. And at least according to what Meltzer has heard, Rock is not the man on the other line, though Meltzer was quick to say it would be denied even if Rock was involved.

“Everyone tells me it’s not,” Meltzer said. “But of course, if it is, The Rock’s not going to let anyone know. But within the company, it was pretty much strongly denied to me. But like I said, when it comes to Dwayne, there’s only going to be three people who know. It’s going to be Nick and Paul and Dwayne. And you know, maybe one or two others, but it ain’t going to be, like, a lot of people. So yeah, if he fits, he absolutely fits in the story. But you know, I was absolutely told that it ain’t him.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Wrestling Observer Radio” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription

John Cena Announces Himself As The Host Of WWE WrestleMania 42

Ever since he officially retired from action in December, wrestler-turned-actor John Cena has teased that his WWE involvement will continue in some form for years to come. We now have our first details on how exactly that will play out, with Cena announcing on X this morning that he will serve as the host of WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cena began by revealing that he was currently filming a movie for Netflix called “One Attempt Remaining,” then pointed out that Hollywood was not too far from Vegas.

“I’m also on the road, which is ironic, because there’s a ‘Road to WrestleMania’ going on,” Cena said. “Rumor around this town is: WrestleMania needs a host. Well, I’m already on that road, so I will see you at WrestleMania.”

Cena’s last match took place on December 13, 2025, at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington D.C. The controversial finish saw Cena tap out to GUNTHER with a smile on his face, leaving fans feeling conflicted in the aftermath.

Although there were rumors that Cena was bound for the WWE Hall of Fame in 2026, that doesn’t appear to be the case, barring another surprise announcement. That lineup already features AJ Styles, Stephanie McMahon, and Demolition in the main wing, Dennis Rodman in the celebrity wing, and Sid Eudy and “Bad News” Brown in the legacy wing.

WrestleMania 42 is set for April 18 and 19 at Allegiant Stadium. Eight matches have been announced thus far, including Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and a WWE Woman’s Championship bout between Jade Cargill and Rhea Ripley.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit John Cena and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Update On Injury Status Of AEW Stars Samoa Joe & Hook

2025 was a big year for Samoa Joe, Hook, and the rest of The Opps. Joe became the AEW Men’s World Champion at Full Gear, one-third of the AEW World Trios Champions with Powerhouse Hobbs and Katsuyori Shibata, and were featured prominently in the Death Riders storyline heading in to All In Texas. However, 2026 hasn’t been as successful, with both Joe and Hook currently on the sidelines with separate injuries, Hobbs now in WWE as Royce Keys, and Shibata taking a break back in Japan.

Fans have already seen Shibata in action as recently as the Blackjack Battle Royal for the AEW National Championship at AEW Revolution, but as far as Joe and Hook are concerned, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select shed some light as to when they could potentially return to the ring. For Joe, he was sidelined with a concussion back in January and hasn’t been medically cleared as of yet, and according to Sapp, it’s still a “wait and see” situation as no one is completely sure when Joe will be cleared. With that said, Joe himself confirmed during at the 2026 “For The Love of Wrestling” convention in the United Kingdom that he will be back in AEW sooner rather than later.

In Joe’s absence, Hook was made the interim leader of The Opps and was hoping to bring some gold back to the group in the form of the AEW National Championship. However, he was pulled from the Blackjack Battle Royal at AEW Revolution and replaced by his teammate Shibata due to an undisclosed medical issue. According to Sapp, it’s unclear exactly when he will return as well, but it was noted that when he was sidelined in 2025, AEW didn’t expect Hook to be out for as long as he was, and that he would have absolutely gritted his teeth and wrestled through whatever he was going through had the company gave him the green light.