WWE makes major change for upcoming WrestleMania week

WWE has made a major change to WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia next year.

WrestleMania is the promotion's biggest show of the year, and fans from all over the world fly in to experience the spectacle live. NXT Stand & Deliver 2024 will also be taking place ahead of Night 1 of WrestleMania 40. The promotion continues to grow, and they have made a change during WrestleMania week next year to welcome even more fans to Philadelphia.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via WrestleTalk), the promotion has elected not to use a stage for the episodes of SmackDown and RAW during WrestleMania weekend at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Meltzer noted that the idea behind the move is that the promotion is hot at the moment, and they will be able to sell more tickets while saving money on arena costs. According to WrestleTix, the additional seats mean that 18,000 fans will now be able to attend the events at the Wells Fargo Center during WrestleMania weekend.

WWE RAW star Rhea Ripley on her WrestleMania 40 opponent

The Judgment Day's Rhea Ripley recently explained why she doesn't care who she faces at WWE WrestleMania 40.

Ripley has been dominant thus far as Women's World Champion, and there doesn't appear to be an end to her title reign in sight. She is scheduled to put the title on the line against Zoey Stark at WWE Survivor Series on November 25. Stark recently disclosed that defeating The Eradicator at the premium live event would mean the world to her.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta, the 27-year-old revealed why she isn't worried about who she faces at WWE WrestleMania 40. The Australian star claimed that whoever faces her at the biggest show of the year is destined to lose.

"I'm not sure who's gonna win it," Ripley said. "To be honest, I don't really care who's gonna win it because if they make the dumb decision of facing me, they just wasted their WrestleMania title shot. They threw it in the bin because they're gonna lose. You know why? Mami's always on top at the end of the day. Mami's a winner. Mami holds the gold for a reason. If they choose me at WrestleMania, they're destined to lose. That's it, I don't care who it is." [7:33 – 8:10]

You can check out the full interview in the video below:

Earlier this year at WrestleMania 39, Cody Rhodes lost his opportunity at the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship after Solo Sikoa interfered in his match against Roman Reigns. It will be interesting to see if The American Nightmare will get the chance to finish his story next year at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.

Who do you think should be in the main event of WWE WrestleMania 40? Sound off in the comments section below.