WWE WrestleMania is a professional wrestling event that is held annually by WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). As some WWE Wrestlers have put it, WWE WrestleMania is the Superbowl of the wrestling business. For WWE Superstars, it is considered the highest honor to main-event WWE WrestleMania.
When Did the first WWE WrestleMania take place?
WWE WrestleMania was created by Vince McMahon and the first WWE Wrestlemania was presented on March 31st, 1985 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The reported attendance for the event was reported to be 19,121.
Why Did Vince McMahon create WWE WrestleMania?
WWE WrestleMania was created in response to Jim Crockett Promotions’ Starrcade. The first Starrcade was a financial success was first started in 1983. Vince McMahon was, by nature, a dominant businessman who wanted to rule the wrestling business in its entirety. When Vince McMahon bought the franchise from his father, he had the intent of taking the WWE national and by default, pushing it across the world. WrestleMania would be his launchpad for doing just that.
How Did Vince McMahon promote WWE WrestleMania?
Vince McMahon was a visionary in his own right. Taking advantage of the media landscape at the time, he cross promoted with MTV, which in itself was a visionary product on its own. He aired two wrestling specials. He also enlisted the list of celebrities who were popular at the time to promote WWE WrestleMania. Some of the celebrities who were part of the first WWE WrestleMania included Muhammad Ali, Liberace w/ The Rockettes and MLB Manager Billy Martin. Cyndi Lauper also accompanied Hulk Hogan and Mr. T to the ring in the main event.
WWE Wrestlemania Reception
While some may argue about the quality of the first WWE WrestleMania, It changed the wrestling business forever. It was Vince McMahon who coined the term ‘sports entertainment’ and signaled a move away from Professional Wrestling. The first WWE WrestleMania was a pure example of it and it created the Golden Era of professional wrestling. WrestleMania 35 was held at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on April 07, 2019.
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| Event | Date | Location | Venue | Main event |
| WrestleMania | March 31, 1985 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff with special guest referees Muhammad Aliand Pat Patterson |
| WrestleMania 2 | April 07, 1986 | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper in a boxing match |
| WrestleMania 2 | April 07, 1986 | Rosemont, Illinois | Rosemont Horizon | Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake (c) vs. The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) for the WWF Tag Team Championship |
| WrestleMania 2 | April 07, 1986 | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | Hulk Hogan (c) vs. King Kong Bundy in a Steel Cage match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania III | March 29, 1987 | Pontiac, Michigan | Pontiac Silverdome | Hulk Hogan (c) vs. André the Giant for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania IV | March 27, 1988 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Atlantic City Convention Hall | Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania V | April 2, 1989 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Atlantic City Convention Hall | Randy Savage (c) vs. Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania VI | April 1, 1990 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | SkyDome | The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. Hulk Hogan (c) for the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight and World Heavyweight Championships |
| WrestleMania VII | March 24, 1991 | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | Sgt. Slaughter (c) vs. Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania VIII | April 5, 1992 | Indianapolis, Indiana | Hoosier Dome | Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice |
| WrestleMania IX | April 4, 1993 | Paradise, Nevada | Caesars Palace | Yokozuna (c) vs. Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship[a] |
| WrestleMania X | March 20, 1994 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | Yokozuna (c) vs. Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship with special guest referee Roddy Piper |
| WrestleMania XI | April 2, 1995 | Hartford, Connecticut | Hartford Civic Center | Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor with special guest referee Pat Patterson |
| WrestleMania XII | March 31, 1996 | Anaheim, California | Arrowhead Pond | Bret Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels in a 60-Minute Iron Man match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania 13 | March 23, 1997 | Rosemont, Illinois | Rosemont Horizon | Sycho Sid (c) vs. The Undertaker in a No Disqualification match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania XIV | March 29, 1998 | Boston, Massachusetts | FleetCenter | Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship with special guest enforcer Mike Tyson |
| WrestleMania XV | March 28, 1999 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | First Union Center | The Rock (c) vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin in a No Disqualification match for the WWF Championship with special guest referee Mankind |
| WrestleMania 2000 | April 2, 2000 | Anaheim, California | Arrowhead Pond | Triple H (c) vs. The Rock vs. Big Show vs. Mick Foley in a Fatal four-way elimination match for the WWF Championship |
| WrestleMania X-Seven | April 1, 2001 | Houston, Texas | Reliant Astrodome | The Rock (c) vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin in a No Disqualification match for the WWF Championship |
| WrestleMania X8 | March 17, 2002 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | SkyDome | Chris Jericho (c) vs. Triple H for the Undisputed WWF Championship |
| WrestleMania XIX | March 30, 2003 | Seattle, Washington | Safeco Field | Kurt Angle (c) vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship |
| WrestleMania XX | March 14, 2004 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | Triple H (c) vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania 21 | April 3, 2005 | Los Angeles, California | Staples Center | Triple H (c) vs. Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania 22 | April 2, 2006 | Rosemont, Illinois | Allstate Arena | John Cena (c) vs. Triple H for the WWE Championship |
| WrestleMania 23 | April 1, 2007 | Detroit, Michigan | Ford Field | John Cena (c) vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship |
| WrestleMania XXIV | March 30, 2008 | Orlando, Florida | Florida Citrus Bowl | Edge (c) vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania XXV | April 5, 2009 | Houston, Texas | Reliant Stadium | Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship |
| WrestleMania XXVI | March 28, 2010 | Glendale, Arizona | University of Phoenix Stadium | The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels in a No Disqualification Streak vs. Career match |
| WrestleMania XXVII | April 3, 2011 | Atlanta, Georgia | Georgia Dome | The Miz (c) vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship |
| WrestleMania XXVIII | April 1, 2012 | Miami Gardens, Florida | Sun Life Stadium | John Cena vs. The Rock |
| WrestleMania 29 | April 7, 2013 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | MetLife Stadium | The Rock (c) vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship |
| WrestleMania XXX | April 6, 2014 | New Orleans, Louisiana | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | Randy Orton (c) vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan in a Triple Threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania 31 | March 29, 2015 | Santa Clara, California | Levi's Stadium | Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[b] |
| WrestleMania 32 | April 3, 2016 | Arlington, Texas | AT&T Stadium | Triple H (c) vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship |
| WrestleMania 33 | April 2, 2017 | Orlando, Florida | Camping World Stadium | The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns in a No Holds Barred match |
| WrestleMania 34 | April 8, 2018 | New Orleans, Louisiana | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship |
| WrestleMania 35 | April 7, 2019 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | MetLife Stadium | Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Charlotte Flair (c) in a winner takes all Triple threat match |
