ok the solution was to remove the network from all containers and let the pod handle everything.
mediawiki.pod
[Pod]
PodName=Mediawiki
Network=mediawiki.network
PublishPort=8080:80
PublishPort=3306:3306
mediawiki-app.container
[Container]
Image=docker.io/mediawiki:1.42
ContainerName=mediawiki-app
Pod=mediawiki.pod
mediawiki-db.container
[Container]
Image=docker.io/mariadb:11.6
ContainerName=mediawiki-db
Pod=mediawiki.pod
EnvironmentFile=mediawiki-db.env
mediawiki.network
[Network]
Driver=bridge