WrestleMania has been held either on the first or second weekend in April for most of the last two decades, with only an occasional foray into the last weekend of March. That could be changing as soon as next year for WrestleMania 41.
One of the big pieces of news expected during WrestleMania 40 week earlier this month was the date and location of next year’s event. Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field was announced as the venue nearly two years ahead of the event, so to go this long without a reveal for 2025 ranks as a genuine surprise.
The big difference, however, is that this is the first time WWE is arranging a WrestleMania site in the TKO era. And there are signs that some things are changing.
WWE president Nick Khan says the date for WrestleMania 41 might change because the company would prefer not going head to head with the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. Night 1 of WrestleMania 40 took place at the exact same time as this year’s semifinals, a conflict that’s been an issue ever since WWE’s biggest event expanded to two nights.
Via Arash Markazi of The Sporting Tribune and ESPN 1090:
WWE president Nick Khan wasn’t ready to announce the location of WrestleMania in 2025 just yet but he said you can assume it won’t be in an outdoor East coast stadium again and it won’t go head-to-head with the Final Four again. Las Vegas is one of the cities under consideration.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) April 17, 2024
Moving one weekend forward seems like the easiest solution. The 2025 Final Four takes place on April 5 and 7, so WrestleMania 41 could settle in on April 12-13. Several sports reporters noted that those dates would put it up against the last two rounds of The Masters golf tournament, though that would be more of a corporate hospitality issue than anything else since golf rounds are generally complete before WrestleMania cards are starting up.
The following weekend would also be possible though would run into NBA and NHL playoff games, while moving back into March puts it smack up against the earlier rounds of the college basketball tournaments.
It may all come down to which sports competition bothers WWE the least, but the takeaway here is that TKO isn’t married to the traditional date for WrestleMania, making the upcoming announcement, whenever it takes place, that much more intriguing.
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