WWE.com
Following the surprise news that John Cena will serve as the host of WrestleMania 42, there’s now somewhat of an update on WWE’s school of thought for this one.
For those who missed it, yesterday saw Big Match John break the news that he’ll be hosting ‘Mania 42 across the weekend of April 18 and 19. Of course, Cena retired from the ring in December, tapping out to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event in the final match of the 17-time World Champion’s legendary career.
As for why the call was made to have John Cena host WrestleMania 42, Fightful Select reports, per a WWE source, that this decision was made simply as a way to boost ticket sales, with Cena’s appearance expected to be promoted heavily on TV.
This is seemingly the latest tactic from WWE to push those WrestleMania ticket sales, with the company previously banning WrestleMania 42 watch parties in the Las Vegas area, and running various ticket offers, such as offering 31.6% discount to mark 3:16 day, as they attempt to match last year’s attendance numbers for the Showcase of the Immortals. That ban on watch parties has since been scrapped.
WrestleMania 42 takes place from the same Allegiant Stadium setting as WrestleMania 41, with last year’s event bringing in an attendance of just shy of 119,000 across its two days. As of this past weekend, WrestleMania 42 had sold approximately 40,000 tickets for Night 1 and roughly 41,000 for Night 2.
At present, the cheapest available WrestleMania 42 tickets start around the $200 per day mark, not including fees, as many long-time fans continue to feel priced out by WWE.
Posted On:
31st Mar 2026
Andrew Pollard
Senior Writer
Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he’s been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world’s longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom’s Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson – and that’s just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.
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