Add as a preferred source on Google TKO is not concerned about WWE WrestleMania 42’s attendance drop, even after the event drew a smaller crowd than the previous year.
During TKO’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call, company president Mark Shapiro said it was unrealistic to expect growth in the second straight year of WrestleMania at Allegiant Stadium. According to Shapiro, even with the decline, the event remained one of the biggest gates in WWE history and performed better than it would have in any other city.
“Let me say that we are not concerned about the ticket performance whatsoever, as it was unrealistic to expect year 2 growth in Las Vegas. Even with that, WrestleMania 42 was still one of the highest gates in WWE history and easily outperformed anywhere else we could have staged it,” said Shapiro.
“As it relates to the creative, there will always be periodic fan dissatisfaction around creative execution, commercial load, and celebrity usage. We listen to all the feedback. We do not turn a deaf ear, but these are not new criticisms.”
The gap was significant. WrestleMania 41 drew 124,693 fans across two nights, while WrestleMania 42 brought 106,072 people to the same stadium, a total drop of 18,621 tickets.
Even so, WWE treated the event as a major commercial success. The company pointed to records or near-record marks in sponsorships, merchandise, VIP experiences, WWE World, and digital performance. WrestleMania 42 also featured 32 commercial partners and generated more than 1.3 billion social media views, which was 18% higher than the previous year’s record.
It is worth noting that Nick Khan had already accepted internal responsibility for bringing WrestleMania back to Las Vegas in consecutive years. He acknowledged that WWE likely will not repeat that model, despite still considering the event a success.