TKO President Mark Shapiro has addressed WWE’s decision to hold back-to-back WrestleManias in Las Vegas.
Following WrestleMania 41 in the Nevada city, it appeared that the 2026 event was set to return to New Orleans. Along with The Rock appearing live on SmackDown to make the announcement, the date and graphics for the show were confirmed shortly afterwards.
However, later in the year, the company made the decision to move away from New Orleans and back to Las Vegas. Reportedly, the reason for the change was because the company could make more money staying in Nevada as opposed to hosting the show in the Louisiana city.
When all was said and done, WWE were unable to sell as many tickets for the 2026 event compared to the year prior. Additionally, the event generated negative headlines when stars had security issues, resulting in them being swarmed by fans.
Speaking with Brian Sozzi of Yahoo! Finance, Shapiro noted that he may have made a mistake on returning to the city, citing a previous conversation with WWE President Nick Khan:
“Maybe it’s a mistake I made, because Vegas was so huge last year and such a winner for our fans and the product that I said to Nick Khan, ‘We’ve gotta go back to Vegas next year. We have to move New Orleans down the road and we got to come back to Vegas.’”
Mark Shapiro Has “No Regrets” On Las Vegas Decision
Despite the decision not being universally received, Shaprio noted that he had no regrets on returning to the city:
“Absolutely no regrets on going back [to Vegas],” he said, “but the only reason you’re hearing some of the, ‘Hey it’s not what it was last year,’ it’s because we’re not benefiting from the first mover experience.”
The interview with Shaprio was conducted before WrestleMania 42, but released on May 18.
Featured image: WWE
