WrestleMania in the Rear View: Axxess

I have attended WWE shows in the past. My first live experience with WWE was a big one: Raw 1000 in St. Louis. After that I attended a random Smackdown show on the road to WrestleMania 30. I had already enjoyed the heck out of an NXT show a few nights earlier, but I was not prepared.

You are not prepared.

I’m sure the feeling was lessened back in the days when WrestleMania was held inside an arena. Back then you still had the big feeling, because so many big storylines were coming to a head. The crowd was always great in those days, but the atmosphere could only ever be as good as a 25,000 seat area would allow. The matches were almost always guaranteed to deliver, but the ambiance was limited. These days fans worry about the matches and the stories being told but no one questions how great the atmosphere will be.

WWE’s history of big stadium shows is an up-and-down affair. WrestleMania III is legendary for its (arguable to some) tally of 93,000. It was followed by back-to-back events at the much smaller Trump Plaza, before the Toronto Skydome and the Indianapolis Hoosier Dome returned to the larger spectacle. After that, things went small. The next eight WrestleMania’s were held in basketball/hockey arenas where the crowd size was a fraction of what a stadium can hold. Apart from a Texas-sized Royal Rumble at the Alamo Dome in 1997, WWF wrestling seemed to view stadium shows as a thing of the past. Though the product was white hot during Austin’s run at the top in 1998 and 1999, the WWF was still only just coming out of some very lean financial years. It wasn’t until the unmatched success of the year 2000 that it became conceivable to run the biggest show of the year in a stadium befitting it’s spectacle.

WrestleMania III, with a crowd of 93,000

WrestleMania IV and V had crowds of 18,000

WrestleMania VI was attended by over 67,000

WrestleMania X was attended by 18,000

WrestleMania returned to being a big stadium show during the end of the Attitude Era and the birth of the Ruthless Aggression Years: WrestleMania X-Seven in the Houston Astrodome set a standard that arguably has never been reached. The follow up edition in the Toronto Skydome was met with more mixed response as a card, but no one complained about the crowd; they were on fire all night (until Rock and Hogan took every last bit of energy they had left). WrestleMania XIX was held in Seattle’s Safeco Field, in front of over 50,000 fans who witnessed one of the greatest top-to-bottom cards in pro wrestling’s history. After that, with the Attitude Era boom officially in the rear-view mirror, WWE scaled back its spectacle and opted to return WrestleMania to arenas.

WrestleMania X-Seven played host to 68,000

WrestleMania X8 was attended by 68,000

WrestleMania XIX was attended by 57,000

Madison Square Garden continued the WrestleMania 1 and WrestleMania X tradition of hosting the big anniversary show, and Los Angeles played host to the birth of the John Cena era. With WrestleMania 22 in Chicago, business had proven to be in safe hands in Cena’s care and Vince and co. decided to put WrestleMania’s next host city up for bidding the same way the NFL does with the SuperBowl. That led to a 20 year reunion for WrestleMania and the city of Detroit, followed by the best the Citrus Bowl has ever looked for WrestleMania XXIV. After that there was no going back. WrestleMania 25 made a big return to Houston, the next year saw a big, elaborate Aztec themed WrestleMania and the Georgia Dome (site of more than a few star-studded WCW events) played host to WrestleMania XXVII. The Rock took center stage at Sun Life Stadium in Miami and Met Life Stadium in New (York) Jersey. And then last year the Superdome was painted purple to welcome the thirtieth edition of the big event.

WrestleMania 22 hosted 17,000

WrestleMania 23 had 80,000 on hand

WrestleMania XXVII happened in front of 71,000

WrestleMania XXX happened in front of 75,000

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Which brings us to Levi’s Stadium. Ever since the show permanently became a stadium experience, with WrestleMania 23, fans anticipated where the venue would be held next, what the stage would look like, how elaborate the entrances would be, and perhaps most of all–at least for those in attendance–how good a view they would have of the ring from their seats.

What I learned watching WrestleMania at home, over the past 8 years, is that not all stadiums are created equal. Some of them are designed to allow sound to escape, and some are built to hold it in. Some are designed around the late-afternoon sun, and with others it seems no one even considered it. When it comes to a WWE show, one of the most overlooked aspects of the production is its use of lighting. It is easily taken for granted, but it is crucial to the fans’ subconscious enjoyment of the affair. Almost every superstar has a custom lighting devoted to his entrance, some of the more elaborate ones (such as from Triple H or Undertaker) rely heavily on the right lighting conditions. In an indoor stadium, such as the Georgia Dome this can create some impressive sights. Even an outdoor show, like WrestleMania 24 in Orlando, can impress due to the show taking place almost entirely at night. But when there is no roof to hang the lighting rig from, the ring itself needs some way to be illuminated.

Back in the old days of World Class Championship Wrestling, their big shows in the Dallas Cotton Bowl would be held in the daylight hours and as the sun began to set the stadium’s house lights which were used to illuminate the field for football games would be used to highlight the action in the ring. Obviously such rudimentary techniques would never be compatible with the slick WWE production, so an elaborate canopy was constructed for outdoor WrestleMania, both to protect against the weather and also to conceal the lighting setup. This makes for a nice TV production, but in recent years it has caused problems for the live audience.

WrestleMania XXIV was attended by 74,000

WrestleMania XXVI happened in front of 72,000

WrestleMania 28 happened in front of 78,000

WrestleMania 29 was performed in front of 80,000

Fans in some seats complained about the palm trees at Mania 28 blocking the entire ring. The next year fans were upset at the massive faux-skyscraper designs that held up the canopy (and Statue of Liberty facsimile).

Thankfully with WrestleMania 31 it seems WWE learned from their mistakes and went back to Mania 24’s scaffolding approach. There was still some obstruction for some fans, but not nearly as much as in the past. Instead of a solid construction to fit a theme (such as palm trees for Miami), the pillars were left bare and only special spotlights were used to give each of them a special design, depending on the situation.

The stage as we awaited the start of the pre-show

The special lighting for the pillars was a nice touch

In fact the entire setup was ingenious, although many fans were initially upset. It’s true that the design was much more limited compared to years past but one major factor contributed to striped-down setup: The sun.

The bare-bones stage set-up was a necessary evil this year

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The sun was THE biggest heel of the night, drawing more grumbles and complaints than all the Authority members combined. There was nothing WWE could do about it, short of simply not booking the venue; it’s a problem with the design of Levi’s Stadium itself: too much of it simply sits directly in path of the sun (it essentially faces north to south, meaning the wide parts of the arena are directly in the sunlight, depending on the time of day).

It wasn’t until near the end of the Undertaker match that most of the crowd was able to view the action without having to squint, and it wasn’t until the final match of the night that the lighting setup could be fully appreciated.

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That meant the big entrances had to either roll with the light and go about like normal, which meant for some underwhelming sights (Undertaker, Sting), or they had to devise a different kind of entrance that didn’t rely on a darkened venue. That made for some interesting visuals (Wyatt, Triple H, Rusev).

As for the stage itself, it’s clear the design was based around the fact that 90% of the show would be held in broad daylight; that meant every nutt and bolt and wire and piece of tape would be exposed. There was no hiding anything. So they made that limitation a virtue: They took the scaffolding that is the skeleton for each of these stages and left them largely bare. They left the stage basic, with only a pair of giant video screens, a big playbutton in the middle, and the words “WRESTLEMANIA” stretching across the endzone. It was bare-bones, but anymore than that and the whole thing looks silly in the light. Once fans got used to it, I think most of them came to appreciate the intended simplicity of it.

The Rock electrified the audience, and also stalled for time to let the sun set a bit before the Undertaker’s match

Wyatt’s entrance was clever, considering the bright light shining on it

Enough about the atmosphere; What’s it like to be at WrestleMania?

In a word: surreal.

As I said, I’ve been to big TV shows that mattered (Raw1000) and I’ve been to minor TV shows that don’t matter (a random Smackdown). I’ve experienced crowds on their feet and excited and crowds that were just happy to be there and take in the experience of a WWE show. I’ve been to huge college football games with national title implications. I’ve been to the host venue of next year’s WrestleMania–AT&T Stadium (nicknamed “JerryWorld” in honor of Dallas Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones) twice for big inter-conference rivalry games. I was at a sold out bowl game just last year between hated rivals Arkansas and Texas (at the site of WrestleMania 25). I’ve been to big events.

I have never been to something like WrestleMania.

The sight of seeing the ring, that is usually two-thirds of my TV screen (I have a 120-inch projection screen), reduced to a tiny little white square was at first hilarious and later (when viewed in conjunction with a sold out stadium around it), awe-inspiring. Seeing the wrestlers I’m used to watching up close with cameras in their faces, instead march down the ramp like overgrown ants was, to repeat myself, surreal.

I was thankful for my seats, which were on the isle, one row over from the exact middle of the stadium. I had an almost-direct view of the ring and rarely used the surrounding screens to get a better angle (only when the action spilled to the outside, or during a talking segment). I wanted to take in the experience and I didn’t pay to watch wrestling on a screen.

Probably the longest sustained pop of the show

More than the environment was the crowd. Over 70,000 voices chanting and screaming and booing and cheering. The atmosphere for the main event felt more like an old school boxing match than a wrestling contest. There were insults hurled, fists shaken, anger spewed. And that was just to the “babyface” challenger. The audience lived and died with every near fall, griped their mouths with every surprise and rejoiced in unison at the sudden twist near the end and the shocking conclusion.

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Watching the show on the network, a few days later, I was amazed at how different my experience with it was. Granted you can’t watch a show live more than once. After you’ve seen it, it lessens the impact. The smoke and mirrors of the Sting match, the over-the-top insanity of the Rusev entrance and the shocking title win at the end; all of those things were great live, but once you know they’re coming, the edge is taken off.

That said, all of the big moments, the surprise appearances and the twist endings worked on TV the same way they worked in person, with one exception (the Sting/Triple H match, which I will discuss on the next page). The only difference between on TV and in person was the intensity of the feelings. I remember my feeling watching Bryan pin Triple H clean 1-2-3 last year. I remember being angry at seeing Wyatt lose to Cena last year. I remember the dead feeling and the shock at seeing “21-1” flash on the screen. I remember the euphoria at watching Bryan win the title. I don’t think Seth Rollins cashing-in to win the title compares to the Bryan wins or the Taker loss. But I know that being there as it was happening elicited an emotional response I’ve not given to wrestling in my life.

It was surreal to be among so many fellow fans

My beloved Arkansas Razorbacks had endured 17 straight Southeastern Conference losses coming into their game last fall against hated rival LSU. LSU was ranked number 17 in the country. The game was at home: Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville Arkansas. I was there. After a two years of losing, I was there as the 0-17 streak was snapped against the number 17 team in the country with a final score of 17-0. I remember the primal scream I let out as “my team” finally won again. I and 75,000 other fans rushed the field and celebrated with the players. I though it was the most emotional I would ever be at a “sporting” event.

WrestleMania gave me that kind of emotion at least five different times.

That’s how special it can be. That’s how amazing the atmosphere is. If you think it’s great (when it’s great) on TV, being there when it’s great at a football stadium full of rabid fans in unlike any other rush you’ve ever felt.

See page #5 for my thoughts on the show…

WWE WrestleMania 31 Trip Diary

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