Report: WWE Changing WrestleMania 40 Start Time

WWE is officially on the road to WrestleMania. This past January, WWE Royal Rumble kicked off the annual journey to WWE’s biggest show of the year, cementing that Bayley and Cody Rhodes will be involved in championship matches at WWE WrestleMania 40. Bayley is expected to challenge WWE Women’s Champion and current stablemate IYO SKY while all signs point to Rhodes renewing his rivalry with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. WWE WrestleMania 40 will continue the two-night tradition that WWE first set back in 2020, extending the Showcase of the Immortals over a full weekend. Each night is expected anywhere between 6-8 matches.

WWE Shifts WrestleMania 40 Start Time

WWE continues to reshape WrestleMania into a more digestible show.

According to @WrestleVotes, WWE will now begin WrestleMania 40‘s main card at 7 PM ET on both Night 1 (April 6th) and Night 2 (April 7th). The WWE WrestleMania 40 kickoff show is expected to begin around 5 PM ET.

As pointed out by fans on social media, this change is especially friendly towards international audiences. Big wrestling markets like the United Kingdom and Germany will still see the WWE WrestleMania 40 main card begin at 12 AM GMT and 1 AM CET, respectively, but the slight pivot for all-around shorter individual evenings is easier to grasp.

WWE has began WrestleMania at 7 PM ET in the past, as recently as WWE WrestleMania 35 in 2019. That show was the final one-night ‘Mania to date and was criticized for its astronomical runtime of five hours and 24 minutes. If the pre-show is included, WWE WrestleMania 35 ran for over seven consecutive hours.

There is no word on if this earlier start time means WWE is planning each night of WWE WrestleMania 40 to be shorter or if it is to accommodate an overrun. Premium live events in the Triple H era have typically lasted just about three hours. If WWE WrestleMania 40 follows that pattern and ends each night at 10 PM ET, it will be the earliest WrestleMania has ever gone off the air in decades.

WWE WrestleMania 40 goes down on April 6th and April 7th at 7 PM ET each night and will stream live on Peacock.