The WrestleMania 42 location move is being felt around the industry, and it goes beyond WWE.
One of the staple events of WrestleMania Weekend outside of WWE is the annual WrestleCon convention and its events, staged by Highspots.
Owner Michael Bochicchio tells POST Wrestling that the outfit had already booked space in the 2026 host city of New Orleans and is being forced to reorganize after Thursday’s news that WrestleMania is going to a different home.
We had already contracted space in NOLA. We hadn’t announced anything because our next event is August (SummerSlam), and we’re 100 percent focused on that event. It will be interesting to see how difficult/expensive it will be to get out of the NOLA contract and the impact it may have on our process moving forward. IF this was that easy, I’m sure everybody would be doing it, so its just part of the experience.
This isn’t the first curveball thrown Bochicchio’s way as he explained to POST Wrestling in 2020 when WrestleMania 36 was relocated from Tampa to the WWE Performance Center due to the pandemic. The threat of COVID-19 also caused the 2021 edition of WrestleCon to be shelved before returning the following year in Texas.
The distinction is that this move was not due to a worldwide pandemic but a business move by TKO, which has not officially named the new location for next year’s WrestleMania, but multiple reports suggest Las Vegas will land WrestleMania again.
I understand that TKO has an obligation to shareholders to generate the most profit, but I’m generally concerned about “fatigue” of the WrestleMania traveler. I’ve already seen a lot of feedback from my best customers that they won’t be returning to Vegas two years in a row or attending if its in Saudi/Mexico City. These are the types of customers that pay for the expensive Mania seats and/or make these family outings each year. I think one of the best parts about the event is that it historically moves around and allows different parts of the country to experience a WM weekend. There are certainly other great options, both in the U.S. and internationally they can choose, so I’ll reserve final judgement until they choose a city.
Last month, WrestleCon was held at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino over three days for its convention and promoted the annual Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow. Additional events included WWE watch parties and a “Hardy Party” featuring Matt & Jeff.
New Orleans hosted WrestleMania 30 in 2014 and again in 2018. While they won’t be getting the 2026 edition, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and New Orleans & Company stated that they will get a WrestleMania in the coming years.
Bochicchio states it’s fans that lose out with this decision, and that his past experiences promoting WrestleCon in New Orleans have been positive ones.
It’s incredibly disappointing to lose NOLA as a host city for 2026, they have been some of the greatest WM weekends both for us as a convention and for fans. The city’s ability and character is tailor made for the universal bond that wrestling fans experience during Mania weekend that makes it so special.
I cannot reiterate how disappointing it must be for the fans in NOLA and those travelers that were looking forward to the event happening in that great city. If the WWE decides to go to Saudi, maybe we’ll try to organize something in NOLA regardless.
While locations such as Saudi Arabia, London, and Mexico were being rumored after the news of the location change, it does appear the event will end up in Las Vegas for the second consecutive year, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and NOLA.com.
WrestleCon has been an annual part of WrestleMania Weekend since 2013 and is run by Highspots.
