John Cena advocated for WrestleMania in London back in July 2023. It's been almost three years since then, and there's still no major advancement on that front.
In fact, a new story published by Post Wrestling has further diminished the hopes of WWE taking its granddaddy to the capital city of the UK in 2028.
The aforementioned outlet received an official statement from the office of the mayor of London. It was noted that there are general discussions with WWE, but no WrestleMania-specific talks are ongoing that are intended to secure London as a future host of the biggest wrestling spectacle of the year.
Last year in June, Mr. Khan told CNBC that he'd love for WrestleMania to come to London. He explicitly delivered that message to WWE CCO Triple H while touting the city as the sporting capital of the world. The mayor promised a carnival-like experience if Mania were to come to London.
WWE president Nick Khan and Triple H met the mayor of London in July 2024 to expand on their ambitious project of presenting an edition of WrestleMania from there. Almost a couple of years removed, there seems to be a stalemate between the concerned parties about reaching a consensus.
The biggest hurdle includes the unwillingness of local authorities to pony up the hefty site fees demanded by WWE for hosting a major event anywhere these days, let alone overseas. Take, for instance, the Stamford-based promotion that received a $6 million site fee for hosting this year's WrestleMania in Las Vegas. It was a million dollars more than its predecessor in 2025.
WWE received an additional $4,314,821 tax credit for WrestleMania 42 on top of the site fee as part of the financial incentive packages, a term often used in financial earnings calls by TKO executives. The numbers are only expected to grow manifold in the years to come, and London's stance on paying WWE for such endeavors hasn't changed.
The capital of the UK has been consequently toppled in the race of being a potential WrestleMania host by Ireland. Corey Brennan of Fightful reported that it's being considered a long-term project. It could be achieved if the government there views its country as a global sporting hub.
After doing repeat business in Las Vegas, WWE is finally set to move out of the US for WrestleMania in 2027. They're headed to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, which will mark the overseas debut of WWE's version of the Super Bowl. There's already a ton of speculation around The Rock potentially working the show given how strongly the local authorities are expected to offer him the biggest wrestling payday in history.
Should it happen, WWE may finally do the long-delayed showdown of 'The Final Boss' with his cousin, Roman Reigns. Although WWE has yet to announce a location for WrestleMania 44, a recent report suggested that the city of Nashville has submitted a $3.5 million bid along with tax breaks for securing the Show of Shows in 2026.
Should it materialize, the brand-new Nissan Stadium targeted for a 2027 opening would serve as the venue. Also, after having WrestleMania 42 stripped out of their city, New Orleans is also expected to land a future WrestleMania, with the WWE retaining interest in that market. It could unfortunately mean that the dream of WrestleMania in London is moribund for the current decade.
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