| WrestleMania | |
|---|---|
 The standard WrestleMania logo used since WrestleMania X-Seven in 2001; since WrestleMania 29 in 2013, each year's event uses a modified variation that usually references the host city. | |
| Created by | Vince McMahon |
| Promotion | WWE |
| Brands | Raw (2003–2011, 2017–present) SmackDown (2003–2011, 2017–present) ECW (2007–2009) 205 Live (2018–2019) NXT (2020) |
| Nicknames | "The Grandest Stage of Them All" "The Showcase of the Immortals" "The Show of Shows" "The Greatest Spectacle in Sports Entertainment" |
| First event | WrestleMania I (1985) |
WrestleMania is aprofessional wrestling event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by the American companyWWE, the world's largestprofessional wrestling promotion. Sincepremiering in 1985, 41 events have been held, with its most recent41st edition occurring atAllegiant Stadium inParadise, Nevada, on April 19 and 20, 2025. WrestleMania was WWE's firstpay-per-view (PPV) produced and is the most successful annual professional wrestling event in history. The event has been broadcast through traditional PPV since 1985 and has been available vialivestreaming sinceWrestleMania XXX in 2014, which was WWE's first major event available through this medium. WrestleMania was conceptualized by former WWE executive chairmanVince McMahon and named by ring announcer andWWE Hall of FamerHoward Finkel. It is the company's flagship event and along withRoyal Rumble,SummerSlam,Survivor Series, andMoney in the Bank, it is referred to as one of the "Big Five", WWE's five biggest annual events of the year.
The widespread success of WrestleMania helped transform professional wrestling. The annual event has facilitated the rise to stardom of several top WWE wrestlers. Celebrities such asAretha Franklin,Cyndi Lauper,Muhammad Ali,Mr. T,Mike Tyson,Donald Trump,Floyd Mayweather Jr.,Snoop Dogg,Rob Gronkowski,Shaquille O'Neal,Ronda Rousey, andBad Bunny, among many others, have made special appearances within the events, with some participating in matches. Rousey herself would become a wrestler for WWE from 2018 to 2023 and was one of the three women to participate in the first women's WrestleMania main event match, which occurred atWrestleMania 35 in 2019.
Thefirst WrestleMania was held inMadison Square Garden inNew York City, New York; the10th and20th editions were also held there.WrestleMania III in theDetroit suburb ofPontiac, Michigan, was the highest-attended indoor sports event in the world, with 93,173 fans in attendance. The record stood until February 14, 2010, when the2010 NBA All-Star Game broke the indoor sporting event record with an attendance of 108,713 at Cowboys Stadium, since renamedAT&T Stadium, inArlington, Texas.[1] In 2016,WrestleMania 32 surpassed WrestleMania III as the highest-attended professional wrestling event ever held in America, with 101,763 fans in attendance at AT&T Stadium, although the company revealed that attendance figures are manipulated for marketing purposes through investor calls. All editions of the event thus far have been hosted in North American cities, with 39 in theUnited States and two inCanada.WrestleMania 43 in 2027 will be held inRiyadh,Saudi Arabia, which will be the first WrestleMania to emanate from outside of North America.
The only WrestleMania in the event's history not to airlive and be heldwithout fans in attendance wasWrestleMania 36 in 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic; it was the first major professional wrestling event to be affected by the pandemic. It was also the first to be held across two nights, which subsequently became the standard format for the annual event.WrestleMania 37 in 2021 was WWE's first event back with a live crowd, but at a reduced venue capacity before the company resumed live touring with full capacity crowds in July that year.
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Most WrestleMania events have taken place in large stadiums in large cities, with some in sports arenas. Much like theSuper Bowl, cities bid for the right to host the year's edition of WrestleMania.[2] The most-attended events includeWrestleMania III (93,173) inPontiac,WrestleMania VI (67,678) inToronto,WrestleMania VIII (62,167) inIndianapolis,WrestleMania X-Seven (67,925) inHouston,WrestleMania X8 (68,237) also in Toronto,WrestleMania XIX (54,097) inSeattle,WrestleMania 23 (80,103) inDetroit,WrestleMania XXIV (74,635) inOrlando,WrestleMania 25 (72,744) also in Houston,WrestleMania XXVI (72,219) inPhoenix,WrestleMania XXVII (71,617) inAtlanta,WrestleMania XXVIII (78,363) inMiami,WrestleMania 29 (80,676) inEast Rutherford,WrestleMania XXX (75,167) inNew Orleans,WrestleMania 31 (76,976) inSanta Clara, andWrestleMania 32 (101,763) inArlington.[3][4] Since moving to large stadiums and runningWrestleMania Axxess, the event produces a local economy boost for the host cities.[5][6][7][8]
WrestleMania centers on the main event matches, primarily for the men'sWWE Championship—and additional men's world titles, such as the previousWorld Heavyweight Championship (2003–2013), theWWE Universal Championship (since 2017), and the currentWorld Heavyweight Championship (since 2024)—as well as matches involving celebrities such asAmerican footballerLawrence Taylor or actorMr. T. Other WWE championships are also contested for, while thematch card also includes gimmick matches and matches involving personal feuds.
Since 1993, the winner of the annualRoyal Rumble match receives a guaranteed world championship match at the same year's WrestleMania (except in 2016 in which the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was the prize of the match itself). With the introduction of the previous World Heavyweight Championship in 2002, the winner was also given the option to choose between it or the WWE Championship. The creation of theECW brand in June 2006 gave the Rumble winner a third option, theECW Championship. This option was made available from 2007 until the brand was retired in 2010; however, the title was never chosen.[9] The brand split ended in 2011 and the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships were unified in 2013, leaving the former as the only title to challenge for until the reintroduction of the brand split in 2016, which added the WWE Universal Championship as a choice. After it and the WWE Championship were unified as theUndisputed WWE Universal Championship atWrestleMania 38 in 2022, the undisputed title became the only choice in 2023, but with the introduction of a new World Heavyweight Championship following that year'sWrestleMania 39, there is once again two choices: the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship. A women's Royal Rumble match was introduced in 2018, with the winner receiving the option of challenging for either theWWE Raw Women's Championship orWWE SmackDown Women's Championship, which were renamed as the WWE Women's Championship and Women's World Championship, respectively, in June 2023.NXT's championships, theNXT Championship andNXT Women's Championship, became additional choices in 2020, but were dropped as choices in 2022 after NXT reverted to its original status as WWE'sdevelopmental brand in September 2021.
WrestleMania 21 saw the introduction of theMoney in the Bank ladder match. This match features six to ten participants and took place at six WrestleManias between 2005 and 2010 before becoming the headline match of its ownpay-per-view event,Money in the Bank which incorporated the use of two Money in the Bank ladder matches for both respective WWE brands,Raw andSmackDown (since 2017, two matches have been held at the titular event, but one each for the men and women, with participants divided between the brands). The participant who retrieves the briefcase suspended above the ring wins a contract, which guarantees a world title match at the time and place of the winner's choosing for up to one year, including the following year's WrestleMania. This lasted until 2010 when the Money in the Bank pay-per-view was introduced and thus the Money in the Bank ladder match was retired from WrestleMania.[10]
Forbes named WrestleMania one of the world's most valuable sports event brands from 2014 to 2019, ranking it sixth with a brand value of US$245 million in 2019 behind theSuper Bowl,Summer Olympics,NCAA Final Four, theFIFA World Cup, and theCollege Football Playoffs.[11][12]
For five of the first six WrestleManias,Gorilla Monsoon andJesse Ventura served as the color commentators (the exception being WrestleMania 2, which was split among three venues and had Monsoon, Ventura, and Vince McMahon split up with guest commentators), whileBobby Heenan,Gene Okerlund,Lord Alfred Hayes, and others filled guest roles. For WrestleMania VII and VIII, Monsoon and Heenan provided color commentary. In the mid to late 1990s, the commentator team comprisedVince McMahon,Jim Ross, andJerry Lawler. Since the brand separation in 2002, matches from the Raw brand have been called by Ross and Lawler; the SmackDown matches called byMichael Cole,Tazz,John "Bradshaw" Layfield, andJonathan Coachman, and from 2006 to 2010, the ECW matches called byJoey Styles and Tazz. At WrestleMania 25, the first three-man inter-brand commentary team since the brand extension was introduced was used and consisted of Jim Ross, Jerry "The King" Lawler, andMichael Cole. The following year at WrestleMania XXVI, Jim Ross was replaced byMatt Striker. At WrestleMania XXVII, Jim Ross returned to commentate, along withJosh Mathews and newSmackDown color commentatorBooker T; the sudden change of commentary was due to a singles match between regular commentators Michael Cole and Lawler.Howard Finkel, who is credited with coming up with the name "WrestleMania" in 1984,[13] has served as the long-standing ring-announcer and has appeared at every event exceptWrestleMania 33, but since the introduction of the WWE brand extension,Lilian Garcia,Tony Chimel, andJustin Roberts took over as announcers for their respective brand's matches. Four French commentators were at ringside: Jean Brassard andRaymond Rougeau (WrestleMania 13), Phillippe Chéreau, and Christophe Agius (WrestleMania XXX,WrestleMania 31,WrestleMania 32, andWrestleMania 33).
The World Wrestling Federation staged the first WrestleMania on March 31, 1985, atMadison Square Garden in New York City. The main event was a tag-team match between WWF World Heavyweight ChampionHulk Hogan andMr. T, accompanied byJimmy Snuka against the team ofRoddy Piper andPaul Orndorff, who were accompanied byCowboy Bob Orton. The financial and critical success of the event secured the company's status as the most successful professional wrestling promotion in the United States, rising above competitors such as theNational Wrestling Alliance andAmerican Wrestling Association. In attendance were business celebrity Sy Sperling and broadcasting executive Tony D'Angelo. WrestleMania 2 was held the following year and took place in three venues across the country. TheNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum inUniondale, New York, the Rosemont Horizon (nowAllstate Arena) in theChicago suburb ofRosemont, Illinois, and theLos Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles. They each featured multiple matches that led up to the main event; this saw WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan defeatKing Kong Bundy in aSteel Cage match.
A world indoor attendance-record of 93,173 fans was set at WrestleMania III, which was also the largest paying attendance in thehistory of professional wrestling at the time. The event is widely considered to be the pinnacle of the1980s wrestling boom. To make certain that every seat in thePontiac Silverdome would be filled, WWF decided to exclude the entire state of Michigan frompay-per-view access to the event, which made attending the event the only way for fans in Michigan to see it.[14] The event featured Hulk Hogan defending the WWF World Heavyweight Championship againstAndré the Giant and theWWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship match between"Macho Man" Randy Savage andRicky "The Dragon" Steamboat. The match between Savage and Steamboat would go on to be regarded as one of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history and is acknowledged by many (including Vince McMahon) as having "stolen the show".
WrestleMania IV was held at theAtlantic City Convention Hall inAtlantic City, New Jersey (though on the broadcast it was billed as being held in theTrump Plaza because the adjacentcasino hotel was the event's primary sponsor). The event was an all-tournament event to crown a new WWF World Heavyweight Champion, with four non-tournament matches to fill between the gaps in the tournament rounds. The second round of the tournament featured a rematch of the previous year's main event between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant while Randy Savage went on to defeatTed DiBiase in the finals to win the championship.
The next event, WrestleMania V, returned the event to Atlantic City, in which Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, which Savage had won the previous year. To date, this is the only time consecutive WrestleManias were held in the same venue. The event also saw the WrestleMania in-ring debut ofShawn Michaels, who would later go on to earn the moniker "Mr. WrestleMania".
The first time WrestleMania took place outside of the United States was WrestleMania VI, which was held at the SkyDome (nowRogers Centre) inToronto, Ontario, Canada. In the main event match,The Ultimate Warrior won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Hulk Hogan. The following year, the event returned to the United States for WrestleMania VII, which was originally scheduled to be held at the outdoorsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The event was moved to the adjacent indoors Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena after poor ticket sales, sold on television as being for security reasons related to theGulf War andSgt. Slaughter's storyline defection toIraq.[15] The event saw Hulk Hogan face defending champion Sgt. Slaughter for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, whileThe Undertaker made his WrestleMania debut, defeatingJimmy Snuka. Following this, The Undertaker wentundefeated in 21 of his WrestleMania matches until he lost toBrock Lesnar atWrestleMania XXX in 2014.[16] The next edition, WrestleMania VIII, was held in theHoosier Dome with "Macho Man" Randy Savage defeatingRic Flair for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and Hulk Hogan defeatingSid Justice via disqualification.
WrestleMania IX was the first WrestleMania held at an outdoor venue. It was also the first and only time in WrestleMania history that the WWF World Heavyweight Championship switched twice. Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart to become the WWF World Heavyweight Champion, only to lose it to Hulk Hogan in an impromptu match. WrestleMania X saw the event's return to Madison Square Garden. The event featuredOwen Hart defeating his elder brother Bret; aladder match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship also headlined, in whichRazor Ramon defeatedShawn Michaels. Bret having been defeated earlier won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Yokozuna in the main event. Bret is the first wrestler in WrestleMania history to lose his first match and come back to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. After failing to capture the title fromDiesel at WrestleMania XI, Michaels defeated Bret Hart to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a 60-minuteIron Man match at WrestleMania XII. The match was widely praised. The event also saw the return of the Ultimate Warrior, who defeatedHunter Hearst Helmsley (later known as Triple H) in the latter's WrestleMania debut.
AtWrestleMania 13, asubmission match pitted Bret Hart andStone Cold Steve Austin against one another, and The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. The match between Hart and Austin is considered by many fans as one of the best professional wrestling matches of all time and has been voted byIGN as the greatest match in WrestleMania history, and was number 1 among their list of top 20 WrestleMania matches of all time.[17] Various other sources also names the match as the greatest WrestleMania match of all time.[18]
AtWrestleMania XIV, Austin defeated Shawn Michaels to become the new WWF World Heavyweight Champion in a match that featuredMike Tyson serving as the special enforcer. Although Tyson had been aligned with Michaels and hisstableD-Generation X, Tyson revealed to have been aligned with Austin all along as he personally counted the pinfall and declared Austin the winner. The Undertaker andKane fought for the first time at this event where The Undertaker won. The following year atWrestleMania XV, Austin defeatedThe Rock to regain the WWF Championship. The event featured the first of three encounters at WrestleMania between Austin and The Rock in a rivalry of the two most prominent and popular stars of the Attitude Era.
WrestleMania 2000 featured the first-ever Triangle Ladder match for theWWF Tag Team Championship, involvingThe Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy andMatt Hardy),The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley), andEdge and Christian. The main event featured WWF Champion Triple H successfully defend his title in a fatal four-way match against The Rock,Big Show, andMick Foley. This match was billed as having 'a McMahon in every corner' as Triple H was accompanied byStephanie McMahon, The Rock by Vince McMahon, Big Show byShane McMahon, and Mick Foley byLinda McMahon.
AtWrestleMania X-Seven, Stone Cold defeated The Rock and regained the WWF Championship, aligning himself with his former nemesis Vince McMahon in the process. The event also featured Vince and Shane McMahon in aStreet Fight, while Edge and Christian won the WWF Tag Team Championship against the Hardy Boyz and Dudley Boyz in the secondTables, Ladders, and Chairs match. The event was the pinnacle of the 1990s wrestling boom. It was also the first WrestleMania held after the dissolution and WWF's subsequent purchase of the company's rival,World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the end of theMonday Night War. The event was highly praised. In 2013, WWE released a list of their "15 best pay-per-views ever", with WrestleMania X-Seven ranked at number one.[19]
WrestleMania X8 was the last WrestleMania to be produced under the WWF name, and featured Triple H defeatingChris Jericho to win theUndisputed WWF Championship. Austin, The Rock, and The Undertaker defeated Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan, and Ric Flair respectively, all of whom had rejoined the company after their stints with WCW. Also,Rob Van Dam won his firstIntercontinental Championship in his WrestleMania debut.
WrestleMania XIX, which was the first after the company was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), saw Stone Cold's last match, as he faced The Rock for a third time at WrestleMania, ending their long-running feud. Additionally, Hulk Hogan defeated Vince McMahon andShawn Michaels participated in his first WrestleMania match in five years, defeatingChris Jericho. The World Heavyweight Championship (2002–2013 version) was defended for the first time at the event, with Triple H retaining againstBooker T, whileBrock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle to win the WWE Championship.
WWE celebrated the 20th edition of WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden withWrestleMania XX. The event featured The Undertaker (who returned to his Deadman persona) defeating the unmasked Kane in their second encounter and the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship victories ofEddie Guerrero andChris Benoit, respectively, with Guerrero defeating Kurt Angle to retain the WWE Championship and Benoit defeating Triple H and Shawn Michaels to win the World Heavyweight Championship. The event also featured theRock 'n' Sock Connection (The Rock and Mick Foley) versusEvolution (Batista,Randy Orton, and Ric Flair) in a 2-on-3 handicap match, which was The Rock's last match for over seven years, as well as Stone Cold as the guest referee in an inter-promotional singles match between the departing superstars Brock Lesnar (who would return to the company eight years later) andGoldberg (who would return 12 years later). TheWWE Hall of Fame was also reintroduced and became an annual induction show held the night before or week of WrestleMania.
AtWrestleMania 21, the concept of the Money in the Bank ladder match was introduced; a six-manladder match that featured a briefcase suspended above the ring containing a contract that guaranteed the winning Raw brand participant a world title match at any time and place of their choosing within one year up to the next year's WrestleMania, in whichEdge went on to win this match. In the main events, the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship passed on toJohn Cena andBatista, respectively, by defeating John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Triple H in their respective matches. Eddie Guerrero's last WrestleMania match took place at WrestleMania 21 against Rey Mysterio, before he died later that year. The event also featured the return of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin after a year-long hiatus, while Kurt Angle defeated Shawn Michaels.
The Money in the Bank ladder match was also held atWrestleMania 22 as a six-maninterpromotional match where the winner would get a world title match of their choosing, regardless of the brand they were on, with this match was won by Rob Van Dam. The main events of WrestleMania 22 featuredRey Mysterio win the World Heavyweight Championship against Kurt Angle andRandy Orton in a Triple Threat Match, and John Cena retained the WWE Championship against Triple H. Edge defeated Mick Foley in a Hardcore Rules match, where Edge infamously speared Foley off the ring apron through a flaming table at ringside. WrestleMania 22 also featured Shawn Michaels defeating Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match, Undertaker defeatingMark Henry in a casket match, andMickie James defeatTrish Stratus to win the originalWWE Women's Championship.
AtWrestleMania 23, the Money in the Bank match expanded to include eight men and would include stars from the new ECW brand, which was won byMr. Kennedy. John Cena would go on to retain his WWE Championship against Shawn Michaels, while The Undertaker would win the World Heavyweight Championship from Batista. RepresentingDonald Trump, ECW World ChampionBobby Lashley defeatedUmaga, who represented Vince McMahon, in a match billed as the "Battle of the Billionaires" and arbitrated by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. This was also the last WrestleMania where the original WWE Women's Championship was defended whenMelina defeatedAshley Massaro in a lumberjills match.
AtWrestleMania XXIV, Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair in a retirement match, while the Money in the Bank ladder match included seven participants from all three brands which was won byCM Punk, who would also win the match again at WrestleMania 25. The ECW Championship was defended for the only time at a WrestleMania event, when Kane emerged as the new champion in a record 8 seconds, while Randy Orton retained the WWE Championship and The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Championship for the second consecutive year, defeating Edge. In an encounter that featured major media coverage, boxing world championFloyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Big Show. The event was the second WrestleMania to be held at an outdoor venue. This was also the last WrestleMania event of the Ruthless Aggression era since later on in Mid-2008 the era ended as the WWE shifted towards a more "kid-friendly" product.
WrestleMania 25 featured Chris Jericho defeating WWE Hall of FamersRoddy Piper,Jimmy Snuka, andRicky Steamboat in a match that featured appearances by Ric Flair and actorMickey Rourke. Shawn Michaels unsuccessfully attempted to hand The Undertaker his first defeat at a WrestleMania which received the 2009 Match of the Year award by bothPro Wrestling Illustrated and theWrestling Observer Newsletter.[20][21] The WWE Intercontinental Championship was defended at the event for the first time since WrestleMania X8 with Rey Mysterio defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield. John Cena defeated Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship also involving the Big Show, while Triple H retained the WWE Championship against Randy Orton.
AtWrestleMania XXVI, the professional wrestling career of Shawn Michaels came to an end as he faced The Undertaker in a highly acclaimed re-match of their encounter from the previous year. The event also featured John Cena winning the WWE Championship and Chris Jericho retaining the World Heavyweight Championship. Following Bret Hart's return to WWE in over twelve years since theMontreal Screwjob incident, Bret Hart defeated Vince McMahon in aNo Holds Barred match with members of theHart wrestling family present. The Money in the Bank ladder match included ten participants from both Raw and SmackDown (the ECW brand was retired in February), and this match was won byJack Swagger. This was the last Money in the Bank ladder match to be held at a WrestleMania event due to the creation of the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July that year.
WrestleMania XXVII featured the return of The Rock following a seven-year hiatus to serve ashost for the event.Trish Stratus competed in her first WrestleMania since WrestleMania 22, teaming withJohn Morrison andJersey Shore'sNicole "Snooki" Polizzi to defeatLayCool andDolph Ziggler. Longtime WWE announcers Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler brawled in a match officiated by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, while Triple H failed in his attempt to avenge Shawn Michaels' loss to The Undertaker from a year prior. This was the first WrestleMania in history in which both the World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Champion were able to successfully retain their titles. World Heavyweight Champion Edge defeated the challengerAlberto Del Rio in what would be Edge's last match before his retirement on April 11, and The Rock closed out the event saluting the fans after laying out John Cena andThe Miz with hissignature move, theRock Bottom, following Miz retaining the WWE Championship. This incident would set up the main event for the following year's WrestleMania.
WrestleMania XXVIII had three matches in the upper card. In the first main event, The Undertaker defeated Triple H in aHell in a Cell match via pinfall, officiated by Shawn Michaels and extendinghis WrestleMania streak to 20–0. The second main event featured CM Punk retaining the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho, via submission.[22] The third main event featured The Rock defeating John Cena via pinfall in a "Once in a Lifetime" match, announced a year in advance.
In 2013,WrestleMania 29 had 80,676 fans in attendance, becoming the third-highest attended WrestleMania ever. This WrestleMania had three main events. The first saw The Undertaker extend his undefeated streak to 21–0 by defeating CM Punk. Triple H, with the help of Shawn Michaels, defeated Brock Lesnar in a No Holds Barred match; had Triple H lost, he would have had to retire from in-ring competition. In the final match, John Cena avenged his loss from the previous year by defeating The Rock for the WWE Championship, winning the title a record11th time and setting a record of four victories as a challenger in a world title match at WrestleMania. Other matches included Alberto Del Rio successfully defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Jack Swagger, andFandango pulling off an upset win over veteran Chris Jericho. In the opening bout,The Shield (Dean Ambrose,Seth Rollins, andRoman Reigns) defeated the team of Big Show,Sheamus, and Randy Orton in their WrestleMania debut.
WrestleMania XXX was the 30th annual WrestleMania event produced by WWE on April 6, 2014, at theMercedes-Benz Superdome inNew Orleans,Louisiana. The event was the first WrestleMania to be held in the state ofLouisiana.[23] It sawDaniel Bryan defeat Triple H in the opening match. Per the stipulation, this gave Bryan a spot in the main event, where he won theWWE World Heavyweight Championship by making Batista submit in a triple threat match which also included Randy Orton. It was the only WrestleMania where theWWE Divas Championship was defended, withAJ Lee retaining the title in the "Vickie Guerrero Divas Championship Invitational". WrestleMania XXX also saw the end ofThe Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania as he was defeated by Brock Lesnar in what was described as 'the most shocking result in sports-entertainment history'.[24] At WrestleMania XXX,Bray Wyatt's undefeated streak since his debut came to an end at the hands of John Cena. Also, at WrestleMania XXX, The Shield defeated Kane andThe New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg andBilly Gunn) in a six-man tag team match, andCesaro won the first-everAndré the Giant Memorial Battle Royal by body-slamming Big Show over the top rope in similar fashion to Hulk Hogan bodyslamming André the Giant at WrestleMania III.
WrestleMania 31 was held atLevi's Stadium inSanta Clara, California, on March 29, 2015.[25] Brock Lesnar defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event against Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns, with Seth Rollins cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase, turning the bout into a Triple Threat, ending with Rollins pinning Reigns to win the championship. Other main bouts includedSting's first-ever WWE match against Triple H, which he lost, The Undertaker returned and defeated Bray Wyatt to get his 22nd victory at the event's history, Randy Orton defeated Seth Rollins andRusev lost theUnited States Championship and his unbeaten streak to John Cena. Another important promoted match was the 7-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, which was won by Daniel Bryan. Also at WrestleMania 31, AJ Lee teamed withPaige to defeatThe Bella Twins (Brie Bella andNikki Bella) in a tag team match, while Big Show won the second annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, by last eliminatingDamien Mizdow.
WrestleMania 32 was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on April 3, 2016. WrestleMania 32 broke the attendance record at 101,763 as announced by The Rock at the event. In the main event, Roman Reigns defeated Triple H to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Other bouts included the Undertaker defeating Shane McMahon in a Hell in a Cell match. Had Shane won, he would have gained control ofRaw, while had Undertaker lost, this would have been his last WrestleMania. Brock Lesnar defeated Dean Ambrose in a No Holds Barred Street Fight,Charlotte defeatedBecky Lynch andSasha Banks to win the inauguralWWE Women's Championship, Chris Jericho defeatedAJ Styles in a singles match,The League of Nations (Sheamus, Rusev, and Alberto Del Rio) (withKing Barrett) defeatedThe New Day (Xavier Woods,Kofi Kingston, andBig E) in a six-man tag match,Zack Ryder won a 7-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, and The Rock defeatedErick Rowan in a record-breaking 6-second match. Also at WrestleMania 32,Baron Corbin won the third annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, by last eliminating Kane.
WrestleMania 33 took place on April 2, 2017, atCamping World Stadium inOrlando, Florida. It was the first WrestleMania sinceWrestleMania 29 in 2013 to feature twoworld championships on the line: Raw'sUniversal Championship, defended for the first time at WrestleMania, and SmackDown's WWE Championship. The main event saw Roman Reigns defeat The Undertaker in a No Holds Barred match giving Undertaker his second loss at WrestleMania. Elsewhere on the event's card, Brock Lesnar defeated Goldberg in a rematch from WrestleMania XX to become the new Universal Champion, Randy Orton defeated Bray Wyatt to win his ninth WWE Championship, andMojo Rawley won the fourth annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal by last eliminatingJinder Mahal. The event also marked the unannounced return of The Hardy Boyz, who won theRaw Tag Team Championship at the event in a fatal four-way tag team ladder match.
WrestleMania 34 was held on April 8, 2018, at theMercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the main event, Brock Lesnar retained the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns. In another main event promoted match, AJ Styles retained the WWE Championship againstShinsuke Nakamura. Other marquee matches saw Kurt Angle andRonda Rousey defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a mixed tag team match, which was Rousey's WWE debut match, and Daniel Bryan had his in-ring return after three years, teaming with Shane McMahon to defeatKevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Also, The Undertaker defeated John Cena in an impromptu match. In another prominent match, Charlotte Flair retained theSmackDown Women's Championship againstAsuka, ending Asuka's two-year undefeated streak, and Nicholas, a 10-year old fan, became the youngest champion in WWE history when he teamed withBraun Strowman to defeatCesaro and Sheamus for the Raw Tag Team Championship, TheSmackDown Tag Team Championship was also defended for the first time at WrestleMania, whereThe Bludgeon Brothers (Harper andRowan) defeatedThe Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) and The New Day to win the titles, Matt Hardy last eliminated Baron Corbin to win fifth André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal as well as first-everWrestleMania Women's Battle Royal contested whereNaomi won by last eliminatingBayley.
WrestleMania 35 was held on April 7, 2019, atMetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.[26] At the event,Kofi Kingston became the first African-born WWE Champion after defeating Daniel Bryan, while Seth Rollins defeated Brock Lesnar to win the Universal Championship.[27] The event also saw the retirement of veteran WWE stars Kurt Angle and Batista.[28][circular reference][29] For the first time, the main event of WrestleMania was a women's match, with Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey, SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch facing off in aWinner Takes All Triple Threat match for both championships, in which Lynch emerged victorious.[30]
For the first time in WrestleMania's history,WrestleMania 36 was taped and held across two nights. The tapings occurred on March 25 and 26, 2020, at multiple locations including theWWE Performance Center inOrlando, Florida. It then aired ontape delay on April 4 and 5.[31] It was originally scheduled to take place solely on April 5 at theRaymond James Stadium inTampa, Florida, and to air live, but was moved due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[32][33][34][35] It was only attended by essential personnel, and was the first WWE pay-per-view eventunattended by fans.[36][37] It was the first WrestleMania to promote the NXT brand, which was formerly WWE's developmental brand, but this would be the only to promote NXT as the brand was not featured at the next WrestleMania and it returned to being the developmental brand in September 2021. In the main event for Part 1 of WrestleMania 36, The Undertaker defeated AJ Styles in aBoneyard match, which was produced as acinematic match and was one of two matches not filmed at the Performance Center—this would in turn be The Undertaker's final match. Braun Strowman also defeated Goldberg to win the Universal Championship while Becky Lynch retained the Raw Women's Championship over NXT's Shayna Baszler.[38] In the main event for Part 2,Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship; after the show went off the air, adark match occurred wherein McIntyre retained the title over Big Show in a match described by WWE as the "hidden WrestleMania main event" (which was shown on the April 6 episode ofRaw). Also on the show, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defeated John Cena in a Firefly Fun House match, which was the other match not filmed at the Performance Center and also produced as a cinematic match, and Charlotte Flair defeatedRhea Ripley to win theNXT Women's Championship, which was the first and thus far only time an NXT title was defended at WrestleMania. Also on Part 2, Edge had his first singles match since 2011 in which he defeated Randy Orton in aLast Man Standing match.[39] Following this, WrestleMania would become a two-night event.
WrestleMania 37 took place on April 10 and 11 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, the original location of WrestleMania 36, to allow for fan attendance—making it the first WWE event to have ticketed fans in attendance during the pandemic, though to a limited capacity of 25,000 for each night. In the main event for WrestleMania 37 Night 1,Bianca Belair defeatedSasha Banks to win the SmackDown Women's Championship, which was the first time two African Americans headlined WrestleMania. Also on the card, Bobby Lashley defeated Drew McIntyre bytechnical submission to retain the WWE Championship and celebrityBad Bunny teamed withDamian Priest and defeatedThe Miz and John Morrison.[40] In the main event of Night 2, Roman Reigns retained the Universal Championship against Edge and Daniel Bryan in a triple threat match.[41]
WrestleMania 38 took place on April 2 and 3, 2022, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. As most COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted by that point, this was the first full capacity WrestleMania since 2019, and established a new format for WrestleMania Weekend—a special liveWrestleMania SmackDown featuring the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (a recent WrestleMania night staple) immediately followed by the WWE Hall of Fame inductions, and then NXT holding its now annual WrestleMania event,Stand & Deliver, the afternoon of Night 1, and then followed byRaw After WrestleMania on Monday. At WrestleMania 38 itself,Cody Rhodes returned as Seth Rollins' "mystery opponent", defeating Rollins in Night 1. In the main event of Night 1, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin came out of retirement for a one match return to defeatKevin Owens.[42] In the main event of Night 2, Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match for the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship, becoming the first wrestler to hold both titles simultaneously and becoming recognized as theUndisputed WWE Universal Champion, although both titles retained their individual lineages.[43]
WrestleMania 39 took place on April 1 and 2, 2023, atSoFi Stadium inInglewood, California—the original location of WrestleMania 37 before the pandemic forced it to be relocated. As was established the previous year, the WrestleMania Weekend festivities included a liveWrestleMania SmackDown (including the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal) immediately followed by the2023 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday March 31, then on the afternoon of Saturday April 1, NXT held theirStand & Deliver event, all at theCrypto.com Arena in nearbyLos Angeles, which also hosted the post WrestleMania edition ofRaw on April 3. The main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania saw Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defeat The Usos for theUndisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, marking the first time a tag team title match was the main event of a WrestleMania, and only the second time a tag team match was the main event, after WrestleMania I. The match was well received.[44][45] It was also the first WrestleMania match since1997 to earn afive stars rating from sports journalistDave Meltzer.[46] In Night 2's main event, Roman Reigns retained the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes, after Reigns' cousinSolo Sikoa interfered on his behalf.[47]
WrestleMania XL took place on April 6 and 7, 2024 atLincoln Financial Field inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania. Following precedent, the WrestleMania Weekend festivities included a liveWrestleMania SmackDown (including the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal) immediately followed by the2024 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday April 5, then on the afternoon of Saturday April 6, NXT held theirStand & Deliver event, all at theWells Fargo Center in Philly, which also hosted the post WrestleMania edition ofRaw on Monday April 8. The main event of Night 1 sawThe Bloodline (The Rock andRoman Reigns) defeatCody Rhodes andSeth "Freakin" Rollins. This match determined the stipulation of Night 2's main event. Since Rock and Reigns won, the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match was aBloodline Rules match. Had Rhodes and Rollins won, all members of The Bloodline would have been barred from ringside during the championship match.[48]Night 2 witnessed a rematch from last years WrestleMania, as Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns in the Bloodline Rules match to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and end Reigns' generational 1,316 day-long title reign, following interference from Reigns' cousinsJimmy Uso,Solo Sikoa, and The Rock on his behalf, andJey Uso,John Cena, Seth Rollins andThe Undertaker on Rhodes' behalf.[49] Other marquee matches during the two-night event sawDrew McIntyre defeat Rollins for theWorld Heavyweight Championship beforeDamian Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and won the title from McIntyre, becoming only the second wrestler to successfully win a world championship after a cash-in at WrestleMania, andSami Zayn defeatingGunther in Night 1 to end the latter's 666-day reign asIntercontinental Champion. Also on the card,Rhea Ripley successfully defended theWomen's World Championship againstBecky Lynch in the opening match of the first night,Jey Uso defeated his twin brotherJimmy Uso in Night 1, in only the third WrestleMania to feature a match between two real-life brothers afterOwen Hart vsBret Hart atWrestleMania X andMatt Hardy vs.Jeff Hardy atWrestleMania 25, social media influencer and professional boxerLogan Paul beatRandy Orton andKevin Owens in a triple threat match to retain theUnited States Championship on the second night, andBayley defeatingIyo Sky in Night 2 for theWWE Women's Championship to mark her first world title victory at WrestleMania.
WrestleMania 41 took place on April 19 and 20, 2025, atAllegiant Stadium in theLas Vegas suburb ofParadise, Nevada. While still roughly in mid-April, this is the latest April date for a WrestleMania, which subsequently marks the first WrestleMania to be held duringEaster weekend.[50] Following tradition, the WrestleMania Weekend festivities included a liveWrestleMania SmackDown (including the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal) immediately followed by the2025 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday April 18, then on the afternoon of Saturday April 19, NXT'sStand & Deliver event. A post WrestleMania edition ofRaw on Monday April 21 followed, with all WrestleMania week festivities concluding with the Tuesday April 22 episode ofNXT.SmackDown, Stand & Deliver andRaw all took place at the nearbyT-Mobile Arena near Vegas, whilst the Hall of Fame ceremony andNXT took place at theFontainebleau Las Vegas in the BleauLive Theatre. The main event of Night 1 sawSeth Rollins defeatRoman Reigns andCM Punk, the lattermost of which main evented WrestleMania for the first time in his career, in atriple threat match with help from his new managerPaul Heyman, who betrayed both Reigns and Punk to align with Rollins.[51] Night 2 sawJohn Cena, who had recently turned heel for the first time in 23 years, defeatCody Rhodes to win theUndisputed WWE Championship and become a record 17 time world champion, breaking the record for most world championship reigns recognized by WWE.[52] This was also Cena's last WrestleMania match due to his retirement from professional wrestling at the end of 2025. In other marquee matches,Jey Uso defeatedGunther to win theWorld Heavyweight Championship,Tiffany Stratton defeatedCharlotte Flair to retain theWWE Women's Championship, andIyo Sky defeatedRhea Ripley andBianca Belair in atriple threat match to retain theWomen's World Championship.
WrestleMania 42 was to be held at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, which would have marked the third WrestleMania in New Orleans and at the stadium, after WrestleMania XXX in 2014 and WrestleMania 34 in 2018; however, on May 22, 2025, it was announced that New Orleans would no longer be hosting the event but is earmarked for a future WrestleMania.[53] On June 7, 2025, it was confirmed that following WrestleMania 41's success, WrestleMania 42 would return to the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for a second consecutive year, scheduled for April 18 and 19, 2026.[54]
WrestleMania 43 will be held inRiyadh,Saudi Arabia and is scheduled for 2027. This will be the first WrestleMania held outside of North America and the first in the Middle East, done as part of a10-year partnership that began in 2018 with the Kingdom in support ofSaudi Vision 2030 and as part of the annualRiyadh Season festival.[55]
Additionally, a future WrestleMania will be held at theLucas Oil Stadium inIndianapolis, Indiana as part of a partnership with the Indiana Sports Corp, which saw the2025 Royal Rumble, as well as a future SummerSlam, held at the stadium.[56]
Over the years, WrestleMania has featured manycelebrity appearances with varying levels of involvement. The main event of the first WrestleMania showcased numerous celebrities along with the wrestlers.Billy Martin served as ring announcer withLiberace as timekeeper, andMuhammad Ali served as an official.Mr. T competed in the main event alongside tag team partner, Hulk Hogan. WrestleMania 2 featured a 20-manbattle royal pitting severalNFL players against WWF wrestlers, whileLawrence Taylor defeatedBam Bam Bigelow in the main event of WrestleMania XI.Mike Tyson appeared at WrestleMania XIV as the special guest enforcer for the WWF Championship bout between Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin, while professional boxerButterbean was challenged to a boxing match byBart Gunn at WrestleMania XV. At WrestleManias XIV, XV, and 2000,Pete Rose became involved in a short feud withKane that became a running gag with each appearance ending with Rose receiving aTombstone piledriver orchokeslam from Kane.Big Show facedsumo wrestlingyokozunaAkebono in a sumo contest at WrestleMania 21, and fought professional welterweight boxerFloyd Mayweather Jr. atWrestleMania XXIV.Jersey Shore starNicole "Snooki" Polizzi competed in a 6-person tag team match teaming withTrish Stratus andJohn Morrison in a winning effort againstDolph Ziggler andLayCool (Layla andMichelle McCool), atWrestleMania XXVII.
The event has also featured live musical performances.Ray Charles,Aretha Franklin,Gladys Knight,Willie Nelson,Reba McEntire,Little Richard,Boyz II Men,Ashanti,Boys Choir of Harlem,Michelle Williams,John Legend,Nicole Scherzinger,Fantasia Barrino, andKeri Hilson have each renditioned the songs "The Star-Spangled Banner" or "America the Beautiful" before the show.Robert Goulet performed "O Canada" at WrestleMania VI. Acts such asMotörhead,Limp Bizkit,Saliva,Run–D.M.C.,Salt-n-Pepa,Living Colour,Ice-T,Drowning Pool,Flo Rida,P.O.D.,Machine Gun Kelly,Rev Theory,Mark Crozer, andSnoop Dogg have also performed during the live entrances of competitors.
In 1988, in association withThe Trump Organization, WWF prepared a small festival to celebrate WrestleMania IV, which included autograph signings, a brunch, and a 5K run; the event was held again in 1989 for WrestleMania V. In 1992, a festival was held the day of WrestleMania VIII which included a WWF superstarlook-alike contest and a tournament for theWWF WrestleFest arcade game. In 1993, the WWF held a "WrestleMania Brunch" the day of WrestleMania IX atCaesars Palace, during the course of whichLex LugerattackedBret Hart. In 1994, WWF offered "Fan Fest" for the weekend of WrestleMania X, which allowed fans to step inside a WWF ring, participate in games, meet superstars, and purchase merchandise; the event was followed up in 1995 with another "Fan Fest" for WrestleMania XI. For WrestleMania XV, a pre-event concert known as the "WrestleMania Rage Party" (in reference to that year's theme, "The Ragin' Climax") was held at thePennsylvania Convention Center and televised by USA Network in an hour-long special, featuring performances byIsaac Hayes andBig Pun.[57][58]
The following year WWF held its firstWrestleMania Axxess event at theAnaheim Convention Center expanding upon the party idea ofWrestleMania Rage Party. The event included autograph signings and mementos to inductees of theWWE Hall of Fame. There were also activities where fans could enter a wrestling ring and commentate a wrestling match.[59] In 2001,WrestleMania Axxess was held at theReliant Hall which expanded upon the event by adding numerous activities including areas where attendees could buy special merchandise, see a production truck and check out special WWE vehicles.[60] From 2002,WrestleMania Axxess would be extended to a three-day event (March 14–16) and would be held at theCanadian National Exhibition.[61][62] The three-day event included similar activities to that of the one-day line-up.[62] 2003 would be the final WrestleMania Axxess at a convention center for 6 years. From 2004 to 2008, WrestleMania Axxess visited cities around the United States and Canada with a smaller touring version of what was previously presented at regular Axxess events. In 2009 WrestleMania Axxess returned, and had continued every year until 2020. It was held as a four-day event at convention centers and arenas in the host city of that year's WrestleMania. The event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beginning with WrestleMania XL in April 2024, WWE relaunched the event under a new name of WWE World at WrestleMania as part of a partnership withFanatics Events.[63] The five-day event includes interview panel sessions with WWE wrestlers, aWWE 2K gaming tournament, live podcast recordings, meet-and-greets with wrestlers, and a large merchandise store with various memorabilia honoring WrestleMania's history. Like with WrestleMania Access, WWE World is held at convention centers and arenas in the host city of that year's WrestleMania.[64]
