Moving WrestleMania Later In The Year

[The Brain]

This might sound crazy, maybe almost a little like blasphemy to a WWE fan, but how would you feel if WrestleMania was moved to later in the year? It feels wrong just asking the question but there may be some benefits. Earlier this year WrestleMania 29 was held outdoors at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. I was there and while the weather wasn’t terrible by any means it was cold and a little uncomfortable for a wrestling show. Vince McMahon has stated he wants WrestleMania to be in a huge stadium every year rather than a normal sized arena. This limits WWE to hold the event in either warm weather cities or cities that happen to have a large indoor stadium. This leaves major markets such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston among others out of the running for any future mania events. I’m not sure if WWE set a precedent with mania this year and will now be willing to hold the show outdoors in cold weather cities or if they just did it once because it was the New York area which has always been WWE’s home. Maybe they will take their chances and risk poor weather to get mania back to these markets or maybe they will stay in warmer climates and indoor stadiums leaving Chicago, Philly and Boston quite literally out in the cold.

If mania was moved to May or June any city could be a candidate to host mania without the concern of cold weather. Of course rain would always be a concern but by moving the show to later in the spring the weather risks could at least be limited. If mania was moved some things would have to be adjusted. What would happen with the Royal Rumble? Would it remain in January and the mania title shot be phased out or would that have to move too, maybe to where mania is now? What about SummerSlam? Would WWE want their two biggest shows so close together on the calendar?

Even though I have posed the question I don’t think it’s necessary to move mania. It’s probably mostly because I’m a stubborn “traditionalist” that wants to keep things the way I’ve always known them but also because I think holding mania outdoors is too risky regardless of when it’s held. Obviously mania is the biggest night of the year for WWE and I think watching it in the rain would really ruin the show. For that reason I prefer the show always be held indoors or in a stadium with a retractable roof.

I’m only bringing this up because I’m wondering if WWE is tired of having their mania locations limited by weather. Just out of curiosity how would you feel if there was an announcement made tomorrow saying that starting in 2015 WrestleMania would be held in June?

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Im right with you, for all the same reasons, also the fact that people just got out of school, could be looking for vacation destinations and the like.

If they will insist on continuing to make them in football stadums (which they should) moving it to a little warmer time of year certainley opens up a MUCH wider range of options for them.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I can see moving the event to later in April with little impact except maybe they lose a PPV due to scheduling (in my opinion, a blessing). That may mitigate weather as a result.

I hate to say it, but they can probably get away with keeping it in warm weather locales. WrestleMania is an event that brings people from all over, so it's going to draw even if it's not in one of the WWE's northern mainstays.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Personally I would not be in favor of moving Wrestlemania to later in the year. Maybe I am a bit of a traditionalist myself, but for me, late March/early April is synonymous with Wrestlemania. Plus, the "road to Wrestlemania", which typically starts at the Royal Rumble in January, gets to be a pretty long road if it has to continue all the way to May or June. Let's face it, at times it is difficult to maintain interest on the road to Wrestlemania as it is. Let's not make it that much longer, more onerous, and difficult to sustain.

I have no problem with restricting Wrestlemania to warmer locales or indoor venues. Sure, that rules out certain portions of the country and certain cities with certain stadiums. But the last time I checked, that is an obstacle for the NFL to overcome in their annual Super Bowl spectacle. And they seem to be coping just fine. As much as I would love to see the Superbowl in Foxboro some year, it probably isn't going to happen, and that's OK. There's really no need to mess with tradition. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Personally I would not be in favor of moving Wrestlemania to later in the year. Maybe I am a bit of a traditionalist myself, but for me, late March/early April is synonymous with Wrestlemania. Plus, the "road to Wrestlemania", which typically starts at the Royal Rumble in January, gets to be a pretty long road if it has to continue all the way to May or June. Let's face it, at times it is difficult to maintain interest on the road to Wrestlemania as it is. Let's not make it that much longer, more onerous, and difficult to sustain.

I have no problem with restricting Wrestlemania to warmer locales or indoor venues. Sure, that rules out certain portions of the country and certain cities with certain stadiums. But the last time I checked, that is an obstacle for the NFL to overcome in their annual Super Bowl spectacle. And they seem to be coping just fine. As much as I would love to see the Superbowl in Foxboro some year, it probably isn't going to happen, and that's OK. There's really no need to mess with tradition. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Well, obviously, you woud shift the road to WM season until later in the year as well, so as to avoid such a thing.

You show a great example....Boston, or the NE region is a great sports market, and its tough to beat the beauty of a last week of may/first week of june evening there.....Or perhaps at Fenway? Yankee Stadium, anyone?

 

[d_henderson1810]

Maybe some of these cities should build stadium with retracable roofs on them, so that it can be closed when it rains.

The outdoor arena with no roof is the thing of the past. Unless it is held in California, Arizona, Florida etc (where it hardly ever rains) maybe cities need to knock down old stadiums, and put up new state-of-the-art ones with a roof that can be open or shut.

Tennis and many other sports are affected by weather too. So, now sports should tell stadiums to either get a roof, or they will not hold their event in their stadium until they do.

Roofed stadiums are the way of the 21st century, and you then don't need to move 'Mania.

 

[RKO920]

So let me get this straight. You want to move an event that is going into its 30th year of existence to a different time of the year so that basically the North East doesn't lose out on a WrestleMania? Then you also want to move the Royal Rumble so that road to Mania isn't as long?

No and No. Look I'm from New Jersey, right outside Philadelphia, would I love for WrestleMania to be at Lincoln Financial Field or Citizens Bank Park? Hell yes I would. But you can't change the tradition of what the WWE has built over 30 years because, Philly, Boston, New York, Baltimore, and DC can't have a Mania. However 29 seemed to go over pretty well in Jersey, even though they'll say NYC, so I don't rule out these cities being considered for the event.

Also as for whoever said knock down the old stadiums and build ones with roofs, are you kidding me? The places that have roofed or even retractable roof stadiums are for reasons. Wether it being heat like in Arizona, Houston, Dallas, and I'll use this twice but Miami. Weather purposes, snow, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Detroit, Toronto. Or rain in Seattle and once again Miami. The only ones I missed were Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa but they have been around for years. There are reasons for a roofed stadium and you can't go tell someone from Philly or New York that there should be a roofed stadium because you want WrestleMania to come there and be able to sit in a comfortable 76 degrees.

Also it benefits not just the WWE but the host city if it is held in a warm weather climate. If you are a huge wrestling fan in a cold weather city why wouldn't you want to travel to somewhere that it's warm for a week to see the biggest show of the year and take in all of the events of the week. This gives the WWE more money because of ticket packages that include hotel and other things and the city because they bring in people they would never see come to their city in a normal April.

So to sum up, Mania stays at the beginning of April. Rumble stays in January. Roofs don't need to be everywhere. Move the event around and make more money.

Feel free to discuss.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Call me oldschool, but I prefer to keep traditions intact. This year we will be having the 30th edition of Wrestlemania. Three decades worth of having it in the spring. Every single Wrestlemania has taken place in March or April. The old saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Moving it to any other time of the year wouldn't make sense. It's tradition to have it in the spring, that is when it has always been. Besides, if they moved Wrestlemania then they would have to shift other PPV brands on the lineup too. Why move it to summer when you'd then have to move Summerslam? The #1 and #2 shows cannot be close to each other. Why move it to winter when you'd then have to move the Royal Rumble? If you move it to the fall then you might as well move Survivor Series. It makes sense to keep the biggest show of them all right where it is.

Summer is completely out of the question. Summerslam would have to move as a result and it would no longer make sense as a brand if it retained its name but took place in any other season. The Royal Rumble would be easier to move, as would Survivor Series, but it is tradition to have these events during the same time of the year each year. I'm against moving most of the WWE PPV brands quite honestly, and the bigger the brand the less I would support moving it. Wrestlemania being the biggest of all, makes it the last show I would ever support WWE moving. If the concern for colder weather is there, have it be at the end of April. That makes it more likely to have nicer weather during the event and the matches would get more time to be hyped anyway.

 

[The Brain]

So let me get this straight. You want to move an event that is going into its 30th year of existence to a different time of the year so that basically the North East doesn't lose out on a WrestleMania? Then you also want to move the Royal Rumble so that road to Mania isn't as long?

Actually I don't want to move it. I said so in my opening post. I'm just bringing up the idea because it might benefit WWE to move it. Would WrestleMania be less of an attraction if it were moved to June?

No and No. Look I'm from New Jersey, right outside Philadelphia, would I love for WrestleMania to be at Lincoln Financial Field or Citizens Bank Park? Hell yes I would. But you can't change the tradition of what the WWE has built over 30 years because, Philly, Boston, New York, Baltimore, and DC can't have a Mania.

Why not? What's so important about the tradition of mania being in late March/early April other than that's what we're used to? It's not like mania being at that time was the reason for its success. The original date for the first WrestleMania was probably arbitrary anyway. If the idea for WrestleMania came up a couple months later it would have been in June and that's the tradition you would be used to.

Also it benefits not just the WWE but the host city if it is held in a warm weather climate. If you are a huge wrestling fan in a cold weather city why wouldn't you want to travel to somewhere that it's warm for a week to see the biggest show of the year and take in all of the events of the week. This gives the WWE more money because of ticket packages that include hotel and other things and the city because they bring in people they would never see come to their city in a normal April.

This doesn't make any sense. People come from all over the world to see WrestleMania. Hotels will still be a part of travel packages regardless of where the event is held. If your argument is keep mania in warm weather cities so people are more likely to travel there isn't that just a reason to move mania later when it's warm everywhere? We are at a point where cities are actually placing bids to host WrestleMania. Why eliminate so many major markets from being able to get in on that?

Again, I don't want mania to move. That's just me speaking as a fan who is set in his ways and used to the way things are. Just like you. I'm just saying it might be a beneficial move for WWE. Mania already makes a ton of money anyway regardless of where it goes so maybe in the end it doesn't really matter. Just a thought.

 

[Fabulous Freebirds]

Moving wrestlemania to June? No way. Absolutely not. I could understand moving it up a week or two weeks from it's original April date. But to move it two months from April? For me, not a good idea.

 

[RKO920]

You leave Mania where it is in April and for those cities that don't get in on the big show in April, let's make SummerSlam a big event since it is one of the big four. With SummerSlam being in August, you now have those cities like Philly, Chicago, Boston, New York, and even ones that would have thought WreslteMania wasn't a possibility for an outdoor show. The WWE wants to make as much money as possible, so why not cram as many people into not just one but two stadium shows per year.

It won't have the same spectacle as Mania but still you will now get your big shows in the big cities.

As for the tradition. Something that is going into it's 30th year of existence that has been at the same time every year should not be changed. The old adage is if it ain't broke don't fix it, and in this case there clearly is nothing wrong with Mania so don't fix it. Weather or climate isn't stopping cities from bidding on the show and even Philly, one of the original cities you mentioned is bidding on trying to get 31 or 32.

The idea of the city benefitting as well as the WWE is the same as the host city and the NFL for the Super Bowl. I don't see there being a huge push for the NFL to wait and play the game in March or April when it's not as cold out though. Events such as this help out economies greatly for these locations, is Detroit a travel destination? Not to offend anyone from there but no. When WrestleMania or the Super Bowl goes there, yes it is. That one event can bring tens of millions of dollars to a local economy.

And just going back to the whole scheduling aspect of it. If you move WrestleMania to let's say June, which is pushing it back 2 months. Then the Royal Rumble has to move to March, SummerSlam is only 2 months after Mania which doesn't give time for new storylines to develop and be the big stories on the card.

 

[fenderjapan]

The real answer here is to make Summerslam a bigger deal. Promote it. Hype the history of summerslam. Add a fan festival. Then you could build up to a bigger event with a bigger crowd and hold it in a bigger venue.

Theres no good reason the WWE can't at least TRY to build some hype around Summerslam. They have had big draws for events other than Wrestlemania.

Summerslam 92 drew over 70,000 fans in London at Wembley Stadium.

Royal Rumble 97 drew 60,000 at the Alamodome...yes I know it was heavily papered.

 

[RKO920]

I agree completely with that. I will say this though the reason Mania is always so good is that there is time to develop the storylines. Since this is a PPV thread I won't be going off topic too much. I would axe the June PPV, you need the May PPV to tie up any loose ends from Mania. Have Money in the Bank in July but make it either the first or second weekend of the month. Then schedule SummerSlam to be 5-6 weeks later to give plenty of time for stories to develop. It has to do with the horrible scheduling and too many PPV's.

Back to the issue at hand, SummerSlam could easily be held in a big outdoor stadium and it leaves the whole country to be available to host it. So those cities that may miss out on the chance for Mania can have another big PPV and have 60-70,000 fans enjoy a huge show.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've sort of wondered the same thing myself. In the grand scheme of things, WrestleMania season is the time of year in which more people watch Raw live rather than via DVR later on. It's the biggest show of the year, after all, and it's a time in which WWE tries to create the biggest money matches that they can.

The final 3-4 months of the year are often the toughest for WWE when it comes to ratings, at least when it comes to Raw, as it's primary competition is Monday Night Football. It's had it a little easier than it did this time last year and it may have been helped somewhat due to its other chief competition, Pawn Stars & American Pickers on History, airing new episodes on Thursday & Wednesday nights. So the notion of having WrestleMania take place during the last quarter of the year MIGHT sway some viewers to tune in for Raw rather than MNF. It could also be a means of WWE possibly building up the Royal Rumble winner, if they kept it as the first ppv of the year, as a strong threat to the title over the course of most of a year. As a result, it's POSSIBLE that it could lead to more unpredictability in terms of who wins the Rumble since WWE would have all that time to really push someone from the mid-card to the main event picture.

There's a potential downside to moving WM, especially to around this time of the year, and that downside is that it's a gamble with no guarantee of success. As has been mentioned, WrestleMania taking place at the very end of March to very beginning of April is a 30 year tradition. In a changing world in which a lot of traditions find themselves outdated and left behind, especially in pro wrestling, it's something that some fans simply might not like. You also have to consider that moving WM to this season of the year in no way guarantees that people will switch from Monday Night Football in the kinds of numbers WWE wants and hopes. There's also the fact that the last several months of the year is the holiday season with people spending a lot of money purchasing gifts, airline tickets to visit family for the holidays, various food items & other holiday supplies, etc. If it comes down to a choice of spending $65 for a wrestling ppv during this time of year, even if it's WrestleMania, a lot of people are going to balk at doing it.

IF WWE ever wanted to move WrestleMania, I think the best time to do so would be during the summer doldrums. There's not very much competition on television during those months as most shows go on hiatus, even a lot of reality shows. Again, not sure at all that it'd work, but I think they'd have a better shot of pulling it off successfully than they would during the Fall, especially if they cut back on the number of ppvs they have in a year. Have the Royal Rumble in January, Elimination Chamber in March, POSSIBLY do 3 hour ppv special editions of Raw, as TNA does with IW, in April & May for Night of Champions and Payback, WrestleMania in June, maybe one more 3 hour ppv edition of Raw in July with Extreme Rules, keep SummerSlam at August, then go back to having 1 ppv a month for the rest of the year or combining some ppvs into one, such as making MITB & TLC one show since they revolve around ladder matches.

 

[JJ15776]

Absolutely not.

Aside from the tradition(which matters), I don't buy that there's any benefit to moving it. They can easily have WrestleMania outdoors in Chicago or Philadelphia or Boston. We're not talking about the Super Bowl in early February, it's early April. MLB teams are playing in early April. It might not be the most comfortable weather, but you know what you're getting into when you buy the tickets and you dress appropriately. It doesn't affect the show. More importantly, there's always going to be a risk of poor weather. If you move it to May or June, then you're talking about the potential for extreme heat in the south. And it can rain anywhere at any time of year.

It's something worth thinking about and discussing, sure, but there's really no reason to give it any serious consideration.

 

[DDevine]

I myself have a biased opinion. I went to WM24, which was held at the Orange Bowl, an outside football stadium. For me, it was just fine, up until the two main events, then it was kinda chilly. But then again, it's Florida...there's a joke that Floridians think anything below 70 is freezing, lol. (Kinda true, I get "really" cold at around 68). But I would vote to hold up the tradition and keep it where it is. As for cold weather being a factor, look at your NFL games, we'll use Green Bay as an example. How often do we see guys with no shirts and green and yellow paint all over their chests, in worse temps than what they'd have in late May/early April? And those are for just regular season games, imagine how many more we'd see if Green Bay was in the Super Bowl, at Green Bay? The mind of a true fan doesn't see the same things as a threat. That, and some people are downright crazy. On a side note that is irrelevant and yet not, look at Mardi Gras. It happens in February, which is still Winter. And how many topless women do we see? Lol. Long story short, I don't think the weather and temps are as big of a deal to someone who wants to experience the "magic" and "spectacle" of Wrestlemania.

 

[GameOver]

Really WrestleMania should be the last PPV of the year all PPV's lead to the following WrestleMania but since its the last big PPV b4 the end of the financial year for WWE given them a few months to work out there taxes i guess thats the original idea it's staying where it is and it's been near 30yrs now no point changing it, the whole world that watches anticipates that time of year. They just need to suck it up and work with what nature gives them or here's a novel idea just stick to huge arena's that can have a closed roof.

 

[harrythem]

This is a really interesting topic because, at the moment, there's the whole to-do about Quatar getting the 2022 football world cup.

Basically the world cup is always held in June/July and, because of the heat over there, they're looking at moving it to winter for the players and fans safety. The big argument against this? It's always been in June/July so you don't go messing with tradition in that way!

I'd have to say I feel the same about Wrestlemania because it's kinda where it is and the date might move a few days either way, but it's a good time of year to hold it....

Plus when it gets warmer people tend to go outside more and watch less tv, which would mean the build up to WM has less eyes on it...there's a reason that no top shows (apart from Dexter) start in summer and, as TV revenue seems to be the be all and end all for the WWE, I couldn't see them sacrificing a single penny.

 

[RKO920]

You make a great point with the World Cup, but there is a point to be made that since they name these host cities years in advance to build a stadium or make improvements that proper research should have gone in to see that the average summer temperature is way too hot. This is something that the WWE will do for anything that is an outdoor event. Granted it doesn't take too much time to Google what the average temperature in April in (insert city name here).

Mania has always been in April and can be looked at in 1 of 2 ways, both sports analogies. It can be looked at as the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, or Stanley Cup which is the ending point of the big 4 professional sports seasons. Or it can be looked at as the Daytona 500 which is the start of the NASCAR season, in both cases the biggest event either starts or ends a season. The WWE looks at Mania as the same thing.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

Really tough call on this one, many pros and many cons for both sides. But there is a reason why Wrestlemania is in that time of the year. Maybe it wasn't thought at first, but the way I see it, having it during Christmas-Easter periods would end up possibly badly, because people might not want to go to Wrestlemania because of family issues. Same for summer, people might have to change holiday destinations and stuff based on the PPV program. Of course, there are kids who have school during WM season, but it is held on Sunday, and I think the parents of the kids can take them to WM for a Friday-Monday period. I didn't want to elaborate a lot, but I thought of throwing in my 2 cents saying that WM might not be 100% attended because of other real life things going on, if it would be changed.