We are about two months removed from WWE’s largest event of all time, Wrestlemania 32. In terms of scale, it was unprecedented and set numerous records for the company. Among them a gross of $17.3 million, a reported 1.82 million subscribers to the WWE Network and it even managed to eclipse Wrestlemania III’s much heralded attendance record by packing in a reported 101,763 fans into AT&T Stadium in Dallas. However, as impressive as those numbers are, there is one area where WrestleMania 32 will not be able to touch that third Mania: stature.
Before I go any further, it has to be said that the attendance figures for both events are debated. Some reports say 32’s attendance did not crack 6 figures and WrestleMania III’s number of 93,173 has been hotly debated for years. But for discussion’s sake, let’s hold the reported numbers at face value. This makes them the two largest versions of wrestling’s largest event. That’s rare air. It’s in the content where the two begin to separate.
Comparing the two events from a pure wrestling standpoint is tough, if for no other reason than the products are so different. Both cards had the same amount of matches, 12 (counting the pre-show). However, 32 was a far longer event. So for sheer wrestling content, this year’s event provided more bang for your buck. Mania III only had two matches that went over 10 minutes. And in fact, this year’s main event was longer than those two matches combined. However, it’s these two matches that have given Mania III its aura.
The first is regarded by many as the greatest match in WrestleMania (and possibly even WWE) history: “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. This epic contest has gone down in wrestling lore as a benchmark for great wrestling matches. The numerous near falls and athleticism they displayed have led many fans and publications to herald it as an all-time classic and it helped cement the Intercontinental Championship’s legacy as the worker’s title. Countless wrestlers themselves have pointed to it as an inspiration to get into the business. Go back and re-watch it some time. It totally holds up.
The second of the two matches is maybe the most famous main event in wrestling history: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant. Though not a wrestling clinic by any stretch, the iconic moments it produced are undeniable. You’ve seen them countless times over the years: the opening staredown, Gorilla Monsoon‘s immortal quote “The Irresistible Force meeting The Immovable Object” and of course, the sight of Hogan lifting Andre off his feet and slamming him to the mat. Few matches have come close to this one in sheer scale and spectacle (ironically, and to his credit, most have involved Hogan) and it will forever stand as one of WWE’s peaks in popular culture.
Couple these two matches with contests involving Roddy Piper, Adrian Adonis, Harley Race, Junkyard Dog, The Hart Foundation, The British Bulldogs and Jake “The Snake” Roberts just to name a few, and you have a loaded card filled with legendary names worthy of the showcase of the immortals.
For all of its grandeur, Mania 32 couldn’t reach any of these heights. Lord knows it wasn’t for lack of trying, what with all of the big names they marched out there in what resulted in nothing more than meaningless cameos. If this event will be remembered for anything in the ring, it will be for these three things:
– It was the night the ladies stole the show. The Women’s Championship match between Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and Charlotte was considered by most as the match of the night and the true start of the Divas Revolution.
– The Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match featured the Wrestlemania debut of two potential future main eventers in Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and was punctuated by the feel good moment of Zack Ryder claiming victory (which WWE has promptly squandered since).
– Shane McMahon‘s leap off the Hell in a Cell. With the possible exception of the TLC matches at Wrestlemania 2000 & 17, this was the most memorable bump in Wrestlemania history.
While these moments served as a fine backdrop and setup, they needed a memorable main event to cap off the event and truly reach the scale they were shooting for.
This is where they faltered.
The WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between HHH and Roman Reigns was severely lacking. Not so much in quality, the action itself was fine. What it didn’t deliver was a compelling narrative. Fans just did not get emotionally involved in this conflict. Yet that didn’t stop WWE from pushing it and sticking with it. The result was a feeling that the company put this on simply to ensure that when people search for the “biggest Mania in history” it would be H and Reigns’ names right at the top. They also wanted the money shot of Reigns holding up the title with pyro going off behind him while surrounded by 100,000+ people. A moment, by the way, which was greeted with boos, or worse, just plain apathy from an exhausted Dallas crowd. Simply put, it wasn’t for us, it was for them.
And that’s a big factor in why the events that preceded this year’s, Wrestlemania 31 and 30, are held in such high regard. Those gave the fans an ending they genuinely craved and wanted to cheer for. There was emotion. There was a payoff. That’s the primary reason why 32 will never match III. It was no secret that WWE’s goal when they got Mania to Dallas was to surpass the crowd that packed the Pontiac Silverdome all those years ago. So, mission accomplished.
But will people be talking about this one in the same breath as that legendary event?
I’d be hard pressed to believe Wrestlemania 32 can realistically lay claim to being the grandest Wrestlemania of them all. That title still sits with the immortals.