In a few weeks, Las Vegas, Nevada will join an exclusive list of cities that have hosted multiple Wrestlemanias. While it might not be the biggest honor the city has ever achieved, it is still a big accolade. How the city fairs as a host city for Wrestlemania will be determined through time.
But one question does linger going into Wrestlemania, what are the greatest cities to have ever hosted the event? There are a lot of cities to consider when asking this question. While there may never be one answer, I’m going to attempt to answer this question.
When coming up with my choices for the three greatest cities to have hosted Wrestlemania, I had two strict rules. The first rule is that the city must have hosted Wrestlemania at least two times. While that might not eliminate a lot of cities, it does eliminate some that might have been up for consideration to make the top three. My other rule is the events have to be memorable. The more memorable the events, the better the chance to make the list.
There are going to be some cities that are considered heavyweights that don’t make the list, I think these three cities represent the very best of Wrestlemania. These cities represent the spirit of Wrestlemania and everything that is good about the biggest show of the year.
New York, New York
Any list of the greatest Wrestlemania cities that doesn’t include New York City isn’t a real list. The city that hosted the very first Wrestlemania in 1985 has hosted the event a total of six times. From the memorable first show to Kofi Kingston winning the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 35, New York has played host to some of the biggest matches and greatest moments in Wrestlemania history.
Three of the six Wrestlemania’s in New York City have been held in Madison Square Garden, the unofficial home of WWE. Madison Square Garden has had incredible moments in Wrestlemania history from Andre the Giant body slamming Big John Studd to the ladder match at Wrestlemania X and the emotional ending of Wrestlemania XX. The Garden has always had a special place in the hearts of wrestling fans. But when you mix the magic of Madison Square Garden and Wrestlemania, it makes quite a pair.
New York was not only the perfect choice to host the first Wrestlemania but also the only choice Vince McMahon could’ve made to have hosted this event. Now, Wrestlemania has gone on to become not only one of the major sporting events but also one of the biggest pop culture events of the year. Wrestlemania could have ended up being big, but it wouldn’t be as big as if they had not had the show in New York City.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto is the only city outside of the United States to have hosted Wrestlemania. This two-time host of the show had some of the loudest fans in the history of the event. Toronto is such a fantastic host city that it may be the only city out of all the cities to have ever hosted Wrestlemania where the fans were divided on the outcome of the biggest match of the show.
At Wrestlemania VI, the Skydome was the venue for when Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior had “The Ultimate Challenge”. The crowd was so divided. There were no losers on that April afternoon. Fans were rooting for the Warrior; fans were rooting for Hogan. It was as if the world could have come apart. But the fans were rewarded with one of the greatest main events in Wrestlemania history.
Twelve years the same situation happened again. At Wrestlemania 18, Hulk Hogan, who had been built up as the “heel” when he faced The Rock ended up being cheered by the Toronto fans. Just like at Wrestlemania VI, the crowd was split but the difference was that this time, the split of the crowd wasn’t expected. As the match went on more and more fans rooted for Hogan than the Rock, as if we had gone back in time.
While Hogan didn’t win that night, it was the fans in Toronto that brought Hulkamania into the twenty-first century and made new fans of Hulk Hogan. Toronto was able to have two of the greatest crowds in Wrestlemania history and it is only a matter of time before Toronto hosts a Wrestlemania for the third time.
Houston, Texas
This final selection may come as a surprise to a lot of fans but let’s remember one of the rules I had set in the beginning. The events had to be memorable. Houston has two of the most memorable Wrestlemania’s of all time for very different reasons.
When Houston hosted Wrestlemania 17 in 2001, it was presented as a grand spectacle, larger than it normally is. What we didn’t realize was that this show would represent a lot more. It’s the final chapter of the Monday Night War with WCW as they had bought the company a week before the show. It’s the unofficial final chapter of the Attitude Era, one of the greatest eras in pro wrestling history. This Wrestlemania brings a close to a great period in wrestling, one that wouldn’t be seen for a very long time.
Eight years later, Wrestlemania XXV would take place in Houston and this show would be remembered for different reasons. This was the show where Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat returned to the ring after a fifteen-year retirement. This was the show where we had the match between two brothers, Matt and Jeff Hardy, in a match we never thought we would see between the brothers.
The one thing this Wrestlemania is remembered for more than anything else is perhaps not only the greatest match in Wrestlemania history, but perhaps the greatest match in the history of professional wrestling as Shawn Michaels battled the Undertaker in a match for the ages. Two warriors, two cowboys battling it out in a duel that has been remembered as one of the greatest matches to have ever taken place.
There is a saying that “everything is big in Texas” and when it comes to Wrestlemania, the show is as big as the state itself. Houston is one of the greatest cities to have ever hosted Wrestlemania.
I’m sure this article will bring up debates on which cities were the best cities hosting Wrestlemania. But no matter if the city has hosted the show once, or six times, Wrestlemania will always matter to those who have attended the show. It is equally important to the cities that held the event.