In a twist more surprising than a surprise roll-up victory, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro found himself in the middle of a wrestling-sized oopsie when he mistakenly announced that WWE WrestleMania would be returning to Philadelphia in 2026. This announcement left wrestling fans doing a double-take faster than The Rock delivering a Rock Bottom.
Governor Shapiro’s enthusiasm was evident when he took to social media to hype up Pennsylvania’s upcoming major sporting events. In a now-deleted post, he listed the likes of the MLB All-Star Game, the FIFA World Cup, the PGA Championship, and—wait for it—WrestleMania! The Governor painted a picture of a sports lover’s paradise in the Keystone State, capping off his list with the mother of all wrestling events.
“So get this,” Shapiro wrote, clearly caught up in the moment. “In Philly, we’ve got the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, we got the FIFA World Cup, we got WrestleMania… the PGA Championship, and if you go over to Pittsburgh, we’ve got the NFL Draft and a lot more cool stuff happening all across Pennsylvania in the year 2026 for USA 250.”
There was just one small problem: WWE hadn’t actually booked WrestleMania for Philly in 2026. In fact, the location for that year’s ‘Mania remains a mystery, with fans speculating everything from Las Vegas to London. As it turns out, WrestleMania’s surprise inclusion on Shapiro’s list was, well, a bit premature.
Quick on the draw, the Governor’s office issued a statement clarifying the mix-up. “This statement was mistaken, and we apologize for the confusion amid all the incredible events Pennsylvania is excited to host in 2026,” said spokesperson Manuel Bonder. “While WrestleMania won’t be here in ’26, we look forward to continuing to work with WWE and wrestling fans all across our Commonwealth to bring more great events to PA in the future.”
According to reports from Fightful Select, WWE sources were just as surprised as the fans. Apparently, while WWE is always in talks about potential locations for their flagship event, there was nothing close to being confirmed for 2026 at the time of the Governor’s overzealous announcement.
So, while Philadelphia won’t be hosting WrestleMania 42 just yet, Pennsylvania is still set for a blockbuster year in 2026. As for WrestleMania, fans will have to stay tuned to see where the grandest stage of them all will set up shop. In the meantime, maybe someone should remind Governor Shapiro to stick to the script—or at least wait for the official press release.