WWE: Should WrestleMania become a two-night show moving forward?
By Dorathy Gass
As a wrestling journalist who has covered WrestleMania for seven years now (and a fan who’s never missed a ‘Mania for 37), this year’s edition just felt right. There was no feeling of fatigue by the time 9 p.m. hit, no butt soreness from sitting in a chair for hours on end, and no wishing that performances would “hurry up” to get to the meat of things (that is, the matches).
Night one and two flowed well. I wasn’t staring at the clock, rather, I was immersed in each match offered on both nights; each story being told; each superstar in their moment.
Pre-pandemic WrestleManias were exciting. Whether I was in the crowd or sitting at home, there’s a certain feeling in the air during the Road to WrestleMania and the event itself. I’m almost teleported each year to that very first ‘Mania, and, as a young child, the uniqueness and knowing this was something big is a feeling I’ve never lost.
Am I the only one in the WWE Universe who thinks that WrestleMania should become a two-night thing, moving forward?
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With that said, as WM has evolved over the years, with a need to pack in as much grandeur as possible, the nights have grown long and, at times, wary. Knowing that I was locked into this wrestling commitment for eight hours straight can feel daunting. As the main event rolls around at the crack of midnight, the energy still lingers, but not as plentiful as it did around the 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. mark.
The beauty of a two-day WM weekend is that eight-to-nine hours of wrestling, backstage interviews, musical performances, and other shenanigans don’t feel like a marathon that one needs to pace themselves for. Rather, we had four-to-five hours of incredible WrestleMania splendor per night, with a high-energy tone that anyone can sustain. Furthermore, it allows for more fans to attend in person, and more talent to be showcased at the flagship event. Plus, two main events are spotlighted. The roaster is huge; so many superstars deserve the spotlight. Two closing matches provide more opportunity for talent to shine.
With that said, a two-day WM means a two-day TakeOver, which is a plus, too (for all the reasons listed above). However, from a logistics standpoint for the WWE, this could have repercussions in a post-pandemic era. For example, when could meet and greets occur under this schedule? This is a long-standing tradition with WM and WWE fans, and for someone who has attended these events (and desperately hopes to again one day), they are ingrained in WM tradition.
This is an opportunity for fans to truly interact with superstars, and vice-versa. This year, they were virtual; however, with a ton of hope locked deep into my soul (including non-stop prayers), these events will continue in-person one day. A two-day WM (and TakeOver, not to mention the Hall of Fame ceremony), might not be doable over seven days with all the other WM festivities that take place, plus media appearances.
Still, whether a two-day WM is something Vince McMahon and the WWE powers that be consider moving forward, or it is something that is scrapped aside once “normal” ‘Mania resumes once again, I enjoyed last week. From the Hall of Fame event to two days of TakeOver and WM, it felt like the feast of WM was spread out nicely throughout the last seven days, versus a gorge-fest of wrestling crammed into one Sunday night.
What do you think? Should WrestleMania become a two-day thing, moving forward?