Of all the upcoming WWE events a city can acquire, WrestleMania is definitely the top prize. The week-long affair, which is the biggest wrestling show on Earth, can pull in loads of revenue. So, suffice it to say, it can get pretty competitive when cities place bids to get the opportunity to host. Most recently, it appeared that the location for WrestleMania 42 leaked. But let's step back for a moment, as there's reason to be skeptical about that assumption
WrestleMania 40 was big for Philadelphia and delivered two wild evenings of wrestling that people are still talking about. The city officials were thrilled to host the event and ,according to its governor, the WWE may be returning to the city for another Mania much sooner than anyone might've assumed.
Pennsylvania's Governor Claims WrestleMania 42 Is Heading To Philadelphia
Fightful reports that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was engaged in a Q&A on X and boasting about all of the big events planned for Philadelphia in the future. Shapiro posted and quickly took down a tweet, but not before others were able to transcribe it and share. Via the post, he apparently let it slip that WrestleMania is headed back to Philadelphia in the near future:
So get this, in Philly, we’ve got the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, we got the FIFA World Cup, we got WrestleMania, we got a little golf action, the PGA Championship and if you go over to Pittsburgh, we’ve got the NFL Draft and a lot more cool stuff happening all across Pennsylvania in the year 2026 for USA 250.
Given the drama of Cody Rhodes' challenging Roman Reigns for a rematch and going on to dethrone the longest-reigning modern wrestling champion in history, WrestleMania 40 will always be a big deal. It's exciting to think about another main event in Philly, where Roman Reigns potentially reclaims or even defends his title from Rhodes or maybe even continues his feud with his cousin Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. However, we shouldn't dub the "City of Brotherly Love" the location of W42 at this time.
Why WWE Fans In Philly Shouldn't Be Celebrating Just Yet
While Governor Josh Shapiro confidently made that declaration about WrestleMania, it's alleged that individuals inside the WWE are reportedly not on the same page. Per an update from PWInsider, those within the company were not aware of any internal discussions regarding the location for WrestleMania 42, let alone it returning to Pennsylvania. While the location apparently hasn't been ruled out as the ultimate destination for the 2026 show, it's said that a location is not set in stone.
Browsing through past WrestleManias with my Peacock Premium subscription, I can say that while it's uncommon, something like this has happened before. Many cities have hosted WrestleMania multiple times, and Florida recently hosted the big event in 2017, 2020 and 2021.
As of writing, it's known that the WWE has plans to host WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, and that Indianapolis has signed a deal with the WWE to host the event at some point in the next seven years. This news also arrived ahead of Bash In Berlin (be sure to check out our predictions), yet another international event that hints the WWE could one day move its biggest show overseas to give those outside the United States a chance to get in on the fun. With so many locations on the table, is the wrestling company really set on returning to Philadelphia so soon? Only time will tell.
For now, we'll have to wait for more updates and continue to watch what's coming up on the 2024 TV Schedule between all the wrestling content on TV. The start of fall season is imminent, so be sure to stay on top of everything that's on the way!
