John Cena popped in for a surprise visit to WWE during Money in the Bank at the O2 Arena in London, England yesterday (Sat., July 1, 2023) and perhaps even more surprising than the fact that the company managed to keep his appearance under wraps was his stated reason for being there — to publicly lobby on behalf of the fans in attendance for London to get a future WrestleMania.
That’s the kind of thing you would think they would only do if they actually had plans to make it happen at some point down the line. Naturally, because he was there for the post-show press conference, the very first question Triple H was asked was about bringing WrestleMania to London.
About that:
“First of all, I’d like to say thank you to John Cena for putting me in an unenviable position right now where no matter what I say I’m going to get battered for it. Look, as I said earlier, I have been coming here since the early 90s. It’s spectacular. Some of my favorite events here ever, and the favorite things I did in my career have happened here, even sometimes without the benefit of television or it being broadcast anywhere else. … The crowd here, the people here, the reaction here is always off the charts.
“As far as WrestleMania goes, it’s tough. I wish it was that easy, I wish it was as easy as saying ‘it’s phenomenal there, let’s go.’ We’d be going to a lot of places. But I can say this: if you look at this year alone, 2023 alone, four of the last five Premium Live Events that we’ve done have been in international destinations. You can look back in the years prior to that — skip the Covid one but look into the years prior to that and it’s not really been a common occurrence. Montreal: sold out, record sales. Puerto Rico: sold out, record sales. Saudi: sold out, record sales. London, here: sold out, record sales. It bodes well for international. We are a global company. We intend to be a global company. We intend to be global.
“So, never say never for any of it. The intent is there. It’s a lot more difficult than it appears but the intent is there. And if there’s a way to get a lot of these international events done we’re hell bent on doing them.”
We know WrestleMania 40 will take place on April 6-7, 2024 in Philadelphia. Beyond that, it’s unclear. There have been reports that Minneapolis is a finalist for WrestleMania 41 in 2025 but nothing has been made official just yet.
We’ll have to wait and see, and no announcement should be expected anytime soon. That’s why it makes all the sense in the world for Triple H to temper expectations after just dropping the big tease.
Still, stay tuned.
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