Why WWE Moved NXT Stand & Deliver 2026 Off WrestleMania 42 Weekend

A major WWE NXT event has taken place during WWE WrestleMania weekend, with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, since 2015, but that won't be the case in 2026.

WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels has announced that Stand & Deliver won't be taking place over WrestleMania 42 weekend and will instead air from The Factory in St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, April 4. This is two weeks before WrestleMania 42 is held in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.

PWInsider has reported that WWE decided to move Stand & Deliver away from WrestleMania weekend for 2026 due to the timing of holding the show on the West Coast of the United States in recent years when WrestleMania 40 emanated from Los Angeles and WrestleMania 41 took place in Las Vegas. 2025's Stand & Deliver from Sin City had a call time for NXT wrestlers of 5 am PT, something which reportedly left the talents filled with dread ahead of the event. The main card then got underway at 10 am PT.

PWInsider further noted that the feeling within WWE was that Stand & Deliver would have a stronger chance of standing alone and not being lost in the shuffle of other WWE events taking place over WrestleMania weekend if it moved. The switch also frees up WWE's production team and prevents them from having to produce three shows within a 24-hour period in SmackDown, the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, and NXT Stand & Deliver right before night one of WrestleMania 42.

The switch away from WrestleMania weekend for Stand & Deliver may not be a permanent change, with it being noted that WWE will make the call on an NXT event over WrestleMania weekend on a year-by-year basis.