COVID-19 made people miss WrestleMania so much that WrestleMania’s 38 got so highly-anticipated that it was able to capture the company’s highest grossing ever according to a Cageside Seats article from April 4 which reports,
“WWE® announced that WrestleMania 38 became WWE’s highest-grossing and most-attended event in company history. WWE’s annual pop-culture extravaganza saw 156,352 fans from all 50 states and 53 countries converge on AT&T Stadium in Dallas over the course of two exciting nights, surpassing the previous gate and attendance records set by WrestleMania 32 in 2016.
“On behalf of our family and the entire Dallas Cowboys organization, we are ecstatic to have once again shattered records with WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium,” said Dallas Cowboys Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones. “I’ve experienced first-hand WWE’s commitment to both its fans and host cities alike. We are so grateful for their partnership and desire to always overdeliver.”
“We are thrilled that WrestleMania’s return to Dallas again generated record results, proving that everything is indeed bigger in Texas,” said WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events John Saboor. “We are grateful to the Jones Family and the entire Dallas Cowboys Organization, the Dallas Sports Commission, the city of Arlington, the city of Dallas and all the public and private sector partners who were instrumental in making WrestleMania 38 the most stupendous two-night WrestleMania in history.”
A key success to the events were unadvertised appearances of legendary figures from the wrestling world according to a SI Wrestling article from April 4 which reports,
“The shows featured actual unadvertised wrestling matches with Steve Austin for the first time in 19 years and Vince McMahon for the first time in 12. Because WrestleMania until 2019 had been one show, by doing two shows the company sold more wrestling tickets this past weekend than the last time in Dallas.
While they didn’t wrestle each other, Austin and McMahon was a nostalgic return to the period from mid-1998 until early 2001, the hottest era in WWF history. The two squared off one more time, and hopefully for the last time, with 57-year-old Austin giving 76-year-old McMahon what was supposed to be a stunner.
Seth Rollins vs. Rhodes was never advertised, only that Rollins would have a match against a mystery opponent. But it had been reported for weeks that Rollins vs. Rhodes was on the show. And it certainly seemed that most fans were expecting it.”
Two mayors, Mayor Eric Johnson of Dallas and Mayor Jim Ross of Arlington, expressed their gratitude and delight with the huge event that helped their respective cities according to a Dallas Morning News article from April 4. They say,
“The city of Dallas would like to thank WWE for presenting an incredible WrestleMania week of events at both the American Airlines Center and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center,” said Dallas mayor Eric Johnson.
“The week provided an economic windfall for Dallas and proved once again that our city is a first-class host for major sporting events.”
“The city of Arlington is extremely grateful to WWE for bringing back its biggest annual celebration,” said Arlington mayor Jim Ross.
Now Wrestlemania, renewed with hope and excitement with the aftermath of COVID-19, is looking forward to 2023 where they will be setting upon Hollywood and the entire Los Angeles.
