WrestleMania 42 has been pulled from New Orleans in an unprecedented move from WWE.
A statement from the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation on Thursday, May 22, confirmed the biggest show in the wrestling calendar will no longer emanate from Louisiana in 2026, as previously announced.
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WrestleMania will now be hosted by another city, with ‘The Big Easy’ slated for next year’s Money in the Bank event instead.
The decision to move the big show — especially after the host city had already been announced — left WWE fans stunned.
According to popular X account WrestleVotes, never has a city been announced and then cancelled. A venue was changed in 1991, but same city (Los Angeles) hosted regardless.
Many took to social media to share their frustration with the news, with some accusing WWE of prioritizing money over everything else.
“This company is starting to stink up the place. These non-wrestling corporates are going to run WWE straight into the ground. You have to be kidding me,” one person wrote on X.
“What a f***ing horrible decision this was,” another said.
“This feels impossible,” a third suggested.
As of writing, WWE has not confirmed the new host city for WrestleMania 42, which had been scheduled for Saturday, April 11 and Sunday, April 12.
Speculation online suggested that the show could be going international in 2026, with London touted, but those hopes were quickly quashed by a report from NOLA.com that claims the show will be held in Las Vegas for the second straight year.
If the report is correct, it will mark the first time that WrestleMania has been hosted in the same place for two consecutive years since 1988 and 1989.
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Both WrestleMania IV and V emanated from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with the venue referred to as ‘Trump Plaza’ on the TV broadcast 36 years ago.
“After the success of this year’s event, the new leadership running WWE decided that they would rather hold next year’s event in Las Vegas and see what response they get from fans,” the report from NOLA.com read.
The claim was credited to an industry official who ‘wasn’t authorized to be quoted by name.’
Suggestion that WWE could return to Allegiant Stadium in Sin City further riled fans, with some suggesting this year’s ‘Mania crowd was among the worst ever.
“Oh god, that Vegas crowd sucked. This would be awful,” one claimed.
“The crowd at this year’s (WrestleMania) was terrible, surely they have to take that into account?” another questioned.
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A third wrote: “I don’t know what was worse for WrestleMania 41, the build, storytelling, the actual matches or the terrible crowd on both nights.”
“This might be the worst decision ever made. WrestleMania the same location two years in a row is a stupid decision,” a fourth concluded.
While the reasoning for the relocation of the event remains unclear, it marks a significant U-turn after Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson announced New Orleans as the host city three months ago.
He was later accused by fans of ‘ruining’ this year’s event.
“WrestleMania is coming back to New Orleans,” The Rock told a frantic SmackDown crowd inside the Smoothie King Center back in February.
“We’re going to make it official right now, in front of the world. Next year, 2026, WrestleMania 42, live from the Superdome in one of the greatest cities on Earth, New Orleans, Louisiana.”
The Superdome previously hosted WrestleMania XXX, where The Undertaker’s iconic streak came to an end in 2014, and WrestleMania 34 in 2018.
