WaleMania is the True Kickoff to Wrestlemania Weekend

WaleMania has become a staple of WrestleMania Week and is now a “can’t miss” event.

Wrestlemania Week in any city is home to all sorts of events, from meet and greets, to autograph signings, and a ton of promotions hosting their own shows. In the midst of all of those things, the real marquee event to jumpstart the Wrestlemania weekend was a cult classic called WaleMania. With the chaos of so many happenings in Los Angeles, WaleMania was the real kickoff to what would be a memorable weekend.

WaleMania is the actual Forbidden Door

It’s not exactly easy to label what WaleMania is either. But in a sense, it’s the intersection of pro wrestling and the culture. It is the actual Forbidden Door event where fans can see superstars across all promotions in a family reunion environment. The site of this year’s Wrestlemania, Los Angeles, would host the 7th WaleMania at the Novo Theatre. After experiencing it for the first time, it’s easy proclamation that every fan of wrestling or music should attend WaleMania in their lifetime.

Some may call it a concert, others a party, but WaleMania is really a celebration of all of the performers that entertain fans year-round. A home where flowers are given and love is bestowed. This year’s event featured a special live podcast with the “Masked Man Show” interviewing the Bloodline, and looking back on the best storyline in pro wrestling.

Some key highlights of the podcast were hosts, Kazeem Famiyude, David Shoemaker, and Emilio Sparks attempting to break Solo Sikoa from being in character. These were many failed attempts, though Sparks did get Sikoa to eat Doritos for the crowd before the Bloodline’s enforcer would ask the LA crowd if they thought he was “ready.”

The Usos would also break character momentarily to talk about the joys of working with Sami Zayn, and how impactful he was in developing character angles weekly.

The guest of honor on the evening would be Trinity Fatu, fka Naomi, and a beautiful package was displayed of the journey of her career and her highlight moments as a performer. Trinity was nearly brought to tears as she thanked the crowd for their support at a time when there was uncertainty and seemingly no support from her former company. She would leave the crowd with a powerful “I’m not done yet.”

The tearjerker moment of the night was the surprise flowers given to Big E, whose been sidelined with a neck injury since last year. Friends of Big E, including sports journalist Andreas Hale, Emilio Sparks, Kazeem, and Xavier Woods would trick E into stepping out on the stage to showcase a series of heartwarming messages from friends across the pro wrestling landscape. The video package looked at E’s career, title run, and most endearing moments.

A bewildered E would address the crowd holding back tears and thanking his fans and audience for all of their support. He would proclaim that the future is uncertain and the entire time his mission was to have fun with his friends and give back, he believes he accomplished that.

The rest of the monumental party would feature superstars across multiple promotions including AEW, WWE, ROH, TNA, and the independent scene dancing and singing to some of their favorite songs. There were countless moments throughout the night that dignify how much love there is within pro wrestling. The name behind Walemania, grammy nominated artist Wale, would serenade TBS champion Jade Cargill, as well Samoa Joe could be seen vibing to Jay Z’s “public service announcement,” and a Hit Row reunion with Swerve Scott joining Top Dolla, B-Fab, and Ashantee Thee Adonis on stage.

WaleMania is for the culture, by the culture, and a perfect intersection of pro wrestling and music. The 7th annual was full of beautiful moments to be reminisced on for decades and for future Wrestlemania weekends, WaleMania should be your first destination.