I’m Going to Wrestlemania!
I found myself in a fortunate position this year. Wrestlemania was coming to my hometown, somehow I was put on a list to access tickets at a pre-sale time and I had the money to get them! So this year I’m going to Wrestlemania!
I’ve been a wrestling fan since the late 90s and gone to several live events. I’ve been to many house shows, Raws, Smackdowns, and even the 2001 SummerSlam and the 2007 Great American Bash. As much as I enjoy watching wrestling on TV it is infinitely more fun to see it in person. There’s really nothing else like it.
I’ve gotten to see some pretty incredible matches in person. I was there for what many consider the greatest tag team match/main event in Raw history, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H (the Two Man Power Trip) versus Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit for the tag team titles. It is also notable for being the match where Triple H tore his quad. I saw Randy Orton take on Dusty Rhodes in a Texas Bullrope match. One of my favorites was Rob Van Dam versus Jeff Hardy in a ladder match for the hardcore title.
And of course there are too many others to name here. I’ve been lucky enough to see almost all of the big names in wrestling, and even meet a few.
But now I get to go to the biggest show of the year. Not only that, but there are a ton of events happening all week long. It’s really a little overwhelming to see how much the WWE and other organizations like Ring of Honor and WrestleCon will be doing this week. While I’d like to go to all of them I don’t have that kind of money and time. But I am going to a few.
On Friday I will see my all time favorite wrestler Mick Foley performing stand up. This should be a lot of fun, as he is a great storyteller (he’s written several New York Times Best Sellers) and a very entertaining guy.
If I can I’d love to go to the NXT show later that night, but the tickets all but sold out almost instantly and I don’t know that I’ll have time to get there after Mick’s show. It would be awesome though, as I love NXT and think it is the best thing going in wrestling right now.
Then on Saturday I’ll be attending Jim Ross’s one man show. Good Old J.R. is the greatest announcer in pro wrestling history, and has spent over 40 years in the business, so I’m sure he’ll have some fantastic stories to share. Plus he is known for bringing surprise guests to these shows, and I can only imagine they will be really good ones for Wrestlmania.
I may try to attend one of the Axxess events on Saturday as well. I don’t have tickets to any of these, but if I get a chance they look like a lot of fun. I also don’t have tickets to the Hall of Fame that night. I certainly wouldn’t turn it down if someone invited me, but I’m fine without going.
Then of course Sunday is the big day, Wrestlemania will be live at the Levi Stadium in Santa Clara. This will be my first time in the stadium and my first outdoor wrestling event, so it’s already pretty special. Despite what some of the whiners online will tell you, this years show has a pretty great card. Take a look at the announced matches:
- WWE World Heavyweight Title Match:
-Brock Lesnar (c) with Paul Heyman vs. Roman Reigns - WWE United States Title Match:
-Rusev (c) vs. John Cena - Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Title:
Dolph Ziggler vs. R-Truth vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper vs. Stardust vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Bad News Barrett (c) - Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal:
Konnor, Viktor, Kane, Big Show, Darren Young, Titus O’Neil, Jack Swagger, The Miz, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Fandango, Adam Rose, Zack Ryder, Erick Rowan, Sin Cara, Damien Sandow, Goldust, Mark Henry, Heath Slater, a NXT Superstar TBD, others TBA - -Sting vs. Triple H
- -AJ Lee and Paige vs. The Bella Twins
- -Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton
- -Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker
- Kickoff Pre-show: Fatal 4 Way for the WWE Tag Team Titles:
-The Usos vs. Los Matadores vs. Big E and Kofi Kingston vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd
That’s a pretty stacked show, if you ask me. I’m most looking forward to the Intercontinental Title ladder match, but I think a lot of these matches have potential to be really good.
So this should be an amazing weekend! Hopefully you’ll get a chance to order Wrestlemania on Pay Per View or watch it on the WWE Network. And just maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of me in the crowd.