WrestleMania 42

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WrestleMania 42
WrestleMania 42 poster.jpg
Ticket sales poster featuring Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Triple H, Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar, and CM Punk
Promotion WWE
Brand(s) Raw
SmackDown
DateApril 18–19, 2026
City Paradise, Nevada
Venue Allegiant Stadium
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WrestleMania 42, also promoted as WrestleMania Vegas, is an upcoming 2026 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It will be the 42nd annual WrestleMania and will take place as a two-night event on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19, 2026, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions.

Contents

The event will be the second consecutive WrestleMania held at the venue, marking only the second time WrestleMania will be held at the same venue in consecutive years. The event will be the first WrestleMania to livestream on the ESPN streaming service in the United States.

Initially planned for Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on April 11 and 12, the event was relocated to Las Vegas in May 2025 and pushed back a week.

Production

DHS Agencies Support Super Bowl LIX Security February 2025 - 108.jpg
Allegiant Stadium (cropped).jpg
WrestleMania 42 was originally set to be held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana (top); however, the event was moved to Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada (bottom) for a second consecutive year.

Background

WrestleMania is WWE's flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, having first been held in 1985. It was the company's first PPV produced and was also WWE's first major event available via livestreaming when the company launched the WWE Network in February 2014. It is the longest-running event in WWE history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April, featuring wrestlers from WWE's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. [1] Along with Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank, it is one of the company's five biggest annual events, referred to as the "Big Five". [2] [3] [4] WrestleMania was ranked the sixth-most valuable sports brand in the world by Forbes , [5] and has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment. [6]

In February 2025, reports emerged that WrestleMania 42 would take place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, the same venue that hosted WrestleMania XXX in 2014 and WrestleMania 34 in 2018. [7] On the February 21 episode of Friday Night SmackDown , TKO board of directors member and WWE wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson announced WrestleMania 42 would emanate from the Caesars Superdome on April 11 and 12, 2026. [8] However, on May 22, 2025, WrestleMania 42 was confirmed to no longer take place in New Orleans. While the specifics of the change were not revealed, this came as part of a larger agreement, with New Orleans instead hosting a future WrestleMania as well as the 2026 Money in the Bank. [9] Reports also emerged alleging that, with the financial success of WrestleMania 41 being held in Las Vegas, WrestleMania 42 may return to the city, while other reports suggested a possible international location. [10] [11]

During the 2025 Money in the Bank on June 7, WWE confirmed WrestleMania 42 would be held at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada on April 18 and 19, 2026, marking the third WrestleMania in the Las Vegas area, including WrestleMania IX in 1993. [12] Allegiant Stadium will also become the first venue since the Atlantic City Convention Hall [a] in Atlantic City, New Jersey to host consecutive WrestleManias, having hosted WrestleMania IV in 1988 and WrestleMania V in 1989. [13] [14] Two-day combo tickets went on sale on September 24, 2025, [15] with single day tickets on sale from November 28, 2025. [16] One of the official theme songs for the event is the 2025 remix of "Back in the Saddle" by Aerosmith and Yungblud. [17]

Broadcast outlets

In addition to airing on traditional pay-per-view worldwide, WrestleMania 42 will be available to livestream on the ESPN streaming service in the United States, Netflix in most international markets, the WWE Network in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Abema in Japan. [18] This marks the first WrestleMania to livestream on the ESPN streaming service, as ESPN acquired the streaming rights to WWE's events in the United States beginning with Wrestlepalooza in September 2025, following the expiration of WWE's contract with Peacock. ESPN had originally been slated to begin broadcasting main roster PPV and livestreaming events in the United States with WrestleMania 42. [19] However, as Peacock's agreement with WWE referred to the airing of a specified number of events, rather than on a fixed end date, the expansion of WWE's calendar—including all WrestleManias on Peacock being two nights since 2021 and the 2025 SummerSlam expanding to two nights, as well as the all-women's event Evolution in 2025—caused Peacock to reach the number of WWE events allotted in their agreement ahead of schedule. [20] [21]

Storylines

The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines. Results are predetermined by WWE on the Raw and SmackDown brands, [22] [23] while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown. [24]

At the Royal Rumble on January 31, SmackDown's Roman Reigns won the men's Royal Rumble match, earning a world championship match of his choice at WrestleMania 42. [25] Reigns appeared on the following episode of Raw where he was interrupted by World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk. After going over their history with one another, including Reigns showing respect to Punk after they had teamed up in the WarGames match at Survivor Series: WarGames in November 2025, Reigns decided that out of his overall hatred for Punk, he would challenge him at WrestleMania 42 for Raw's World Heavyweight Championship. [26]

Also at the Royal Rumble, Raw's Liv Morgan won the women's Royal Rumble match, earning a world championship match of her choice at WrestleMania 42, but she has yet to make her decision. [25]

In speaking with ESPN on January 28, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque confirmed that the winners of the men's and women's Elimination Chamber matches at the eponymous event would earn a world title match at WrestleMania 42 for the respective championships that the winners of the 2026 Royal Rumble matches do not choose. [27] As a result of the men's Royal Rumble winner choosing Raw's world championship, this confirmed that the winner of the men's Elimination Chamber match would challenge for SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Championship. [26]

Matches

Night TBA
No.Matches*Stipulations
1 CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship [28]
2 TBD [b] (c) vs. Liv Morgan Singles match for the WWE Women's Championship or the Women's World Championship [29]
3 TBD [c] (c) vs. Men's Elimination Chamber winner Singles match for the Undisputed WWE Championship [27]
4 TBD [b] (c) vs. Women's Elimination Chamber winner Singles match for the WWE Women's Championship or the Women's World Championship [27]
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
*Card subject to change

Notes

  1. ↑ Due to sponsorship reasons, The Atlantic City Convention Hall was referred to as the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino during the broadcasts for WrestleMania IV and WrestleMania V. [13]
  2. 1 2 As of February 4, 2026, the WWE Women's Champion is Jade Cargill, and the Women's World Champion is Stephanie Vaquer.
  3. ↑ As of February 4, 2026, the Undisputed WWE Champion is Drew McIntyre.

References

  1. ↑ Benigno, Anthony; Clapp, John (April 3, 2013). "WrestleMania 29 press conference brings WWE to Radio City Music Hall". WWE . Archived from the original on April 7, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2014. ... WWE's flagship event lights up MetLife Stadium ... WrestleMania
  2. ↑ Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160)
  3. ↑ "Las Vegas to host WWE's Money in the Bank in 2022". KSNV . August 22, 2021. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  4. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (July 27, 2022). "WWE Announces Dates And Location For WrestleMania 40". Fightful. Archived from the original on July 27, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  5. ↑ Ozanian, Mike (October 16, 2019). "The Forbes Fab 40: Puma Debuts On 2019 List Of The World's Most Valuable Sports Brands". Forbes . Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  6. ↑ Gelston, Dan (April 4, 2013). "WrestleMania is Super Bowl of sports entertainment". Associated Press . Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  7. ↑ Alba, Jon (February 13, 2025). "WWE WrestleMania 42 Reportedly Heading To Caesars Superdome In New Orleans". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  8. ↑ Renner, Ethan (February 21, 2025). "The Rock reveals WWE WrestleMania 42 dates and location". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  9. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (May 22, 2025). "WWE WrestleMania 42 No Longer Taking Place In New Orleans". Fightful. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  10. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (May 22, 2025). "Report: WrestleMania 42 To Be Held In Las Vegas". Fightful. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  11. ↑ Ucchino, Rick (May 23, 2025). "New Orleans No Longer Hosting WWE WrestleMania 42 According To Joint Statement". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  12. ↑ Konuwa, Alfred (June 7, 2025). "WWE Announces WrestleMania 42 For Las Vegas At WWE Money In The Bank". Forbes . Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  13. 1 2 "WrestleMania IV". WWE . Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  14. ↑ "WrestleMania V Facts/Stats". WWE . Archived from the original on March 31, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  15. ↑ WWE.com staff (August 14, 2025). "Two-day combo tickets for WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium on sale Wednesday, Sept. 24". WWE.com. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  16. ↑ WWE.com staff (November 17, 2025). "Individual event tickets for WrestleMania 42 at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium on sale now". WWE.com. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  17. ↑ Regis, Ralph (October 29, 2025). "Aerosmith's "Back In The Saddle" Is The First Official Theme Song For WWE 'WrestleMania 42'". Billboard Philippines . Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Where to Watch WWE Premium Live Events, Raw, SmackDown, NXT and more". WWE . Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  19. ↑ Sherman, Alex (August 6, 2025). "ESPN inks five-year deal for WWE's live premium events including WrestleMania, Royal Rumble". CNBC . Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  20. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (August 20, 2025). "WWE Wrestlepalooza Announced For September 20, Will Air On ESPN As WWE-ESPN Partnership Begins". Fightful. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  21. ↑ Rumsey, Connel (August 20, 2025). "WWE Clash In Paris To Be Final PLE Airing On Peacock". WrestleTalk. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  22. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE . Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  24. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  25. 1 2 Powell, Jason (January 31, 2026). "WWE Royal Rumble results: Powell's live review of the Royal Rumble matches, Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn for the WWE Championship, AJ Styles putting his career on the line against Gunther". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  26. 1 2 Powell, Jason (February 2, 2026). "WWE Raw results (2/2): Powell's live review of Royal Rumble winners Roman Reigns and Liv Morgan, Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez in a Philadelphia Street Fight for the Women's World Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net . Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  27. 1 2 3 Brennan, Corey (January 28, 2026). "Triple H Confirms Winners Of 2026 Elimination Chamber Matches Will Get World Title Matches At WrestleMania 42". Fightful. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  28. ↑ Russell, Skylar (February 2, 2026). "Roman Reigns Picks CM PUNK". WWE. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  29. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (January 31, 2026). "Liv Morgan Wins 2026 Women's Royal Rumble". Fightful. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
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