Pat McAfee’s much-hyped “massive surprise” on the April 10 episode of WWE SmackDown turned out to be a 25 percent discount on tickets for WrestleMania 42 Night One.
The promotion is centered around Saturday’s show, which will be headlined by Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defending his title against Randy Orton, with McAfee set to be in Orton’s corner.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, the discount has had an immediate impact on ticket sales. WrestleMania Saturday moved 1,265 tickets following the announcement, bringing the total sold for Night One to 40,610.
However, WrestleMania Sunday has still outperformed Night One during the same timeframe. Night Two reportedly sold 1,452 tickets — without any comparable promotional push — increasing its total to 42,769. This came despite McAfee encouraging fans not to attend Sunday’s show during his SmackDown segment.
Additional discount offers remain available for both nights, with promo codes such as “CAESARS” and “REBELS” lowering single-day ticket prices to $153.95. Two-day combo tickets are also being offered at $307.85 using the same codes.
Ticket sales have become a notable talking point heading into WrestleMania 42. Reports indicate that overall sales are down approximately 19 percent compared to WrestleMania 41 as of April 10.
Pricing has been a consistent source of criticism in recent months, with fans and even WWE talent voicing concerns. Since the WWE-UFC merger in September 2023, ticket prices have reportedly doubled. CM Punk also addressed the issue during his recent Raw promo, calling on WWE to make events more accessible by lowering prices.
WrestleMania 42 is set to take place on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, marking the second consecutive year the event will be held at the venue.
