WWE Announces 'Roast Of WrestleMania' After Event Ends

Controversial comedian Tony Hinchcliffe to host post-Mania roast along with several superstars.

by Scott Carlson

WWE will break new ground during WrestleMania 41 weekend when they hold "The Roast of WrestleMania," headlined by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and featuring several superstars who will join him at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Sunday, April 20.

The company announced the show this week, with a presale beginning Wednesday and tickets for the general public going on sale on Friday. The closed-door, non-televised roast will begin at 10pm PT, presumably well after the second night of WrestleMania has concluded and either Cody Rhodes has retained the Undisputed WWE Championship or John Cena has captured his elusive 17th world championship.

From WWE:

WWE in partnership with Fontainebleau Las Vegas – the Official Host Hotel of WrestleMania 41 and the newest luxury hotel to debut on the Strip – today announced that The Roast of WrestleMania Featuring Tony Hinchcliffe & Friends will take place at the state-of-the-art BleauLive Theater on Sunday, April 20 at 10pm PT as part of WrestleMania week.
Hinchcliffe, the internationally renowned comedian, one of the top roasters in the world and the mastermind behind Kill Tony, will bring together top comics and entertainers for an unforgettable night of laughs and huge surprises. Set to join Hinchcliffe are WWE Superstars Sami Zayn, The Miz, Braun Strowman and Paul Heyman, and more.

It's not clear what role Zayn, Miz and the other superstars will have during the show, but Sami has performed comedy routines in recent years, and Heyman certainly could perform a roast-style set with ease.

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A Potential For Controversy

Hinchcliffe is a lightning rod for criticism; WWE's announcement already has sparked some backlash online. The host of the podcast "Kill Tony" who very recently landed a Netflix deal for three comedy specials, Hinchcliffe is not unlike many comedians who cause controversy with their routines.

In October 2024, less than two weeks before the U.S. presidential election, Hinchcliffe performed during then-candidate Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden. During his routine, Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as "a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean," which led to swift condemnation across political ideologies.

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Perhaps the most notable -- and relevant to the upcoming roast -- criticism came from occasional WWE celebrity performer Bad Bunny. A Puerto Rico native, Bunny posted an eight-minute video on his Instagram celebrating the island's history, achievements and influence, punctuated with the caption simply reading, "garbage."

Given the roast aspect of the event and some of the less savory aspects of the professional wrestling industry -- and WWE's own sordid history with figures such as Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan and Chris Benoit -- it will be interesting to see how this show pans out. Will Hinchcliffe steer clear of these landmines and stick to more contemporary material from WrestleMania 41 (as the roast is billed), or will he stray into the more controversial items associated with WWE?

Since the roast is a closed event that will not be televised, everyone will have to rely on reports from attendees.

 
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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.