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The following is a list of the largest attendances in the history of the Americanprofessional wrestling promotionWWE.
The list is dominated by WWE's flagshipWrestleManiapay-per-view (PPV) event, which since 2007'sWrestleMania 23 has been held exclusively instadiums that typically have aseating capacity of at least 70,000 people or more. Only ten of the attendances listed are non-WrestleMania events, withThe Big Event andGlobal Warning Tour: Melbourne being the onlyhouse show events on the list (although both events are listed on WWE Network as pay-per-view events on their pay-per-view list). All but eleven of the events included have been held in theUnited States where WWE is based, while three have been held inCanada, three inJapan, three inSaudi Arabia, two inAustralia, and one in theUnited Kingdom.
Note: Minimum attendance of 40,000.
| No. | Promotion | Event | Location | Venue | Attendance | Main Event(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | WWWF | Showdown at Shea June 25, 1976 | New York City, New York | Shea Stadium | 32,000 | Antonio Inoki vs.Muhammad Ali fought in a Boxer vs. Wrestler match | [52] |
| 2. | WWWF | Billy Graham vs. Bruno Sammartino June 27, 1977 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | 26,090 | Superstar Billy Graham (c) vs.Bruno Sammartino for theWWWF World Heavyweight Championship | [53] |
| 3. | WWWF | Bob Backlund vs. Ivan Koloff August 28, 1978 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | 26,000 | Bob Backlund (c) vs.Ivan Koloff for theWWWF World Heavyweight Championship | [53] |
| 4. | WWWF | Superstar Billy Graham vs. Dusty Rhodes September 26, 1977 | New York City,New York | Madison Square Garden | 25,102 | Superstar Billy Graham (c) vs. Dusty Rhodes for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship | [53] |
| 5. | WWWF | Bruno Sammartino vs. Waldo Von Erich May 19, 1975 | New York City,New York | Madison Square Garden | 24,553 | Bruno Sammartino (c) vs. Waldo Von Erich for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship | [54] |
| 6. | WWWF | Showdown At Shea September 30, 1972 | Flushing, New York | Shea Stadium | 22,508 | Pedro Morales (c) vs. Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship | [55] |
| 7. | WWWF | Superstar Billy Graham vs. Bob Backlund February 20, 1978 | New York City,New York | Madison Square Garden | 22,092 | Superstar Billy Graham (c) vs. Bob Backlund for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship | [53] |
| 8. | WWWF | Superstar Billy Graham vs. Mil Máscaras December 19, 1977 | New York City,New York | Madison Square Garden | 22,085 | Superstar Billy Graham (c) vs. Mil Máscaras for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship | [53] |
| 9. | WWWF | Bruno Sammartino & Chief Jay Strongbow vs. The Valiants October 7, 1974 | New York City,New York | Madison Square Garden | 22,000 | Bruno Sammartino and Chief Jay Strongbow vs. The Valiants (Jimmy Valiant and Johnny Valiant) in aBest 2-out-of-3 Falls match | |
| WWWF | Bruno Sammartino vs. Stan Hansen August 7, 1976 | New York City,New York | Madison Square Garden | Bruno Sammartino (c) vs. Stan Hansen in a Steel Cage match for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship | |||
| WWWF | Bob Backlund vs. Ernie Ladd October 23, 1978 | New York City,New York | Madison Square Garden | Bob Backlund (c) vs. Ernie Ladd for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship | |||
| 10. | WWWF | Pedro Morales & Gorilla Monsoon vs. Luke Graham & Tarzan Tyler July 24, 1971 | New York City,New York | Madison Square Garden | 21,912 | Pedro Morales and Gorilla Monsoon vs. Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler in aBest 2-out-of-3 Falls match |
| No. | Promotion | Event | Location | Venue | Attendance | Main Event(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | WWF | WrestleMania III March 29, 1987 | Pontiac, Michigan | Pontiac Silverdome | 78,000 | Hulk Hogan (c) vs.André the Giant for theWWF World Heavyweight Championship | [56] |
| 2. | WWF | The Big Event August 28, 1986 | Toronto,Ontario | Exhibition Stadium | 64,000 | Hulk Hogan (c) vs.Paul Orndorff for theWWF World Heavyweight Championship | [57] |
| 3. | WWF | WWF at the Ohio State Fair August 13, 1985 | Columbus, Ohio | Ohio State Fairgrounds | 50,000 | Hulk Hogan (c) vs.Big John Studd for theWWF World Heavyweight Championship | [58] |
| 4. | WWF | Showdown at Shea August 9, 1980 | New York City, New York | Shea Stadium | 36,295 | Bruno Sammartino vs.Larry Zbyszko in aSteel Cage match | [59] |
| 5. | WWF | WWF at the Michigan State Fair August 28, 1985 | Detroit,Michigan | Michigan State Fairgrounds | 30,000 | Hulk Hogan (c-WC) vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (c-TTC) in a Champion vs. Champion match for the WWF World Tag Team Championship and WWF World Heavyweight Championship | [60] |
| 6. | WWF | WWF on MSG Network July 30, 1983 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | 27,000 | Bob Backlund (c) vs. George "The Animal" Steele for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship | [61] |
| 7. | WWF | WWF on MSG Network January 23, 1984 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | 26,292 | Iron Sheik (c) vs. Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship | [61] |
| 8. | WWF | WWF on MSG Network March 20, 1983 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | 26,109 | Bob Backlund (c-HC) vs. Don Muraco (c-IC) in a "Champion vs. Champion" Texas Death match for the WWF Heavyweight Championship and WWF Intercontinental Championship | [61] |
| 9. | WWF | WWF on MSG Network March 24, 1980 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | 26,102 | Bob Backlund (c) vs. Sika for the WWF Heavyweight Championship | [61] |
| 10. | WWF | All American Wrestling February 20, 1984 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | 26,092[a] | Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Paul Orndorff for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship | [61] |
| Championship Wrestling March 25, 1984 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | Bob Backlund vs. Greg Valentine | [61] | |||
| All American Wrestling June 16, 1984 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | Sgt. Slaughter vs. The Iron Sheik in a Bootcamp match | [61] | |||
| Prime Time Wrestling December 28, 1984 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | Hulk Hogan (c) vs. The Iron Sheik for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship | [61] | |||
| The War To Settle The Score February 18, 1985 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Roddy Piper for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship | [61] |
Notes
Specific
....the WWE's all-time total attendance (paid plus comps) record of 79,127 set at the 1992 SummerSlam show at Wembley Stadium, which barely beat out the 1987 WrestleMania III show which did more than 78,000....
WWE announced 82,265 fans at WrestleMania, the usual fake number. The paid the previous time they were in MetLife Stadium was 68,900 paid and a real number of 74,300 in the building, which was announced at 80,676. Obviously they had to announce a larger number. This year's paid number was 63,000, and with it being a legit sellout, that says that the stage mut have been blocking off more seats as WrestleManias that sellout legit will have 5,000 to 7,000 comps, so the real figure would have been 68,000 to 70,000.
93,173 (WrestleMania III), 80,676 (WM 29), 80,355 (SummerSlam 1992 at Wembley Stadium) and 80,103 (WM 23). The real numbers for those shows were 78,000, 72,000, 78,927 and 74,287.
At the 2014 WrestleMania in the same building, they announced 75,167 fans, and the actual attendance was between 60,000 and 65,000, with 59,500 paid.
Before a capacity crowd of 19,712 fans, including standees, Bruno Sammartino, 262 pounds, of Italy pinned Killer Kowalski, 258, of Detroit last night at 20 minutes 15 seconds of the featured wrestling exhibition at Madison Square Garden.
Add to the list of names that intrigue: GORILLA MONSOON. Gorilla, who allegedly weighs 357 pounds, is the latest sensation on the pro mat circuit. A card at Madison Square Garden this week featuring Monsoon and BRUNO SAMMARTINO drew 19,706 (paid) fans. Sammartino won by drop kicking Monsoon out of the ring. It must have been one of the most fabulous drop kicks of all time
{{cite news}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)The WWF's tour of India did great guns as both the 2/2 and 2/3 shows in Bombay and Bangalore drew in excess of 30,000 fans in outdoor cricket pitches. They weren't even major angle matches as they just did a series of bouts with the babyface winning every match with bouts like Bret Hart vs. Tatanka on top. It was a sold tour so most of the crew earned in the $6,000 range for the four dates, but got to stay in great hotels on the road.
The attendance as would be normally announced for an event was 93,730 people, breaking the WWE's all-time total attendance (paid plus comps) record of 79,127 set at the 1992 SummerSlam show at Wembley Stadium, which barely beat out the 1987 WrestleMania III show which did more than 78,000. The actual number in the building was 97,769. ... the company had pushed the idea from the start of drawing 100,000 people (pretty much insuring they would have to announce a number over that or it would be a disappointment to the fans) ... The WWE announced the number at 101,763, which is the mythical number "for entertainment purposes" as Vince McMahon told me about the difference between real numbers and announced numbers years ago.