WrestleMania 42 serves as the finale of WWE’s year, with the shows following the event usually considered a brand new season.
With this new WWE year about to kick off, it will be interesting to see which stars want to reignite their careers by showing off some changes to their characters and presentations.
Repackaged stars give a fresh, new feel to the overall promotion and allow certain names to enjoy a renewed life on the roster.
Here are six WWE stars to potentially be repackaged after WrestleMania 42.
6. Johnny Gargano
After weeks of depression backstage on Friday Night SmackDown, Johnny Gargano showed up on WWE NXT for the March 24 episode thanks to his wife Candice LeRae.
Gargano would go on to win the Elimination Gauntlet Match to become the new number one contender for the NXT North American Championship at NXT Stand & Deliver.
Now facing Myles Borne at the April 4 premium live event, Gargano could return to the WWE main roster as a whole new man.
Rediscovering his passion for the business, Gargano could go back to embrace his inner “Rebel Heart” or a new character altogether following WrestleMania 42.
5. Matt Cardona
On the March 20 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Matt Cardona became the latest victim of Randy Orton following his recent heel turn on Cody Rhodes.
In a brutal beatdown, Orton assaulted Cardona, breaking his arm with a steel chair in the process.
After being taken out by “The Legend Killer,” Cardona could make his comeback to WWE as a new version of himself.
With the former Zack Ryder reinventing himself outside of WWE, Cardona might be better utilized by introducing his “Indy God” persona to the company’s audience upon his return after WrestleMania 42.
4. The Original El Grande Americano
At WWE Royal Rumble 2026, The Original El Grande Americano made his return to the company as an entrant in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match.
Since his return, Americano has been feuding with the other El Grande Americano and looks to be set for a Mask vs. Mask Match down the line.
With all signs pointing to this Mask vs. Mask Match taking place at WrestleMania 42, this means one of these men will be coming out of “The Show of Shows” as a brand new version of themselves.
The Original El Grande becoming Chad Gable again would be intriguing and potentially bring out a different iteration of the former Olympian in WWE.
Click the next page button below for more
3. Maxxine Dupri
On the March 16 episode of Monday Night Raw, Nattie defeated Maxxine Dupri to seemingly bring a close to their rivalry.
With her feud with her former friend now in the books, Dupri should bring some change to how she is presented moving forward.
Later in that same show, eagle eyed fans noticed Austin Theory approaching Dupri to comfort her following her loss.
Maxxine returning after WrestleMania 42 could see her turning heel to join forces with The Vision as the first female member of the faction.
2. Santos Escobar
Back in October 2025, Santos Escobar saw his WWE contract expire, but he re-signed with the company just one day later.
Since then, Escobar has been appearing on Lucha Libre AAA with a new version of his character.
Looking to go after the AAA Latin American Championship, Escobar has been feuding with El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., but Santos suffered an apparent injury at the AAA Rey de Reyes night one event.
After he recovers from this injury, Santos Escobar could return to WWE as this new version of his persona and show off more aggression towards anyone in his way.
1. Rusev
In April 2025, Rusev made his return to WWE and has made his presence felt on Monday Night Raw.
However, “The Bulgarian Brute” has been less featured in recent months and came up short in his latest match against Oba Femi on the March 9 episode of WWE Raw.
In a recent backstage segment, Rusev can be seen rocking his old “Rusev Day” t-shirt that led some fans to believe he could bring this gimmick back.
“Rusev Day” making its return to the company or even his AEW character of “The Redeemer” could be a repackaging that helps him garner the spotlight once more.
To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!
Comments.
Loading comments…