Backstage Update on WrestleMania 42 No Longer Taking Place in New Orleans – Backstage Reaction & Rumored New International or Las Vegas Location

As noted before, next year’s WWE WrestleMania 42 event will no longer be taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In regards to a potential new location, PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that some within WWE currently believe that next year’s WrestleMania 42 event will be taking place in an international location.

NOLA.com reported that their sources stated that next year’s WrestleMania event will be taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada for the second year in a row. One source spoken to reportedly stated that WWE officials decided that they would rather hold next year’s event in Las Vegas and see what response they get from fans following the success of this past April’s WrestleMania 41 event in the city.

In regards to the backstage reaction within WWE, Fightful Select reported that their sources stated several staff members and talents were caught off guard by the news considering that the announcement for WrestleMania 41 came usually late last year. Several of those spoken to stated that this is among the latest the company has gone without revealing the official host city for a WrestleMania event in recent memory.

Several talents spoken to reportedly stated that the company typically manages all logistics for WrestleMania week and their focus has not yet shifted to next year’s event. Some of those spoken to stated that they had not given the change much thought and remain unaware of where next year’s event will now be taking place.

In regards to a potential reason for the location change, it was reported that WWE’s current leadership continues to show a willingness to delay announcements and pivot plans if it means a greater financial return for their events. This strategic reliability reportedly has become a hallmark of the current leadership regime.

It was reported that those spoken to outside of WWE had a more negative reaction towards the location change. Those spoken to stated that WrestleCon had already locked in a venue contract for New Orleans making this new change disruptive for them. It was also reported that it is currently not known if other indie promotions had signed similar deals but it is not uncommon for third-party wrestling events to begin planning a year in advance in anticipation of WrestleMania week for their companies.

It was also reported that one source spoken to also claimed that next year’s WrestleMania 42 event will now be taking place in an international location.