Louisiana Probably Isn’t Getting Their Stolen Wrestlemania Back

Everyone got excited in February when one of the biggest names in professional wrestling returned to the ring to announce that Wrestlemania was coming back to Louisiana. In February, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson entered the ring on WWE Smackdown to announce that Wrestlemania would be returning to New Orleans.

He was excited, fans were excited, and the officials in Louisiana that worked to make this happen were excited.

New Orleans No Longer Hosting WWE's WrestleMania 42

After The Rock's announcement, officials in the state, city, and from WWE all confirmed that Wrestlemania 42 would be coming to the Superdome in New Orleans in April of 2026. This was going to be the third time New Orleans was going to host Wrestlemania, but the first time since WWE turned the event into a 2-night show.

When New Orleans had previously hosted Wrestlemania, in 2014 and 2018, the event took place on a Sunday night. But during the pandemic, WWE turned Wrestlemania into a Saturday and Sunday night event. After 2020, they maintained the 2-night model moving forward.

So having two nights of Wrestlemania for Louisiana sounded like a great idea. The amount of economic impact the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana would experience would have been a big boost.

WWE Strips New Orleans Of Wrestlemania 42

Then the bottom dropped out for Louisiana. Suddenly reports started surfacing in late May that said WWE would be pulling Wrestlemania out of New Orleans.

Initially, a lot of people didn't believe the reports. In the world of professional wrestling, there are a lot of false reports that come out in their news sphere. But this one was actually followed up by reporting from officials inside Louisiana that corroborate the story.

New Orleans, and Louisiana, were losing Wrestlemania.

So Who Took Louisiana's Wrestlemania?

WWE eventually announced that Wrestlemania 42, originally announced for New Orleans, would be returning to the same location as Wrestlemania 41, Las Vegas. For the first time ever, WWE was going to have their version of the Super Bowl in the same place for two straight years.

READ MORE: Hulk Hogan's Biggest Moments In Louisiana

In the wake of the announcements, The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, the local officials that help secure major events for the city, said that WWE would be providing the city with a Money In The Bank live event. They mentioned that WWE's parent company, TKO, was also putting UFC 318 in New Orleans as part of the change, but that UFC event had been announced a month prior to the Wrestlemania cancelation.

The only silver lining that officials included was that New Orleans would have a "future Wrestlemania" event. Asserting it was a postponement and not an outright cancelation.

But Now Wrestlemania 43 Won't Be Heading To New Orleans Either

The big news coming out this week is that Wrestlemania 43, set for 2027, will be going to Saudi Arabia. An announcement was reportedly made by the Saudi government confirming their hosting of the event.

That would mean that Vegas is getting New Orleans' Wrestlemania is 2026, and New Orleans won't get it back in 2027 either.

Other Cities Fighting For Their Wrestlemania

This would also add some new contenders to the "WWE Owes Us A Wrestlemania Club", because in 2023, Tennessee Titans President Burke Nihill announced that WWE had confirmed Wrestlemania was coming to the Titans' new stadium, which would be completed in 2027. But that's not happening now, because Saudi is getting that Mania.

The city of Indianapolis is also on the clock for a Wrestlemania. WWE signed an 8-year agreement with the city, that includes a Wrestlemania weekend, in 2025. Which means 2 of those prospective years are already gone. So after 2027, you will have Nashville, Indianapolis, and New Orleans all on the hook for the event, and a ticking clock for at least one of them that has to happen before 2033.

Since London has been a hot-and-heavy target for a Wrestlemania, with multiple teases taking place on WWE TV over the last few years, there's another contender mixed in.