WrestleMania 29 Was WWE’s Highest Grossing Show of All-Time
WWE went big for WrestleMania 29 this year, and it paid off handsomely. WrestleMania 29 was the highest grossing event in the history of the WWE, grossing in excess of $72 million.
The Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) has always been WWE's home base of operations, so it's fitting that this accomplishment took place in New Jersey's Meadowlands. MetLife Stadium, home to the NFL's New York Giants and Jets, ended up overcoming potential difficulties (weather, power outages) and proving itself to be a worthy host facility. The show itself was pulled off without a hitch, which must be reassuring to the National Football League, which will be holding Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in 2014.
Here's WWE's official tally...
WrestleMania 29, held Sunday, April 7 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, grossed an excess of $72 million, becoming the highest-grossing event in WWE history, WWE has announced. In addition, WrestleMania will once again exceed 1 million global pay-per-view buys and attracted a sold-out crowd of 80,676 fans from all 50 states and 34 countries at MetLife Stadium.
WrestleMania 30 will be trading spaces with the 2013 Super Bowl by heading to New Orleans' Superdome. Unlike MetLife Stadium, the Superdome failed to live up to the expectations of millions of fans when the power went out for an extended period of time during the second half of the game. If the same thing happens at WrestleMania, I can guarantee the fans' chants will be entertaining enough to keep the show going till the lights are restored. At the very least, we'll all be treated to crowd renditions of WWE Superstars' themes (See: Fandangoing).
WWE had a triple main event headlining WrestleMania 29, all three matches featuring 'part-timers,' and not just everyday superstars like John Cena. The Undertaker, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, and most importantly The Rock all played a gigantic part in this show's success. There may have been some controversy over putting the belt on The Rock because he was not a part of many shows leading up to WrestleMania, but it seems that worked in Vince McMahon's favor.
Now, if only they could bring in 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin for WrestleMania XXX!