WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash Blames U.S. Political Climate for Smaller International Crowd at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas

WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash reported a noticeable decline in international fan attendance at WrestleMania 42 weekend events in Las Vegas, citing the current U.S. Political climate as a contributing factor.

Nash made the observations during his appearance on the Kliq This podcast, where he described working WrestleCon signings across multiple days during the WrestleMania 42 weekend. He noted that the absence of international accents in the crowds was immediately apparent from the first day of the event.

“My first day, Thursday, I don’t hear a British, Scottish, Irish, Australian — I don’t hear anybody’s f**king accent except Americans,” Nash said on the podcast. He contrasted this with previous years when fans from various countries regularly attended WrestleMania weekend festivities.

Nash attributed the decline to ongoing concerns about U.S. Immigration and travel policies, stating that international fans are reluctant to navigate customs and ICE procedures. “Nobody in the world, including wrestling fans, is going to f**king come to our country and go through our customs and ICE and bullsh*t, and we’re not exactly the darlings on Earth right now,” he said.

The WWE Hall of Famer observed that the reduced international presence was evident at his WrestleCon signing table, where he experienced shorter lines throughout his scheduled sessions. Unlike past years when long queues formed, Nash reported being able to spend more individual time with fans due to lighter attendance.

“Most times that I’ve signed during the four hours, it wasn’t because I didn’t have people in front of me — I just didn’t have a line of people in front of me,” Nash explained. “I could take my time. I could look and say, ‘All right, I got six people. I can spend a minute and a half or two minutes.’”

Nash compared the atmosphere to the period immediately following the lifting of COVID-19 travel restrictions, though he noted the current situation was not as severe. “It wasn’t as bad as the year after COVID, but it kind of had a little bit of that feel,” he said.

He also highlighted growing competition between WrestleCon and WWE World, the company’s expanded fan convention that replaced Fan Axxess, for the same WrestleMania weekend audience in Las Vegas.

The observations were made during WrestleMania 42 weekend, which took place in Las Vegas in April 2026, as confirmed by the discovery date of the original reporting on April 21, 2026.