For years now, many wrestling fans, and even wrestlers, active and retired, have wanted the “Showcase of The Immortals” to make its way across the pond to the United Kingdom.
I have to ask though, despite the “crowd pandering” endorsements by the likes of John Cena, would a WrestleMania in London actually work?
In truth, yes it really would. The UK has a whole host of stadiums such as Wembley, which can hold a capacity of 90,000, where WrestleMania would be perfectly suited. Furthermore, the surrounding arenas such as the O2 Arena could host the post-Mania Raw and Smackdown shows.
As we all know, throughout history, the WWE has often held UK-only Pay-Per-Views that have resonated well with its audience such as Rebellion and Insurrextion, One Night Only, No Mercy and UK Rampage. However, none made more impact than WWE SummerSlam ’92, which remains the only major Pay-Per-View to take place outside of the United States. Moreover, it holds the record for the third largest crowd ever for a WWE live event after WrestleMania 29 (80,676 fans) and WrestleMania 3 (93,173 fans).
Logistically, it could also work, too. The WWE tours the UK twice a year, once after WrestleMania and then again prior to Survivor Series; so by that way of thinking, the WWE could perhaps scrap the post-WrestleMania tour for one year and hold the “Show of Shows” instead.
It’s no secret that UK fans are, collectively, the most vocal and passionate fans out there. This is evidenced by the international flavour that the fans bring to a post-WrestleMania Raw. As such, that same energy would be present at a WrestleMania here; I think it would be warmly received.
One of the bigger impacts on professional wrestling is the use of social media and live-streaming. WWE, being the global phenomenon that it is, tapped into this accordingly in 2014, launching the WWE Network. Honestly, since then, the viewing of WWE events has become a more enjoyable, interactive experience. By utilizing this format to broadcast a potential WrestleMania, it will provide the worldwide audience with a newer experience by being able to watch WWE in a different location under a completely new atmosphere.
The NXT brand is proof that a WWE event would be highly successful in the UK. Its incredible roster put together one amazing card for its Takeover special and, despite the sometimes questionable booking of its superstars, the collective rosters of Raw and Smackdown can put on a memorable show if given the right amount of time to work and smart booking.
My case in point being, the TakeOver: London special, which Triple H invested ample time, was a stellar wrestling event with less focus on storylines and more focus on the talent within the ring; this is something you would expect from the NXT roster and moreover, on the independent circuit. It was simple, yet so very effective, and allowed for the UK fans to showcase what they are all about, while giving NXT the chance to distance itself from the regular WWE programming that we see weekly. Ultimately, the event served to promote the NXT brand for what it is: pure wrestling.
You could argue that the UK fans could help make a star. They did it with Fandango one night after his win over Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 29 but, unfortunately, despite the soaring popularity of Fandango and his song, this was cut short.
The same situation could be said for Dolph Ziggler, who on that same night successfully cashed his Money in The Bank contract in front of an explosive post-WrestleMania crowd to become World Heavyweight Champion, pinning Alberto Del Rio and, thanks to the crowd that night, kicked off Ziggler’s change of character to someone the WWE Universe booed less and chanted for as each week passed.
On July 4th, 2015, both WWE and NXT (on a smaller scale but in a Match of The Year) competed on the same show; a WWE Network special held in Tokyo, Japan. This event was hugely popular with both wrestling personalities and fans worldwide, as well as subtly hinting at what the WWE Network’s possibilities. This gave us a glimpse of what could happen if WWE held another event outside of American territory. The Beast in The East event was produced incredibly well as they advertised Brock Lesnar as the main attraction but had a bout between two NXT stars; Finn Balor and Kevin Owens; which turned out to be a true, hard hitting classic that have been synonymous with the pair on the independent circuit; with Japanese traditions (the passing of flowers, the celebratory streamers at the beginning and end off the match) to boot.
Furthermore, the card had household names such as John Cena and Chris Jericho in action; who both wrestled in separate matches. Cena was in a tag team match partnered with Dolph Ziggler against Wade Barrett and “Demon” Kane. The combination of having familiar, at least with the mainstream audience, faces and the stars of NXT under one roof; should be more than enough in creating an interesting card with a rabid sellout UK crowd for WrestleMania.
Not withstanding the current signings of AJ Styles, Austin Aries and Shinsuke Nakamura, WWE having a stacked roster in interesting matches would be more than enough to encourage the die-hard UK fans, who are well known at voicing their displeasure at something they don’t agree with, to spend their hard-earned cash on a ticket to WrestleMania to witness some potential classics that they may never get to see.
The use of homegrown talent always goes down well with the WWE Universe in the UK. So by having the likes of Neville and Bad News Barrett (both Englishmen), the WWE is encouraging it’s intended audience to go out, spend money and buy a ticket for its product. Also, using talents that aren’t regularly seen on flagship programming like Neville and BNB allows for them to promote their brand and showcase what they can do between the ropes.
WrestleMania is often associated with being the “family experience” and rightly so, having Axxess held in a venue close to Wembley would mean that there would be something for everyone. We know that the NXT brand often holds a smaller show to the crowd at Axxess. Meanwhile, other activities such as a meet and greet session with a main roster star takes place at the same time. This type of arrangement would appease all family members and be worth the money.
Furthermore, other events may very well be even more successful. One example being WrestleCon, held in London last year, albeit on a different date, that housed some of wrestling’s biggest names. As such, this allows for the UK fans that may not be able to travel to the USA due to financial restratints, to meet their favourite wrestlers and ultimately provide for yet another personal experience.
During WrestleMania week and also while on the UK tour, the WWE will hold a vast amount of meet and greets with its current crop of superstars, legends and other talent. These events could be signings in shopping centres or question-and-answer forums. In due part, other businesses will benefit from the wrestling-based activities held in the selected venues. So, financially speaking, by having a WrestleMania that is potentially held in the UK, it would be highly profitable due to the capacity crowd from all over the world that congregates here.
One of the downsides to possibly holding ‘Mania in the UK would be the weather. As we know, in the UK, the weather is unpredictable at best and the WWE needs to take this into account before they consider ever holding a event of this magnitude. However, as mentioned before, they could easily get around this by closing the roof of the suggested venue, Wembley.
The biggest reason, though, is time. Time difference has often been labelled as the preventative to stop a WrestleMania from being held in the UK. Obviously, in the UK we have a difference in time to the US and as such, we have to watch Raw, SmackDown and monthly Pay-Per-Views at 1am and, not always, is that time appropriate for the child-driven audience.
However, in that same context, the innovation of the WWE Network is the saving grace that, I believe, could be the game changer that WWE needs to hold a WrestleMania here, in the UK. The WWE Network has vastly improved the experience of watching Pay-Pay-Views across the world, and it’s no secret how successful both NXT:TakeOver London and WWE Beast in The East were as both wrestlers, non wrestlers and fans alike heralded these events as successful and unique; all the while allowed for the WWE to venture into a new territory with their streaming service.
The key, I feel, behind a possible WrestleMania in the UK is marketing. The “Attitude” days are long gone, where WWE was consistently a fixture in a home. This is in part due to the demographic change from the old days as, even though it’s not as strong, the predominant audience is children and they willingly encourage their parents to spend the money to buy shirts, figures, etc. The WWE knows what the kids of today want, hence the use of social media. If they tapped into that for a spectacle as huge as WrestleMania, perhaps it would be the biggest WrestleMania they’ve ever had. They could also use their relationship with Sky Sports, who has regular WWE programming anyway, to promote WrestleMania by way of frequent interviews with the top stars.
In speaking with fans that have traveled thousands of miles just to attend WrestleMania week, it’s always boiled down to that old adage: “Once in a lifetime” and it’s because of this that I feel that a ‘Mania in the UK would work wonders and possibly light a new spark in the industry. “Once in a lifetime” is also the reason why I hold out hope that one day, the biggest wrestling show of the entire wrestling calendar makes its way across the pond.