Rumors: Is WrestleMania Returning to Las Vegas in 2026?

^{WrestleMania had a record-breaking showing in Las Vegas, and with New Orleans knocked out of the ring for 2026, the event could be back sooner than most combat sports fans expected. (Photo: courtesy of WWE)}

WrestleMania may be returning to Las Vegas in 2026 after officials in New Orleans confirmed they had been told they would no longer be the hosts. 

WWE announced back in February that the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans would be the venue for WrestleMania 42, and the logo had already been designed in anticipation. 

'Rather Return to Las Vegas'

However, as per NOLA.com, New Orleans sports and tourism officials were informed this week that WWE had decided not to bring the event to the city after all – although they would look to host a future edition of their flagship event there instead. 

"We've worked with them for the last several days to try to identify some future dates and future events to bring to the city," Walt Leger, head of New Orleans & Co. said. 

That appears to have opened the door for Las Vegas, with the report adding: 

‘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, according to an industry official who wasn't authorized to be quoted by name.’

Although WrestleMania 41 was not critically hailed a creative success by fans, the underlying statistics from the event are tough for WWE and parent company TKO to ignore. 

It was the highest attended WrestleMania in history, with 124,693 fans flocking to the Allegiant Stadium over two nights to provide WWE with record gate revenue. 

There were also records broken for merchandise sales, social media engagement, and sponsorship revenue. With it being the first WrestleMania to be streamed globally on Netflix too, viewership numbers were off the charts.

Even logistically, Las Vegas proved to be a hugely successful home for WrestleMania. For example, the Conference Centre had the space to host WWE World, which drew enormous footfall of over 50,000 (up 21% on the previous year in Philadelphia) and fan engagement. 

There were also small theatres a-plenty to host smaller events, high-end restaurants to sell hospitality events with stars like John Cena, and more then enough hotel capacity to keep fans close to the venue for longer. 

Unconfirmed Speculation Abounds

Although reports suggest Las Vegas is the city that has essentially pulled WrestleMania away from New Orleans, it has to be stressed it has not been officially confirmed. 

There are other possibilities at this stage, with some sources claiming an international country has made WWE an offer they cannot refuse to be allowed to host. Saudi Arabia looks the most likely there, with the WWE already hosting events there with regularity. 

However, it would be an enormous coup for Las Vegas should they have been able to secure the event for a second successive year. 

No city since New York in the 1980s has hosted back-to-back WrestleManias, for a start. Additionally, it would be expected to at least match, and probably exceed, the estimated $200 billion boost to the economy that the event provided the city in 2025.