WrestleMania 38 sets WWE records as highest-grossing, most-attended event
The outside of AT&T Stadium is shown with the end zone doors open before an NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns in Arlington, Texas, on Oct. 4, 2020. Credit: AP
WrestleMania, WWE’s signature event, paid tribute to several wrestling legends — and it paid off huge at the box office.
WrestleMania 38 — held over two nights last Saturday and Sunday in Dallas — was the highest-grossing and most-attended event in company history, WWE announced on Tuesday, beating 2016’s WrestleMania 32, which was also in Dallas.
“We are thrilled that WrestleMania’s return to Dallas again generated record results, proving that everything is indeed bigger in Texas,” WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events John Saboor said in a statement.
A combined 156,352 fans from all 50 states and 53 different countries converged at AT&T Stadium for the event, which was headlined by the return of 1990s wrestling icon “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Austin came out of a 19-year retirement on Saturday to defeat Kevin Owens in a “no-holds barred” brawl.
Austin’s long-time rival, 76-year-old WWE chairman Vince McMahon, also competed in his first match in 12 years, beating NFL kicker-turned-podcasting star Pat McAfee. YouTube celebrity Logan Paul and "Jackass" star Johnny Knoxville also got into the action at WrestleMania.
The main event saw Universal Champion Roman Reigns beat WWE champion Brock Lesnar in a title unification bout billed as “the biggest WrestleMania match of all time.”
Pro wrestling’s version of the Super Bowl included several other festivities throughout the weekend, including the induction of The Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame following a career that spanned three decades.
The event aired on NBC Universal’s Peacock streaming service.
WrestleMania 39 will take place next year over two nights in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium.
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
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