WWE has officially announced record-breaking business for WrestleMania 42 weekend, while new reporting from Front Office Sports has revealed the ESPN and ESPN2 simulcast numbers for both nights of the two-night event in Las Vegas.
According to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, WrestleMania Saturday drew 1.62 million viewers on ESPN2, while WrestleMania Sunday delivered 1.82 million viewers on ESPN. The one-hour countdown specials also posted solid numbers, with Saturday’s pre-show bringing in 676,000 viewers and Sunday’s countdown adding 750,000 viewers.
Glasspiegel noted that those figures only reflect the linear television audience and do not include viewers who streamed the full event on the ESPN Unlimited app, which carried both nights in their entirety. He pointed out that the biggest unknowns remain how many viewers watched on the app and how many new subscriptions WrestleMania generated for the platform.
Glasspiegel wrote that the ratings were strong “all things considered,” especially with WrestleMania going head-to-head with both the NBA Playoffs and NHL Playoffs. He also noted that Night 2 on ESPN marked WWE’s largest linear television audience since SmackDown left Fox in 2024.
In WWE’s official press release, issued on the morning of April 22, the company stated that WrestleMania Saturday was the most-watched telecast of the year on ESPN2, while WrestleMania Sunday ranked as the most-watched telecast of the entire weekend on ESPN.
WWE also announced a combined two-night attendance of 106,072 inside Allegiant Stadium, with tickets purchased from all 50 states and more than 69 countries. The company described WrestleMania 42 as one of the highest-grossing events in company history, citing record or near-record results in gate revenue, sponsorship, merchandise, WWE World, On Location VIP experiences, and digital performance.
The company highlighted the weekend’s marquee matches, including Roman Reigns defeating CM Punk to win the World Heavyweight Championship on Sunday, and Cody Rhodes retaining the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton on Saturday, despite early interference from Pat McAfee.
WrestleMania 42 also featured a record 32 marketing partners, according to WWE, including Snickers, 2K, Riyadh Season, Ram, DoorDash, Wingstop, Wheatley American Vodka, Minute Maid, The General Insurance, MUG Root Beer, and Chumba Casino.
On the digital side, WWE stated that WrestleMania 42 generated more than 1.3 billion social media views, which the company said was up 18 percent from the previous record set by WrestleMania 41.
WWE also touted major success for WWE World, its five-day fan experience presented with Fanatics, saying paid experience sales reached all-time highs. The event also included a dedicated lounge for fans who signed up for Club WWE, the company’s recently launched Gold membership experience.
The simulcast figures mark the first available ESPN ratings for WrestleMania under WWE’s new ESPN Unlimited agreement, which shifted WWE premium live events to the streaming platform while still allowing select linear simulcasts on ESPN and ESPN2.
