WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia became WWE‘s highest-grossing event by shattering previous pay-per-view, gate, and social media records.
The two-night celebration at Lincoln Financial Field was the organization’s fifth attempt at extending the pay-per-view past a singular evening. In the end, it became the most successful WrestleMania as the masses tuned in to see Cody Rhodes get crowned as the WWE Universal Champion.
145,298 fans came to Lincoln Financial to witness the action live across both evenings. The number topped the previous record, held by WrestleMania 39, by 78 percent. All 50 states, as well as 64 nations worldwide, were represented in the crowd.
WrestleMania brought last year’s record-setting viewership up by 41 percent. Additionally, the event became the most-viewed WrestleMania on social media – with over 660 million views consumed across both days.
It was not just the event that set the bar higher for the company – the shows that led up to WrestleMania also saw new records in viewership.
WrestleMania 40 shattered records to become WWE’s highest-grossing event of all time
The event was highlighted by The Rock’s return and Cody Rhodes’ crowning moment
Lincoln Financial Field and Philadelphia hosted the WWE’s first two-night pay-per-view
Celebrities such as Jason Kelce, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne and Lane Johnson made appearances
Friday Night Smackdown and Monday Night Raw drew their highest gates in history at Wells Fargo Center. NXT’s Stand & Deliver also became the most-attended NXT event ever, with 16,545 in attendance.
The event was highlighted by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s highly-awaited return to the ring. WrestleMania 40 saw Rocky team up with Roman Reigns for Night 1’s main event as they took down Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a tag team match.
The Rock also shared the ring with fellow legends John Cena and The Undertaker.
Night 2, however, saw the American Nightmare’s crowning moment over Reigns to become the WWE Universal Champion.
WrestleMania also featured appearances from Drew Barrymore, Vanessa Hudgens, Lil Wayne, Speed, and Snoop Dogg. Beloved Philadelphia icons Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson also stepped in the ring to aid Rey Mysterio and Andrade in their win over Legado del Fantasma.
