Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics reports that WWE WrestleMania 42 will no longer take place in New Orleans, despite a February 2025 announcement featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation confirmed on Thursday, May 22, 2025, that WWE’s flagship event is being rescheduled for an unspecified future year in the city.
As part of a new “multi-event, multi-year agreement” with WWE and UFC’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, New Orleans will now host WWE’s Money in the Bank premium live event in 2026. A joint statement from the Foundation and New Orleans & Company explained they are “working closely with our friends at TKO to expand our long-standing partnership.” This expanded partnership “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.”
The new host city for WrestleMania in 2026 has not yet been announced, and specific reasons for this significant change from the original New Orleans plan, which was slated for April 11-12 at the Superdome, remain unclear. This development occurs as TKO actively pursues site fees for its major live events.
