WrestleMania 39
WrestleMania 39 | |||
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![]() WrestleMania 39 logo, originally intended for WrestleMania 37 before it was relocated | |||
Promotion | WWE | ||
Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown | ||
Date | April 2, 2023 | ||
City | Inglewood, California | ||
Venue | SoFi Stadium | ||
WrestleMania chronology | |||
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WrestleMania 39 (marketed as WrestleMania Hollywood) is the upcoming 39th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It will be held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event will air on pay-per-view (PPV) worldwide and will be available to stream through Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network elsewhere. It is scheduled to take place on April 2, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California—the original location of WrestleMania 37 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to be relocated.
Production[]
Background[]
WrestleMania is considered WWE's flagship pay-per-view (PPV) and Peacock/WWE Network event, having first been held in 1985. It is the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April.[1] Along with Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank, it is one of the company's five biggest events of the year, referred to as the "Big Five".[2][3] WrestleMania is ranked the sixth most valuable sports brand in the world by Forbes,[4] and has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment.[5] WrestleMania 39 will feature wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions.[6]
On February 15, 2020, WWE announced that SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California would host WrestleMania 37 on March 28, 2021, with the event being promoted as WrestleMania Hollywood.[7][8] Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer reported that WWE had originally pushed for WrestleMania to be held at the new stadium in 2022, so it could promote the event as having a larger overall attendance than Super Bowl LVI (which will be held at the same venue in February that year), but the stadium wanted to host a WrestleMania before hosting the Super Bowl in preparation for the National Football League's big game.[9]
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2020, however, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that WWE were considering relocating WrestleMania 37, as the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in California made it increasingly unlikely that the event could be held with in-person spectators on the scheduled date. WWE had reportedly planned to relocate the event to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, which was originally scheduled to host WrestleMania 36 before the onset of the pandemic forced it to be scaled back and held at WWE's Orlando training facility instead.[10] As the year progressed, Florida loosened its health orders and began to allow readmittance of fans to events.[11] On January 16, 2021, WWE announced that WrestleMania 37 would in fact be relocated to Tampa. Along with this announcement, WWE revealed that SoFi Stadium would still host a WrestleMania, but it would instead be WrestleMania 39 on April 2, 2023—WrestleMania 38 was announced for AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in 2022. WrestleMania 39 will be the first since WrestleMania 21 to be held in Greater Los Angeles, and the seventh held in the state of California (after 2, VII, XII, 2000, 21, and 31). WrestleMania 39 in turn also adopted the "Hollywood" marketing originally intended for WrestleMania 37.[6]
Storylines[]
The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[12][13] while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[14]
References[]
- ^ "WrestleMania 29 press conference brings WWE to Radio City Music Hall". WWE. Archived from the original on April 7, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
... WWE's flagship event lights up MetLife Stadium ... WrestleMania
- ^ Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160)
- ^ Desilva, Kristen (October 25, 2021). "WWE's Money In The Bank coming to Las Vegas in July 2022". KVVU-TV. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ^ "Forbes Fab 40 2017". Forbes. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
- ^ Gelston, Dan. "WrestleMania is Super Bowl of sports entertainment". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
- ^ a b "WrestleMania set for Tampa Bay in 2021; Dallas in 2022; Los Angeles in 2023". WWE. January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Column: WrestleMania 37 will take place at SoFi Stadium in April 2021". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ^ "WrestleMania 37 location: WWE returns to California with 2021 show in Los Angeles". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ^ Harris, Jeffrey (February 11, 2020). "WWE Originally Pushed for WrestleMania at SoFi Stadium in 2022 to Beat the Super Bowl's Attendance". 411MANIA. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
- ^ Nason, Josh (October 2, 2020). "WWE BRINGING WRESTLEMANIA BACK TO TAMPA'S RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM". F4 Wrestling. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ Shapiro, Michael. "Dolphins to Keep Capacity at 13,000 Despite Governor's Decision". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
External links[]
- 2023 in California
- April 2023 events in the United States
- Events in Inglewood, California
- WrestleMania
- Scheduled professional wrestling shows
- Professional wrestling in California
- Sports competitions in Inglewood, California
- 2023 in professional wrestling