The Rock’s WrestleMania 42 promise under fire as WWE veteran exposes possible big money plans (Exclusive)

Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recently spoke about The Rock's announcement of WrestleMania 42 in New Orleans. The announcement has come under the scanner after WWE seemingly pulled the event away from the city.

On the February 21 episode of SmackDown, The Final Boss announced that New Orleans would play host to WrestleMania next year. However, recent reports suggest that the Show of Shows will emanate from Las Vegas next year, with New Orleans getting the hosting rights for Money in the Bank 2026.

On a recent episode of Writing with Russo, the wrestling veteran explained that big deals like these always have some loopholes, and WWE possibly exploited them. He noted that The Rock would not have announced it if WrestleMania 42 in New Orleans was not a done deal. However, Russo felt that higher-ups in the company got a stellar offer from management in Las Vegas to keep the grand event in the city.

"In business, there's a loophole in every deal, bro. I guarantee you that New Orleans deal was signed, sealed, and delivered. You're not gonna send The Rock out there. This was a done deal. I don't know if Vegas came back with a cr*pload of money and they had to figure out a way to get out of the deal. But I always tell you, man, when there's that kind of money involved, there's always a loophole to get out of a deal." [From 6:00 onwards]

The Rock hasn't come out with a public statement on the change. However, this recent event, coupled with his no-show at WrestleMania 41, spells bad press for the Hollywood star. It will be interesting to see how he responds to this issue in the coming months.

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About the author

Prityush is a WWE news writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling who started watching wrestling in the later part of The Attitude Era. Although he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Prityush was a creative writer for his college, and his flair for creativity and love of pro wrestling eventually led him to the journalism field. After an initial stint in 2016-2017, he has been writing regularly for Sportskeeda since 2021.

As someone who loves and respects the business, he prides himself on factual, clean, and ethical reporting, free of plagiarism and AI usage. One of the ways he ensures this is by transcribing videos that he reports on.

Prityush had the privilege of interviewing superstar Matt Hardy in his career so far. Although, his favorite wrestler is CM Punk, as he relates to his Straight Edge philosophy.

When he is not reporting news, he loves reading and collecting WWE action figures. He currently owns over 500 wrestling figures and merchandise.

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Edited by Prityush Haldar