Internal WWE creative documents from late January reportedly listed Brock Lesnar vs. LA Knight as the direction for WrestleMania 42, adding a new layer to the ongoing speculation surrounding Lesnar’s path to Las Vegas.
The development comes after Lesnar’s high-profile interaction with Oba Femi during the 2026 Royal Rumble. Their face-off inside the match drew one of the loudest reactions of the night, leading many to assume that WWE was setting up a marquee clash between the powerhouse rookie and the former multi-time world champion.
However, according to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the internal lineup as of late January specifically listed Lesnar vs. Knight. Interestingly, the Royal Rumble did not strongly push Lesnar and Knight in that direction from a storytelling standpoint, even though Knight—alongside Cody Rhodes—was responsible for eliminating Lesnar from the match. That elimination provides a clear storyline hook if WWE chooses to follow through with the Knight program.
Meltzer noted that the Lesnar–Femi pairing is “not 100 percent,” emphasizing that while it could still happen, it was not locked in as of the most recent internal discussions. By contrast, the Lesnar–Knight direction was reportedly documented in creative planning materials.
Lesnar is scheduled to return on the February 23 episode of Raw in Atlanta, where his WrestleMania trajectory is expected to become clearer. That appearance could either solidify the Knight program or pivot back toward Femi, depending on how WWE wants to capitalize on the strong Royal Rumble reaction.
For his part, Femi has acknowledged that the Rumble moment was designed to test the waters for a future rivalry. The crowd response appears to have validated that there is significant interest in the matchup, even if it ultimately takes place after WrestleMania 42 rather than on the show itself.
With WrestleMania plans reportedly in flux due to broader creative shifts and ticket sale concerns, Lesnar’s opponent remains one of the more intriguing pieces still falling into place.
