One of the great things about WrestleMania is that year in and year out, fans around the world get to visit a number of different cities around North America. The culture, atmosphere and general vibe surrounding the week of events make the grand finale on Sunday every year all the more special.
Upon reaching the arena or stadium, fans collectively gasp upon seeing the stage for this year's edition of the show of shows. The larger than life nature of Mania itself is one of the big draws for people flying in from all around the world, and whilst some cities have more attractions than others, the venue itself usually knocks it out of the park.
Now that's not to say there haven't been failures down the years too. For example, the highly acclaimed AT&T Stadium was criticised for failing to let a substantial number of people in before the pre-show began. Some people even reported that they only made it to their seats with five or ten minutes remaining before the main show got underway.
But with that touch of negativity out of the way, let's move onto the positives. Here are the five greatest WrestleMania venues in the history of the event.
#5 Mercedes-Benz Superdome
With WrestleMania 34 set to be held in this stadium just four years on from New Orleans' hosting the event for the first time, you can tell that things went pretty well. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome was a colosseum of noise on that fateful night back in 2014, with the crowd being as loud as they could possibly be from the opening bout all the way through to the main event.
It's the history behind the venue that allows the Superdome to reach the top five, too. The pain and the stress that the state of Louisiana went through due to Hurricane Katrina was felt so strongly by the stadium itself, with hundreds of people seeking refuge in the home of the Saints. That togetherness is something that you just don't come across every day.
The Superdome represents one thing that trumps the majority of the other options- hope. There is so much hope within this stadium that it never ceases to create magical moments in both sports and professional wrestling, which is why the demand to return to NOLA in 2018 was so high.
Onto yet another recent edition, this time over in Florida.
#4 Hard Rock Stadium
The place that was formerly known as SunLife Stadium played host to WrestleMania 28 in Miami, during which The Rock and John Cena put on a main event worthy of the spectacle. Whenever you talk to anyone that went to the event back in 2012, they always describe their adventure with one word: perfect.
The temperature, the facilities, the atmosphere and the stadium itself all gained universal acclaim. Despite being an outdoor event, fans were still as loud as they possibly could be especially during the Once in a Lifetime bout. Given the long build, it's no real surprise that everything came together so well but credit must be given where it is due.
There's no doubt that WWE will look towards going back to the stadium in the near future, and given that they appear to be revisiting successful venues then Miami will likely be pretty high on the list. Whatever the case may be, there's no doubt that the Hard Rock Stadium deserves its place on this list of elite locations.
Now we move further into the past, and slightly further north to Canada.
#3 Rogers Centre
We often hear stories of fans from the Great White North feeling aggrieved about WrestleMania not coming back to Canada, and there's a good reason for it. At both WM6 and WM18, the Rogers Centre put on two utterly phenomenal shows that people will remember forever; mainly due to one man in particular.
Having fought Ultimate Warrior and The Rock at the events respectively, Hulk Hogan managed to create two pieces of history twelve years apart. The larger than life feel of the venue, coupled with the crowd being one of the loudest of all time meant that Rogers Centre's place in the lineage of WWE was secured.
The unique structure raised some eyebrows initially, but given that people tend to look back on the Toronto shows when thinking of the greatest ‘Mania moments of all time, it would appear that the events were a grand success. Who knows, maybe one day we'll see a third instalment of the showcase of the immortals take place here.
Speaking of immortal, Hulk Hogan became just that in this next venue.
#2 Pontiac Silverdome
It truly is sad to see what has become of this once great stadium over the years. The Pontiac Silverdome was the home of WrestleMania 3, and that really is the biggest compliment that the Michigan-based venue can have. It was one of the most revolutionary events in the history of professional wrestling, and it couldn't have happened without the Silverdome.
Let's be realistic here, 98% of us have seen the image of Hulk Hogan bodyslamming Andre the Giant. Even subconsciously, WWE tends to include it in all its video packages. When you put that together with Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage match, you have two reasons why the crowd that night went absolutely mental.
In a way, it'd be great to see WrestleMania return to Pontiac one day. Unfortunately, that's a near impossibility, but the company should commemorate the stadium for everything it has done for the legacy of sports entertainment. Without it, we may not be writing this article here today.
Onto another choice that quite simply defines Vince's brainchild.
#1 Madison Square Garden
The most famous arena in the world. Fact. Madison Square Garden was where it all began for WWE and WrestleMania, with the New York venue putting on three editions of the show in the form of WM1, WM10 and WM20. Whilst some were upset that WM30 wasn't added to that list, New Orleans more than made up for that fact.
There's just something about MSG that feels oh so different when compared to any other location in the world. It's like Christmas, New Year's and Easter all rolled into one once you find out that WWE is going there. While the Knicks have been calling it home for years, it really is the spiritual abode of the company.
In all honesty, it's a shame they don't do more high profile events there. It certainly deserves the recognition and as far as competition for importance goes, there aren't too many other places that compete. Hell, there could even be a big four PPV there in the near future
To all entrants on the top five list, we say one thing - thank you for the memories.
