With criticisms about Las Vegas suburb Paradise replacing New Orleans as the site of WrestleMania 42 and Riyadh hosting WrestleMania 43, WWE should look back at the past for a solution – specifically WrestleMania 2.
WrestleMania 2 took place on Monday, April 7, 1986, from three separate cities across three time zones: Uniondale, New York, Rosemont, Illinois and Los Angeles, California. Four matches took place in each city. The then-WWF used satellite technology of the era to tie everything together for the broadcast.
Unfortunately, the crowd at each arena only witnessed one hour of live action and had to watch two hours of the event on large screens emanating from the other two venues. In other words, attending fans paid to watch 4 matches live and 8 matches on the big screens, no matter the location.
However, that was 198,6 and WrestleMania is now a two-day event with no shortage of cities vying to host “The Showcase of the Immortals.” Therefore, why not hold Night 1 in a different city, or even a different country, than Night 2 for a future Mania?
For example, Riyadh hosts WrestleMania 43 Night 1, and a city in North America, such as New Orleans or Toronto, could be the site of Night 2.
Also, holding a future WrestleMania in the United Kingdom is essentially a sellout. Look no further than previous AEW All In events held at Wembley Stadium and WWE European tours.
WWE NXT Europe will become a reality soon, which equates to two potential NXT Stand & Deliver events if Europe were to host one of the Mania nights, while somewhere in the States hosts the other night in the proposed multi-country scenario.
Independent wrestling groups in both locations would also see a boon in business. The Fed could essentially double the number of auxiliary events, such as holding two WWE World at WrestleMania fan conventions, still known to many as WrestleMania Axxess, by running Mania in two separate countries.
Some may think two different locations for Mania is an unnecessary cash grab, but audiences have seemingly adapted to Mania being a two-night event.
WWE generated $556.2 million USD in total revenue during the second quarter of 2025, which was driven by the success of WrestleMania 41 despite ticket prices having quite the sticker shock. Tickets to Mania cost well above what multi-day passes for Walt Disney World do.
WWE also risks pricing out fans in North America, especially with the current U.S. economic outlook. Plus, everything is more expensive in Vegas because the house always wins. Travelling to the Middle East from North America is also far from cheap, and the political climate has many thinking twice before visiting the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Granted, there would be logistical and technical issues with having two sets and crews; however, there is a precedent beyond WrestleMania 2. Both Starrcade ’85: The Gathering and Starrcade ’86: Night of the Skywalkers originated from two locations: Greensboro, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia.
WWE also used to run multiple house shows on the same date in different cities with separate rosters and crews. ESPN is no stranger to broadcasting multiple sporting events on the same day and night from separate cities and countries, either.
Figuring out which locations would host Raw, SmackDown and the Hall of Fame ceremony would take some thoughtful consideration. Coordination would be quite the endeavor – no pun intended. Realistically, I think Endeavor could pull off such a feat.
Unlike forty years ago during WrestleMania 2, attending and non-attending fans would be able to stream and watch both nights more readily than ever before. WrestleMania 2’s tagline, “What the World is Coming To”, would finally be realised.
