Pennsylvania Governor’s Office Issues Apology Over Incorrect Statement of WrestleMania Returning to Philadelphia in 2026

In an official statement to Post Wrestling’s John Pollock and other media outlets, spokesman Manuel Bonder stated that an earlier statement from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro about WWE bringing back WrestleMania to Philadelphia in 2026 was incorrect.

“This statement was mistaken, and we apologize for the confusion amid all the incredible events Pennsylvania is excited to host in 2026. 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.”

This confusion originated over a now deleted video posted by Shapiro earlier today on Twitter that featured him discussing the upcoming major events taking place in the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in 2026. Among the notable events mentioned included the MLB All Star Game, the NFL Draft, and WWE WrestleMania 42.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources within WWE stated that they were surprised by Shaprio’s comments due to this was not something that had been discussed internally within the company.

Johnson reported that one high level source within WWE who would be involved in the planning for WrestleMania locations stated that WWE officials have not locked in the location for their event in 2026 as of Saturday.

Johnson also reported that several people within WWE spoken to stated that they had wondered if Shapiro had just meant to reference WWE as a whole and not WrestleMania itself and incorrectly spoke. Those same people reportedly stated that this was something that they were unsure of if that was indeed the case.