WrestleMania Attendance Record: What Is the Highest and Lowest WrestleMania Attendance?

Archie Blade | 02/04/2023
WrestleMania attendance record

Since its launch in 1985, WrestleMania has constantly been the biggest night in wrestling. WWE fans from around the world flock to the arenas to watch their favorite wrestlers duke it out inside the squared circle. The event has also featured several celebrities from all wakes of entertainment media such as Muhammad Ali, Bad Bunny, Donald Trump and many more. Some have even participated between the ropes. But not all WrestleMania are treated equally. While some attract record numbers, some have only done modestly. Let us take a look at the WrestleMania attendance record throughout the event’s history.

Here we will be taking a look at the highest and lowest attended events, what the main event was and the possible reasons why they fared as they did. Keep in mind that although some of these numbers have been inflated by the WWE we will go by their official announced figures. With that out of the way, let us break this down.

What is the highest and lowest WrestleMania attendance record?

WrestleMania with the highest attendance

  • WrestleMania 32 – 101,763
  • WrestleMania 3 – 93,173
  • WrestleMania 35 – 82,265
  • WrestleMania 29 – 80,676
  • WrestleMania 39 Night 1 – 80,497

WrestleMania with the lowest attendance

  • WrestleMania 36 – 0
  • WrestleMania 7 – 16,158
  • WrestleMania 11 – 16,305
  • WrestleMania 9 – 16,891
  • WrestleMania 22 – 17,159

Golden Era

The first ever WrestleMania took place on March 31, 1985 and emanated from Madison Square Garden, New York. The event featured Hulk Hogan and Mr. T pairing up to beat the villainous tag team of Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff and Rowdy Roddy Piper.

The Pay Per View had 19,121 fans in attendance. The number may not seem much compared to the gargantuan figures they pull now but it was a success regardless, one that catapulted them to the top of the business.

WrestleMania 2 fetched almost twice the number of fans but it is important to note that this particular event took place in three arenas and the 40,085 is a combined figure. While each arena had a separate main event, Hulk Hogan vs King Kong Bundy for the WWF Championship in a steel cage match is officially recorded as the headliner.

WWE continued their trend of more than doubling their attendance with WrestleMania 3. A whopping 93,173 fans watched Hulk Hogan slam Andre the Giant to retain his WWF Championship.  The build to this particular still remains one of the most chilling in WWE history.

The match may not have been a technical masterpiece but the fact that it is still talked about today explains the attendance perfectly.

WrestleMania 4 saw a change of guard at the top with Randy Savage beating Ted DiBiase for the vacant WWF Championship. While historic, the event only garnered 19,199.

WrestleMania 5 witnessed the explosion of the Mega Powers. After winning the WWF Championship, Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan formed a tag team. However, their partnership eventually soured culminating in Hogan beating Savage to become the WWF Champion once again.

Despite the several months long build, WrestleMania 5 had 18,946 fans in attendance, less than the year prior.

Just like how WrestleMania 3 is still talked about to this day, WrestleMania 6 is iconic for the winner take all main event between then WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and then Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior. Again, this was far from a wrestling clinic but it was still surreal to see the two biggest names in wrestling go head-to-head with each other and this is evidenced by the 67,678 fans in attendance.

WrestleMania 7 saw yet another slump with 16,158. Much of that stemmed from disgust among fans for Vince McMahon running a storyline that they perceived to be taking advantage of the Gulf war at the time. Hulk Hogan won the WWF Championship in the main event once again, this time beating Iraqi sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter.

WrestleMania 8 was the first time the main event did not feature a World Champion or a world title match. 62,167 fans watched Hulk Hogan beat Sid Justice in the main event. A huge improvement from the year prior.

New Generation Era

WrestleMania 9 was supposed to be the first WrestleMania since the 4th edition that didn’t feature Hulk Hogan in the main event. However, 16,891 fans saw Hulk Hogan walk out after the fight between Bret Hart and Yokozuna only to beat a tired Yokozuna for the WWF Championship in 22 seconds.

This is still considered one of if not the worst ending to a WrestleMania.

WrestleMania 10 was the redemption of Bret Hart who finally beat Yokozuna for the WWF Championship in front of 18,065 fans.

WrestleMania 11 did not fare much better with 16,305 fans attending the event despite Lawrence Taylor beating Bam Bam Bigelow in the main event.

WrestleMania 12 saw Shawn Michaels make his boyhood dream come true when he beat Bret Hart for the WWF Championship after they went to war in a 60-minute Iron Man match in front of 18,853 fans.

WrestleMania 13 is fondly remembered for the Steve Austin vs Bret Hart submission match. From Austin bleeding and passing out instead of tapping to the double turn, the match is an ocean of iconic moments. However, apart from this match there was very little of note that took place.

The Undertaker beat Sycho Sid to become the WWF Champion in the main event with 18,197 fans in attendance.

Attitude Era

WrestleMania 14 saw the beginning of the Austin Era with the Rattlesnake beating Shawn Michaels for his first ever WWF Championship. Despite the presence of Mike Tyson, the PPV only had 19,028 fans watching it in the arena.

WrestleMania 15 was the first WrestleMania pitting Stone Cold and The Rock in the main event against each other. Stone Cold beat The Rock to become the WWF Championship in front of 20,276 fans.

WrestleMania 16 had 19,776 fans watching a convoluted main event between Triple H, The Rock, Mick Foley and The Big Show. Triple H retained his WWF Championship and became the first heel in WrestleMania history to win a main event match.

WrestleMania 17, which is considered to this day the best WrestleMania ever, saw 67,925 fans turn up to see Stone Cold, beat The Rock in the main event once again to become the WWF Champion once again.

WrestleMania 18 also did impressive numbers with 68,237 fans in attendance. The main event saw Triple H beat Chris Jericho in the main event, although several fans and wrestlers feel that the match between The Rock and Hulk Hogan should have closed the night instead.

Ruthless Aggression Era

WrestleMania 19 saw 54,097 witnessing Brock Lesnar’s first WrestleMania main event. The Beast Incarnate managed to beat Kurt Angle to become the WWE Champion.

WrestleMania 20 is another iconic event. This PPV is mostly remembered for the amazing main event between Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit and the rabid wolverine celebrating his World Heavyweight championship win with Eddie Guerrero who was the WWE Champion at the time.

Held in Madison Square Garden, the event witnessed a capacity crowd with 20,000 in attendance.

WrestleMania 21 is memorable for the rise of John Cena and Dave Batista. The Cenation leader won his first WWE Championship by beating John Bradshaw Layfield. While Dave Batista won his first World Heavyweight Championship by beating Triple H in front of 20,193 fans.

WrestleMania 22 was the last WrestleMania to feature less than 50,000 fans in attendance. John Cena retained his WWE Championship in the main event against Triple H while 17,155 fans cheered on.

WrestleMania 23 took place in front of 80,103. This time John Cena retained his WWE Championship against Triple H’s best friend Shawn Michaels in the main event.

The PG Era

WrestleMania 24 saw The Undertaker beat Edge for the WWE Championship in front of 74,635 fans.

WrestleMania 25 hovered in the 70 thousands once again with 72,744 fans in attendance to watch Triple H beat his protégé Randy Orton in the main event. Triple H walked in and left as the WWE Champion.

WrestleMania 26 saw The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels put it all on the line in their streak vs career match in the main event. 72,219 fans were in attendance to bear witness to this historic encounter.

71,617 watched the Miz make his first and only WrestleMania main event appearance at WrestleMania 27 against John Cena. The A-Lister surprisingly went on to successfully defend his title, albeit with a little help from The Rock.

The Reality Era

The night after WrestleMania 27, The Rock issued a challenge to John Cena for a match at WrestleMania 28. This was the first time a WrestleMania main event was decided a whole year in advance. 78,363 fans flocked in to see The Rock beat John Cena.

WrestleMania 29 saw the WWE rerun the program despite their first match being advertised as Once in a Lifetime. The Rock walked in as the champion but this time John Cena came out victorious in front of 80,676 fans.

Like WrestleMania 20, WrestleMania 30 witnessed a triple threat in the main event featuring former stablemates and a plucky underdog. 75,167 fans chanted Yes after Daniel Bryan beat Randy Orton and Dave Batista to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

The International Era

If WrestleMania 30 was about a once in a lifetime fan movement, WrestleMania 31 is most remembered for the heist of the century. The main event was originally scheduled as a singles match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

However, 76,976 fans witnessed Seth Rollins become the first person to cash in the Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania.

After 29 long years, WWE finally broke their WrestleMania attendance record at WrestleMania 32 with 101,763 fans in attendance to watch Roman Reigns wrestle the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H’s waist.

WrestleMania 33 saw Roman Reigns beat The Undertaker in front of 75,245 fans in what was, at the time, believed to be his retirement match.

WrestleMania 34 saw Roman Reigns in the main event once again, this time against Brock Lesnar in yet another failed attempt, this time for the Universal Championship.  The PLE was attended by 78,133 fans.

WrestleMania 35 was the first time Women headlined at the Grandest Stage. 82,265 fans attended the event to watch history unfold. Becky Lynch won the RAW and SmackDown’s women championships after beating Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair. This was the third highest attendance after WrestleMania 3 and WrestleMania 32.

WrestleMania 36 holds the distinction of being the only WrestleMania with no fans in attendance. The event was held at the performance center because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was also the first WrestleMania to take place over two nights.

Night 1 was headlined by The Undertaker and AJ Styles while Night 2 saw Drew McIntyre beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship in the main event.

WWE was allowed to invite fans at WrestleMania 37 but with a limited capacity in order to maintain social distancing at the event.

27,675 fans attended both nights each. Bianca Belair became SmackDown Women’s Champion after she beat Sasha Banks in the main event of night 1 while Roman Reigns retained his Universal Championship by beating Daniel Bryan and Edge on night 2.

WrestleMania 38 saw 77,899 fans turn up on night 1 and 78,453 on night 2 for a combined total of 156,352. A huge pull for the event was the return of Stone Cold who main evented night 1 by beating Kevin Owens and The Winner take all match between the then WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

The Tribal Chief won the title and is still in possession of both titles.

Before the main event of The Usos vs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for the Undisputed Tag Titles, The Miz and Snoop Dogg announced that 80,497 fans were in attendance for night 1 of WrestleMania 39.

WrestleMania Date Venue Attendance Main Event Winner
WrestleMania 1 March 31, 1985 Madison Square Garden, New York 19,121 Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs Paul Orndorff and Rowdy Roddy Piper Hulk Hogan and Mr. T def
WrestleMania 2 April 7, 1986 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York; Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois; Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles 40,085 combined Hulk Hogan © vs King Kong Bundy

(WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a steel cage match)

Hulk Hogan
WrestleMania 3 March 29, 1987 Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan 93,173 Hulk Hogan © vs André the Giant

(WWF World Heavyweight Championship Match)

Hulk Hogan
WrestleMania 4 March 27, 1988 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey 19,199 Randy Savage vs Ted DiBiase

(Championship match for the Vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship)

Randy Savage
WrestleMania 5 April 2, 1989 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey 18,946 Randy Savage © vs Hulk Hogan (World Heavyweight Championship match) Hulk Hogan
WrestleMania 6 April 1, 1990 SkyDome, Toronto 67,678 Hulk Hogan © vs Ultimate Warrior © (Winner takes all) Ultimate Warrior
WrestleMania 7 March 24, 1991 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles 16,158 Sgt. Slaughter © vs Hulk Hogan

(WWF Championship Match)

Hulk Hogan
WrestleMania 8 April 5, 1992 Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis 62,167 Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice Hulk Hogan
WrestleMania 9 April 4, 1993 Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada 16,891 Yokozuna © vs Hulk Hogan

(WWF Championship Match)

Hulk Hogan
WrestleMania 10 March 20, 1994 Madison Square Garden, New York 18,065 Yokozuna © vs Bret Hart

(WWF Championship Match)

Bret Hart
WrestleMania 11 April 2, 1995 Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut 16,305 Lawrence Taylor vs Bam Bam Bigelow Lawrence Taylor
WrestleMania 12 March 31, 1996 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California 18,853 Bret Hart © vs Shawn  Michaels

(Iron Man match for the WWF Championship)

Shawn Michaels
WrestleMania 13 March 23, 1997 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois 18,197 Sycho Sid © vs The Undertaker

(WWF Championship Match)

The Undertaker
WrestleMania 14 March 29, 1998 FleetCenter, Boston 19,028 Shawn Michaels © Vs Stone Cold Steve Austin

(WWF Championship Match)

Stone Cold Steve Austin
WrestleMania 15 March 28, 1999 First Union Center, Philadelphia 20,276 The Rock © vs Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWF Championship Match) Stone Cold Steve Austin
WrestleMania 16 April 2, 2000 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California 19,776 Triple H © vs The Rock vs Mick Foley vs Big Show

(Fatal Four-way for the WWF Championship)

Triple H
WrestleMania 17 April 1, 2001 Reliant Astrodome, Houston 67,925 The Rock © vs Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWF Championship Match) Stone Cold Steve Austin
WrestleMania 18 March 17, 2002 SkyDome, Toronto 68,237 Chris Jericho © vs Triple H (WWF Championship Match) Triple H
WrestleMania 19 March 30, 2003 Safeco Field, Seattle 54,097 Kurt Angle © vs Brock Lesnar (WWE Championship Match) Brock Lesnar
WrestleMania 20 March 14, 2004 Madison Square Garden, New York 20,000 Triple H © vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit (World Heavyweight Championship match) Chris Benoit
WrestleMania 21 April 3, 2005 Staples Center, Los Angeles 20,193 Triple H © vs Dave Batista (World Heavyweight Championship match) Dave Batista
WrestleMania 22 April 2, 2006 Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois 17,155 John Cena © vs Triple H (WWE Championship match) John Cena
WrestleMania 23 April 1, 2007 Ford Field, Detroit 80,103 John Cena © vs Shawn Michaels (WWE Championship match) John Cena
WrestleMania 24 March 30, 2008 Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida 74,635 Edge © vs The Undertaker (WWE Championship match) The Undertaker
WrestleMania 25 April 5, 2009 Reliant Stadium, Houston 72,744 Triple H © vs Randy Orton (WWE Championship match) Triple H
WrestleMania 26 March 28, 2010 University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona 72,219 The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels (streak vs. career match) The Undertaker
WrestleMania 27 April 3, 2011 Georgia Dome, Atlanta 71,617 The Miz © vs John Cena (WWE Championship match) The Miz
WrestleMania 28 April 1, 2012 Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida 78,363 The Rock vs John Cena The Rock
WrestleMania 29 April 7, 2013 MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey 80,676 The Rock © vs John Cena (WWE Championship match) John Cena
WrestleMania 30 April 6, 2014 Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans 75,167 Randy Orton © vs Dave Batista vs Daniel Bryan (WWE World Heavyweight Championship match) Daniel Bryan
WrestleMania 31 March 29, 2015 Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California 76,976 Brock Lesnar © vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins

(WWE World Heavyweight Championship match)

Seth Rollins
WrestleMania 32 April 3, 2016 AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas 101,763 Triple H vs Roman Reigns (WWE World Heavyweight Championship match) Roman Reigns
WrestleMania 33 April 2, 2017 Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida 75,245 Roman Reigns vs The undertaker Roman Reigns
WrestleMania 34 April 8, 2018 Mercedes-Benz Stadium, New Orleans 78,133 Brock Lesnar © vs Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Championship match) Brock Lesnar
WrestleMania 35 April 7, 2019 MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey 82,265 Ronda Rousey © vs Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair © (Triple-Threat winner-take-all match for the Womens’ Raw and SmackDown Championships) Becky Lynch
WrestleMania 36 April 4-5, 2020 WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida 0 Night 1- Undertaker vs AJ Styles

 

Night 2 – Brock Lesnar © vs Drew McIntyre (WWE Championship match)

Night 1- The Undertaker

 

Night 2- Drew McIntyre

WrestleMania 37 April 10-11, 2021 Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida Night 1 – 27,675

Night 2 – 27,675

Night 1-  Sasha Banks © vs Bianca Belair (SmackDown Women’s Championship Match)

Night 2 – Roman Reigns vs Edge vs Daniel Bryan (Universal Championship Match)

Night 1 – Bianca Belair

 

Night 2 – Roman Reigns

WrestleMania 38 April 2-3, 2022 AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas Night 1 – 77,899

Night 2 – 78,453

Night 1- Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kevin Owens

 

Night 2 – Roman Reigns © vs Brock Lesnar © (Title Unification Match)

Night 1 – Stone Cold Steve Austin

 

Night 2 – Roman Reigns

 

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Post Edited By: Archie Blade

About the author

Archie Blade

Archie is a WWE and UFC Editor/Author at the SportsRush. Like most combat sports enthusiasts, his passion for watching people fight began with WWE when he witnessed a young Brock Lesnar massacre Hulk Hogan back in 2002. This very passion soon branched out to boxing and mixed martial arts. Over the years he fell in love with the theatrics that preceded the bell and the poetic carnage that followed after. Each bruise a story to tell, each wound a song of struggle, his greatest desire is to be there to witness it all. His favorite wrestler is Shawn Michaels and he believes that GSP is the greatest to ever step foot inside the octagon. Apart from wrestling, he is also fond of poetry and music.