WrestleMania 42 is moving locations as New Orleans is out, and it appears that a repeat appearance in Las Vegas is all but official.
Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston broke the news that New Orleans was losing WrestleMania in 2026, with confirmation provided by the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation:
“The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and New Orleans & Company are working closely with our friends at TKO to expand our long-standing partnership,” the statement from the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation reads, “which will include UFC 318 on July 19, 2025, Money In The Bank in 2026, and WrestleMania – which will move from the currently scheduled 2026 timeframe to a future year.”
It is a nearly unprecedented move where WWE had publicly announced the dates and location for WrestleMania 42, with Dwayne Johnson revealing the news in February. The closest instances are limited to WrestleMania 7 moving locations in 1991 but remaining in Los Angeles due to low ticket sales at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, and the change in location due to the pandemic in 2020.
Walt Leger, the head of New Orleans & Company, tells NOLA.com that officials in the city were notified by WWE on Thursday that WrestleMania had been pushed back by several years.
It appears all but certain that Las Vegas will land the event for the second consecutive year after the success of last month’s events, including the largest-grossing gates in the company’s history.
There are some similarities to the booking of WrestleMania 41, as Minnesota appeared to be the frontrunner, but instead, Las Vegas made a sizable bid and landed the event. The major difference was that WWE never publicly announced the location, nor required a switch. Part of Vegas’ sell to WWE was a $5 million site fee from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, along with $4.2 million in tax credits and a rent-free usage of the Las Vegas Convention Center. WWE added multiple nights of live events through a partnership with the Fountainebleau Hotel as the official host hotel.
With the success of WrestleMania 41 and occurring over a traditionally “down” weekend in Vegas due to Easter, it would be easy to surmise that Vegas was incentivized to double down and up the ante for an even more attractive package for an encore of ‘Mania in the city. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter adds that Vegas wants WrestleMania in regular rotation with the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, and College Football National Championship, to say nothing of the obvious roots TKO has planted in the city.
There is a huge ripple effect downstream for the ancillary shows and events outside of WWE, with the likes of Highspots and Game Changer Wrestling among them. It extends to the fanbase, some of whom undoubtedly would be booking their trips a year out or at least making plans for the trip.
It’s a minor point, but for fans booking their trips a year out, this move may cause trepidation but a larger issue is the reaction from other municipalities and agencies working with WWE and whether they risk losing a landmark event to a higher bidder even when the ink is dry. It’s a very hard pill for New Orleans to swallow after such fanfare of a public reveal of the location and all the pomp and circumstance that engages the host city. New Orleans is emphasizing a “larger deal” in place of this setback through its relationship with TKO to bring UFC 318 this summer and MITB next year and ultimately, WrestleMania.
WWE already has a commitment with Indianapolis for a future WrestleMania, and it seems more and more likely that after next year’s Royal Rumble, it will be Saudi Arabia’s next desire to land the largest show possible.
London has frequently been among the rumored cities with public campaigning, and like all possible sites, it will come down to the most profitable option from a TKO standpoint.
WrestleMania 42 has underlined that this lucrative week on the calendar is up to the highest bidder, and they will extend the clock, if necessary.
