All plans for the 2026 edition of WWE’s flagship event have been scrapped with the news of it no longer taking place in New Orleans April 11-12. Instead, the city will get Money in the Bank 2026 and a future WrestleMania at a later date.
The news comes as a shock given it was revealed in February New Orleans would be the host city. Often compared to the Super Bowl, WrestleMania brings wrestling fans from all around the world to not only take part of WWE’s two-night extravaganza, but the several events and experiences that happen in the city as part of WrestleMania weekend.
WWE hasn’t announced the new location and it could already have a new city in mind for WrestleMania 42, but with the event scheduled to take place in less than 11 months, fans will want to know where it will be and begin the planning process to takeover the city. There are several top contenders of who can step up and take the hosting duties.
Las Vegas
Could the Sin City get a second straight year of hosting WrestleMania? NOLA.com reported Las Vegas is a leading contender to have WrestleMania 42 after it had WrestleMania 41 in 2025. It would mark the first time a city got the event in back-to-back years since WrestleMania 4 and 5 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Consecutive years aside, Las Vegas is the ideal location for WWE given all the space it has to have multiple events. It took over the Las Vegas Strip, and the close proximity of it all greatly helped have the biggest WrestleMania weekend to date. It’s a top tourism destination, and it would remain that way in 2026. TKO Group Holdings, owner of WWE, also owns UFC, which essentially lives in Las Vegas.
WrestleMania 41 was a massive success in terms of attendance, merchandise sales and hospitality experiences. Not only did WWE generate millions of dollars from it, but so did Las Vegas. The potential earnings from having the event there again could be too enticing for both sides to pass up.
If Las Vegas gets WrestleMania again, however, there will certainly be disappointment from fans for not showcasing a different city. It will feel like WWE is prioritizing money over fans, especially with how many complaints there were about the cost of attending this year’s edition, and like WWE is slowly turning into UFC. Prices would likely be the same − if not more − which could price out people.
London
This will be the top − and highly debatable − choice for WrestleMania 42. London mayor Sadiq Khan has not shied away from his desire to host a WrestleMania, and with the 2026 location now open, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him pounce on the opportunity to make a pitch.
London has plenty of large stadiums to select as the venue, but the top choice would be the 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium, which could reach more than 100,000 with WrestleMania. An international WrestleMania would undoubtedly be a success, as it make it easier for European citizens and a majority of international fans the chance to experience WrestleMania for the first time. Its long been the consensus preferred location to host in the continent. Mix that in with how electric European crowds are at wrestling events, and it has the potential to be the most electric atmosphere in WrestleMania history.
While appealing, it’s a big gamble. WrestleMania has never left the U.S. outside of Toronto in 1990 and 2002. American fans are the priority fanbase, and would a large amount of them be willing to go across the pond? There certainly would be issues with not just the travel, but fans might not be on board with a 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT start time. All first-world problems, but still something WWE has to consider going international.
Indianapolis
Other than New Orleans, only one other city is guaranteed a WrestleMania and that is Indianapolis. WWE has a deal with the city that got it Royal Rumble 2025 and a future WrestleMania.
Royal Rumble was a success at Lucas Oil Stadium and the home of the Indianapolis Colts would certainly host WrestleMania. The indoor stadium wipes out any concern of frigid conditions like WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, which was so cold WWE decided to not do East Coast outdoor stadiums for the foreseeable future. Plus, the city has experience with hosting mega events like the Super Bowl and Final Four.
However, what could take Indianapolis out of the running will be the men’s basketball championship. The 2026 men’s Final Four will be held at the stadium April 4 and 6, and if WrestleMania kept the original date of April 11 and 12, less than a week would be too little time to prepare the stadium with the stellar stage the event is known for. It would have to be pushed back at least a week to April 18-19, or may just have to wait another year.
Houston
It’s been 16 years since WrestleMania took place in Houston, and the Texas city could make a run to get the event back at NRG Stadium. The venue has a retractable roof that could greatly benefit the presentation of WrestleMania. It has taken on several major events like the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff national championship and Final Four since WWE last visited the venue. It’s also slated to host 2026 World Cup matches, proving it is capable of handling the crowd for a weekend.
What could help Houston get the winning bid is the influence of Travis Scott, who has made appearances this year and has hinted at having matches in the future. WWE chief content officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque has shown great appreciation for Scott’s work, and the rapper could help persuade him to bring the event back to H-Town.
Orlando
WWE has loved hosting WrestleMania in Florida in recent years, with the event being in the state four times since 2008 − not including the WWE Performance Center in 2020 due to COVID-19. Since Tampa hosted in 2021, Orlando would be the best pick for the Sunshine State to host.
Camping World Stadium would be the choice, serving as the location for WrestleMania 24 in 2008 and WrestleMania 33 in 2017, and WrestleMania 42 in 2026 would coincidentally a follow nine-year timeline of the venue hosting. It was a success when WWE went with the stadium and the venue is remembered for having some of the best WrestleMania stages. Weather wouldn’t be a total issue with the outdoor space, unless rain and storms got in the way. Plus with Kia Center less than two miles away, it is optimal to have all of WWE’s WrestleMania weekend events taking place in close proximity.
Saudi Arabia
This will be an extremely unpopular pick, but Saudi Arabia getting the nod can’t be ruled out. WWE has a 10-year agreement with the country’s sports authority to bring events to the country. It seemed like Saudi would just get Crown Jewel and Night of Champions, but WWE proved its commitment to the country by bringing Royal Rumble 2026 to Riyadh. If WWE is willing to bring a major event like Royal Rumble to Saudi, nothing would stop it from bringing WrestleMania too.
There’s a glaring issue with it given the ‘sportswashing’ being done in the country. There was outrage when Royal Rumble was announced, and there would be even bigger problems if the biggest wrestling event in the world went there as well. If this move happened, it would create an ugly storm WWE would have to crawl itself out of.