| WrestleMania Axxess | |
|---|---|
.jpg) WrestleMania XXVIII Axxess in 2012 | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Professional wrestling |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 1988 |
| Organized by | WWE |
| Filing status | Corporate |
WWE World at WrestleMania, formerly known asWrestleMania Axxess, is aprofessional wrestlingfan convention held byWWE during the week ofWrestleMania. The event typically runs for four to five days—from Thursday to Sunday or Monday—and features WWE talent and alumni autograph signings, interviews, fan activities, memorabilia displays, meet-and-greets, and matches. WrestleMania Axxess was briefly discontinued from 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, but was relaunched as WWE World at WrestleMania beginning withWrestleMania XL in 2024.
The first event happened in 1988, when theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) in association withThe Trump Organization prepared a small festival to celebrateWrestleMania IV. It included autograph signings, a brunch, and a five kilometer run; the event was held again in 1989 forWrestleMania V. In 1992, a festival was held the day ofWrestleMania VIII which included a WWF wrestlerlook-alike contest and a tournament for theWWF WrestleFest arcade game. In 1993, the WWF held a "WrestleMania Brunch" the day ofWrestleMania IX atCaesars Palace, during the course of whichLex LugerattackedBret Hart. In 1994, the WWF offered "Fan Fest" for the weekend ofWrestleMania X, which allowed fans to step inside a WWF ring, participate in games, meet wrestlers, and purchase merchandise; the event was followed up in 1995 with another "Fan Fest" forWrestleMania XI. In 1999, the WWF held its first Saturday pre-WrestleMania event taking place on March 27, 1999.WrestleMania Rage Party, as it was known, was televised live on theUSA Network from 10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. (EST). The event was to be held at thePennsylvania Convention Center. The idea of the event was "...to celebrate the final WrestleMania of the millennium..."[1][2]
The following year, the WWF held its first WrestleMania Axxess event at theAnaheim Convention Center expanding upon the party idea ofWrestleMania Rage Party. The event included autograph signings and mementos of inductees of theWWE Hall of Fame. There were also activities where fans could enter a wrestling ring and commentate a wrestling match.[3] 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.[4] In 2002, WrestleMania Axxess was extended to a three-day event and was held at theNational Trade Centre (now Enercare Centre).[5][6] The three-day event included similar activities to that of the one-day line-up.[6] In 2007, WrestleMania Axxess went on tour around cities in both the United States and Canada. In recent years, Axxess has become a four-day event, with one session on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, and three sessions on Saturday.
Since 2013,NXT matches have been held at WrestleMania Axxess, and since 2017, matches from variousindependent promotions have been held, such asInsane Championship Wrestling,Progress Wrestling, andEvolve.[7][8] In 2018, WWE held four invitational tournaments for NXT championship matches. The winners of theWWE United Kingdom Championship Invitational,NXT North American Championship Invitational,NXT Tag Team Championship Invitational, andNXT Women's Championship Invitational tournaments received matches for the respective titles on April 8.[8]
WWE cancelled the traditional WrestleMania Axxess events since 2020 due to the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic and subsequently announced that the 2022 event duringWrestleMania 38 weekend will be replaced by a Superstore Axxess shop with superstar panels and premium experiences. Unlike previous events, no live wrestling matches and only a limited amount of autograph signings were involved for the 2023 event.[9][10]
ForWrestleMania XL in April 2024, WWE relaunched the event under a new name of WWE World at WrestleMania, which was done in partnership withFanatics Events and held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.[11] The event runs from Thursday, April 4 until Monday, April 8. The five-day event includes interview panel sessions with WWE wrestlers, aWWE 2K24 gaming tournament, live podcast recordings, meet-and-greets with wrestlers, and a large merchandise store with various memorabilia honoring WrestleMania's 40-year history.[12]
Every year during the week leading up to WrestleMania, the WrestleMania Superstore is open at WrestleMania Axxess. The WrestleMania Superstore has "the largest selection of WrestleMania and WWE merchandise under one roof". It has over 700 items and includes exclusive Superstore-only merchandise. The store is open to the public, and no ticket is required.[13]
Beginning in 2013, WWE has honored a Legend Superstar by unveiling a real-size statue at WrestleMania Axxess. This has not occurred every year, with no statue being unveiled in 2018 and 2023. (Excluding 2020 and 2021 when there was no convention following theCOVID-19 pandemic.) In 2024Bray Wyatt got two statues, one which shows him being the normal Bray Wyatt and one which shows him in the updated ”The Fiend” Bray Wyatt gear that he never got to use to wear in ring.[14]
| Date | Location | Venue | Statue | WrestleMania | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 3, 2013 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Izod Center | André the Giant (André Roussimoff) | 29 | [15] |
| April 3, 2014 | New Orleans, Louisiana | Ernest N. Morial Convention Center | Bruno Sammartino | XXX | [16] |
| March 26, 2015 | San Jose, California | San Jose Convention Center | The Ultimate Warrior (James Brian Hellwig) | 31 | [17] |
| March 31, 2016 | Dallas, Texas | Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center | Dusty Rhodes (Virgil Runnels Jr.) | 32 | [18] |
| March 30, 2017 | Orlando, Florida | Orange County Convention Center | Ric Flair (Richard Morgan Fliehr) | 33 | [19] |
| April 4, 2019 | Brooklyn, New York | Pier 12 | "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (Roderick George Toombs) | 35 | [14] |
| March 31, 2022 | Dallas, Texas | Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center | The Undertaker (Mark Calaway) | 38 | [20] |
| April 6, 2024 | Philadelphia,Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Convention Center | Bray Wyatt (Windham Lawrence Rotunda) | XL | [21] |
| April 18, 2025 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Fontainebleau Las Vegas | Triple H (Paul Michael Levesque) | 41 |
