8 Ways TKO Has RUINED WWE

7. The WrestleMania Change To Vegas

Triple H WWE Money In The Bank 2026 New Orleans
WWE

Alex Warren's "You Can't Stop This" became the first song attached to WrestleMania 42 when WWE dropped the maiden promo video for the show in May 2025, and the title felt like yet another slap in the face to those excited about where the show was originally supposed to emanate from.

Back in February, The Rock (more on him later) had turned up for a New Orleans edition of SmackDown to announce that WrestleMania would be returning to the city for the first time in nearly a decade. The Superdome had been home to the 'Show Of Shows' in 2014 and 2018, and was - per multiple reports - a dream host city for the show. A great, modern venue coupled with the 24-hour party atmosphere for those making their annual pilgrimage; there were lots of comparisons to the vibe curated in Las Vegas for WrestleMania 41. The graphic drop made it official - NOLA was set to three-peat as a 'Grandest Stage' city. Then, Vegas got in there and did it first.

You Can't Stop This.

WrestleMania is an arms race for major cities now, based primarily on the very simple economics attached to the 'Grandaddy Of Them All'. It costs money to get it but makes more when it arrives, and as the company's strongest IP has proven to be perhaps WWE's greatest ever promotional tool. But never had the show been announced - dates, locations, branding and all - only to be uprooted for cold hard cash several months later. Even when the pandemic forced the company's hand in 2020, the planned location of Raymond James Stadium was booked in for the following year when some order in the world had been restored.

Triple H meekly appeared on a May edition of SmackDown to confirm that New Orleans would be getting Money In The Bank instead, without confirming how or why the change had occurred. He didn't need to - the answer was cold hard cash for TKO, and it's threatened to kill a town as a result.

Sound familiar?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett