Matt Hardy On WWE WrestleMania 42 Ticket Slowdown: 'It's A Tough Sell'

With WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 now in the rear-view mirror, all eyes turn to WrestleMania 42 on April 18 and 19. However, WWE's biggest show of the year hasn't exactly got the buzz that its had in recent years, with ticket sales struggling despite numerous sales and discounts taking place in recent weeks. Current TNA star Matt Hardy assessed the situation on his "Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" podcast, where he believes that running the exact same venue two years in row as played a part in the poor sales.

"It's a tough sell," Hardy said. "I mean [Las] Vegas was so good last year and you know, they did these record numbers and then I guess they bid for them to come back right? But it's tough to go into the market two years back-to-back, and you know that those tickets are pricy...Still economically, especially since the pandemic, it's kind of been a roller coaster ride for everyone. It's hard to justify spending that much money on tickets for entertainment that isn't something that you have to have in your every single day life to survive and live and be okay." Hardy stated that WWE probably feels confident in producing another successful WrestleMania, and people will only be able to tell if running Las Vegas for two straight years was the right move once the event has concluded.

As for what is the issue that is causing these low ticket sales for WrestleMania 42, Hardy believes that while the company itself is still hot as they are putting a lot of people in a lot of buildings, there isn't that one standout draw that WWE has had for the past few years. "I still think WWE does have a lot of buzz overall. I feel like just how they've diversified themselves over platforms, Netflix, whatnot, I mean I feel like WWE still feels bigger than ever. But with that being said, I also feel like they don't have a white hot character, they don't have a white hot story right now, and I feel like that is the thing you need. That is what drives those great ticket sales."

Hardy rounded off by saying that the Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk feud is the closest thing WWE has to a hot story given their initial promo after the Royal Rumble. However, Reigns missed the entire build up to Elimination Chamber which has already stunted the story's growth.

Please credit "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.