The WWE is the pinnacle of professional wrestling, and it’s been that way for many decades now. Only World Championship Wrestling (WCW) ever really came close, and even they were still miles off the pace when it came to the attendances that were being registered. Starrcade was alright, but it can’t even clean WrestleMania’s boots.
Over the years fans have travelled far and wide to attend some of WWE’s biggest extravaganzas, with the company always attempting to one up themselves whenever one of the big four pay-per-views comes around. Hell, even the Royal Rumble was held in a stadium-type facility this year and Survivor Series could follow suit in the near future.
The dates of these events go back all the way to the 80s, with the most recent coming in 2016. That statistic alone proves once and for all that WWE have a longevity that will never be replicated, and once the company is handed down from Vince to Triple H we should all be confident in the knowledge that the company will be in extremely capable hands.
So with all of that being said, let’s take a look at the top five highest attended WWE shows in history.
#5 WrestleMania 23 – 80,103
WrestleMania 23 in Detroit was WWE’s big return to stadium shows, and you can tell that they went all out to try and make the event as special as possible. With matches like the Battle of the Billionaires, Taker vs Batista and Cena vs HBK on the card, it’s no surprise that this was (at the time) the third most attended event in company history.
Since that night it’s been bumped down by two entries that we’ll get into later on, but there’s no shame in that. After all, they still managed to break the 80k mark, and given the overall quality of the product in 2007 that’s quite the achievement. Plus, Michigan isn’t exactly the most luxurious of states for a WrestleMania and yet they drew a hell of a lot of people to Ford Field that night.
We’re heading overseas for this next entry.
#4 SummerSlam 1992 – 80,355
If Vince ever wonders why British fans feel like they’ve earned another big pay-per-view, then he needs to go back and watch SummerSlam 1992. The biggest party of the summer packed out Wembley Stadium nearly a quarter of a century ago, putting on a show that is still spoken of fondly to this day.
With The British Bulldog winning the Intercontinental Championship and Ultimate Warrior facing Randy Savage for the World Title, this was the definition of a stacked card with The Undertaker even making one of his first ‘big show’ appearances.
Trust us, this event is proof that the UK can host a big event and then some.
We’re coming home...
#3 WrestleMania 29 – 80,676
WrestleMania 29 felt like a really spectacular event in many ways, with MetLife Stadium being the perfect venue to go alongside the “I’m Coming Home” idea behind the event. It was the definition of a big-time show in terms of stature, with so many cool throwbacks to the past in addition to the building of future stars.
The show itself, ironically enough, isn’t considered to be a world class Mania with the main event of Rock vs Cena II for the WWE Championship not really lighting the world on fire. Still, it was a fairly successful effort, and from a financial standpoint, it was overwhelmingly positive.
This should be considered a worthy bronze medallist, all things considered.
Let's take it back a few years...
#2 WrestleMania III – 93,173
WrestleMania 3 at the Pontiac Silverdome was when wrestling peaked – at least, in the minds of many old school fans. It was the birthplace of one of the industry’s greatest moments when Hulk Hogan slammed Andre The Giant, in addition to hosting one of the greatest matches of all time: Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat.
The attendance has supposedly been exaggerated for dramatic effect, but from WWE’s position, this is still the second most show in company history. Wrestling is all about being over the top and making things seem larger than life, so we’re okay with the prospect of never knowing the true statistic for the rest of our days.
It’s the big one...
#1 WrestleMania 32 – 101,763
For years and years, fans were anticipating WWE’s arrival at AT&T Stadium. Vince McMahon had been planning the event for years, with the aim being to have the event break the company’s all-time attendance record.
In terms of the end goal, they succeeded, with Vince McMahon claiming that they broke the 100,000 mark for the first time in history.
Of course, this is also believed to be an exaggerated figure but that isn’t the big problem here. The issue is that the card itself didn’t really live up to the hype, with the main event of Triple H vs Roman Reigns, in particular, disappointing a lot of fans in attendance.
