WrestleMania, often referred to as the Super Bowl of WWE, was the talking point of the sports industry. Last weekend, WWE emanated the 40th iteration of the two-night extravaganza from Philadelphia. They had a greater idea of what grand territory they were entering while targeting the eyeballs of wrestling fans around the world. And it all came down to their immaculate execution, which did the job for them!
Starting the Mania week itself, WWE had a record-breaking attendance at their Monday Night Raw episode on April 1, 2024. The Brooklyn crowd came down with excitement to sell out the Barclays Center. This being WWE’s 13th consecutive TV sellout, it was also the largest domestic gate in WWE’s history (so far). This started the record-breaks of WWE bleed into WrestleMania XL on Saturday and Sunday.
WrestleMania 40’s gate with the week’s success
According to WWE’s official press release, this year’s iteration saw a gate hike of 78%. Last year, it was around $21.6 million, which held the record for the biggest all-time WWE gate record. Now in 2024, the Philly audience has done the same, with 145,298 attendees over both nights of Mania in all 50 states of the US and 64 countries. Doing the math right, the gate for WrestleMania XL goes around $38.5 million.
A night before WrestleMania 40 Saturday, the episode of Friday Night SmackDown airing live from Wells Fargo Center was historic. The go-home episode drew the largest gate in the history of SmackDown, with 17,770 attendees. While the Raw after Mania did the same, ensuring to break their last week’s record of biggest gate. NXT Stand & Deliver also brought about 16,545 people making it the biggest NXT event.
The most social WrestleMania with viewership raise
WrestleMania 40’s viewership hiked 41% across both nights. Even here, this year’s iteration defeated the competition of last year’s Mania, which was a huge success in Inglewood, California, USA. WrestleMania XL also ranks as the most streamed entertainment event on Peacock, with over 1.3 billion minutes over the weekend.
Over 660 million views across all platforms were brought in just two days. This even had WrestleMania 39’s record with 500 million views, which was easily surpassed this year. The WWE’s YouTube channel, with more than 100 million subscribers, saw its most-viewed day on Sunday with over 67 million views.
Biggest sponsorship and most merchandise sales
The biggest sponsorship came through their own Logan Paul, who owns PRIME Hydration. In partnership with the duo of KSI and Paul, PRIME hydration had the opportunity to be advertised in the center of a WWE ring. The tradition began with WrestleMania 40 and strengthened their role as the ‘official hydration drink partner’ of WWE.
In partnership with Fanatics, merchandise sales were up by 20% compared to last year. Their massive presence at WWE World experience also contributed to the sale of branded merchandise, apparel, and toys. It has to be noted that Cody Rhodes himself had his $1 million worth of merchandise sold.
This all records make WrestleMania 40 the biggest event of WWE history. The main highlight of both nights would be remembered by their shattering main events. The Night 1 witnessing the in-return of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson after 8 years to team up with his cousin, Roman Reigns. While the Night 2 had a fierce battle between Rhodes and Reigns who were one way or going to finish their story!
