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- Since its inception in 1985, WrestleMania has grown and it has become the Showcase of the Immortals without fail. Traditionally, WrestleMania took place in arenas, but religiously, WrestleMania takes place in indoor and outdoor stadiums from 2007 onwards. Sometimes, WWE has managed to break the attendance record at some of their WrestleManias legitimately, but there have been times when they have exaggerated the record. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine WrestleMania taking place in an arena again, and since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, WrestleMania has become a two-night spectacle on a Saturday and Sunday, which gives wrestlers more chance to main event WrestleMania. The smallest attended WrestleManias have played host to some of the very best WrestleManias in history with the atmosphere electric, but on the flip side, there have been several underwhelming WrestleManias with low attendances.
Ever since WrestleMania was created, it's been one of the biggest shows in the entertainment industry, regardless of other sports. Not all of them have been hits, but WWE knows how to put on a good show when it comes to the grandest stage of them all. Some of the WrestleManias have featured some surprisingly small attendances.
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Updated on May 23rd, 2022 by Andrew Kelly: WrestleMania has been going for thirty-eight years, with it still being the biggest show in the entire professional wrestling world each and every year. Nowadays, WWE hosts the show in huge stadiums, breaking attendance records (both officially and in kayfabe) and putting on a complete spectacle full of glitz and glamor. Aside from one notable outlier and a few other later editions here and there, the smallest attended WrestleMania events were all many years ago, back before the company was a major international powerhouse, able to fill arenas of up to 70,000+ people. The atmosphere was never an issue regardless of the size of the crowd, with WrestleMania always feeling special no matter where the event was held, with fans coming from all around the world to watch the event live and in person.
UPDATE: 2023/03/31 07:30 EST BY TEVON KING
Since its inception in 1985, WrestleMania has grown and it has become the Showcase of the Immortals without fail. Traditionally, WrestleMania took place in arenas, but religiously, WrestleMania takes place in indoor and outdoor stadiums from 2007 onwards. Sometimes, WWE has managed to break the attendance record at some of their WrestleManias legitimately, but there have been times when they have exaggerated the record. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine WrestleMania taking place in an arena again, and since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, WrestleMania has become a two-night spectacle on a Saturday and Sunday, which gives wrestlers more chance to main event WrestleMania. The smallest attended WrestleManias have played host to some of the very best WrestleManias in history with the atmosphere electric, but on the flip side, there have been several underwhelming WrestleManias with low attendances.
17 WrestleMania 21 - Attendance (20,193)
WrestleMania 21 was the penultimate WrestleMania to take place in an arena and there were tons of actions on the show. The curtain-raiser featured Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero opening proceedings and they were the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions.
Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle stole the show with Angle victorious, and Undertaker went 13-0 at WrestleMania after he saw off Randy Orton. Other notable results included Trish Stratus retaining the WWE Women's Championship, Edge won the first Money in the Bank ladder match, and both John Cena and Batista captured their first WWE World Championships.
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles California, April 3, 2005
16 WrestleMania 20 - Attendance (20,000)
WrestleMania 20 was the third and most recent WrestleMania to be held in Madison Square Garden. This was an outstanding WrestleMania with some remarkable matches on the card. The Undertaker and Kane clashed for the second time at WrestleMania with Undertaker going 12-0 at WrestleMania and it was the return of the Deadman.
Every championship available was defended except for the Intercontinental Championship as Randy Orton was involved in a handicap match alongside Batista and Ric Flair as they took on the Rock 'n' Sock Connection. Other noteworthy results included Eddie Guerrero seeing off Kurt Angle in a WWE Championship match, Victoria retaining the Women's Championship with Molly Holly getting her head shaved bald, and John Cena winning the United States Championship from Big Show.
* Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York City, March 14, 2004
15 WrestleMania 15 - Attendance (19,514)
WrestleMania 15 wasn't the greatest of WrestleManias but there were a plethora of memorable moments on the show. Hardcore Holly captured the Hardcore Championship, and Sable beat Tori to retain the WWE Women's Championship in an underwhelming title match.
Shane McMahon competed at WrestleMania for the first time and he retained the European Championship against X-Pac with Triple H and Chyna betraying X-Pac. The Undertaker beat Big Boss Man in a Hell in a Cell match, and Steve Austin recaptured the WWE Championship from The Rock.
* Venue: First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 28, 1999
14 WrestleMania 10 - Attendance (19,444)
The landmark 10th anniversary of WrestleMania took place inside Madison Square Garden at WrestleMania 10. It was arguably the greatest WrestleMania of the decade. The curtain-raiser featured a shock with Owen Hart upsetting his older brother Bret.
Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon's ladder match for the Undisputed Intercontinental Championship was a five-star epic. Yokozuna defended the WWE Championship twice against Lex Luger, and he dropped the title to Bret Hart in the main event.
* Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York City, March 20, 1994
13 WrestleMania 1 - Attendance (19,121)
The very first WrestleMania had just shy of 20,000 fans. It was a historic event, signaling the start of what would become a major phenomenon. It wasn’t the highest of qualities overall, and the matches weren’t show-stealers, but the entire event was a spectacle, nonetheless.
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Pop culture crossover was a huge feature of this event, bringing together different stars from around the world, notably in the main event, which saw Hulk Hogan team with TV star, Mr. T, to battle Paul Orndorff and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.
* Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York City, March 31, 1985
12 WrestleMania 14 - Attendance (19,028)
WrestleMania 14 wasn’t the most iconic night from an in-ring point of view, aside from the main event, which saw Steve Austin dethrone Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship, with some assistance from Mike Tyson.
Whilst the in-ring action wasn’t memorable, the night saw the likes of The Rock and Triple H begin to break out as two of the names who would become huge and influential players during the Attitude Era, with Austin’s main event victory signaling his rise to become one of the most popular wrestlers of all time.
* Venue: Fleet Center, Boston, Massachusetts, March 29, 1998
11 WrestleMania 5 - Attendance (18,946)
Although this took place in the same venue as WrestleMania 4, it managed to pull in slightly more fans than the year prior, according to WWE’s numbers anyway. It featured a blockbuster main event between former friends, “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan, with the WWE Title on the line.
Aside from that, the show wasn’t too special, with fourteen matches making up the card, leaving a lot of the contests feeling empty and unfulfilled. It still held a special aura around it, but it was mostly the main event that had fans talking.
* Venue: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, April 2, 1989
10 WrestleMania 12 - Attendance (18,537)
Shawn Michaels and Bret "The Hitman" Hart went at it for the WWE Championship in Iron Man match that lasted a whole hour, and then some. The worst part is, nobody even scored a point in that match and it had to be sent to sudden death overtime after the hour was over. HBK would come out on top and win the title from Hart.
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The rest of the show didn't provide anything too special, with the Hart and Michaels match stealing all the headlines.
*Venue: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, March 31, 1996
9 WrestleMania 13 - Attendance (18,197)
In just one of his many wins at WrestleMania, The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid in a no-disqualification match for the WWE Championship. It was a battle of two giant superstars, and it was one of the rare times both men stood eye-to-eye with someone else.
Another great match that night was Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, which is considered one of the greatest matches of all time. Stone Cold was still on the come-up and lost to Hart that night, but Hart did a great job of helping Austin make more of a name for himself.
*Venue: Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois, March 23, 1997
8 WrestleMania 4 - Attendance (18,165)
This WrestleMania was unique and very different from the others. A majority of the night was spent with a 14-man single-elimination tournament for the vacant WWE Championship. The tournament would take up most of the pay-per-view and it ended up being Ted DiBiase and Randy Savage in the final round. Savage would defeat DiBiase and become champion.
The tournament itself has been looked back on with some criticism, with several short and inconsequential matches, with a lot of non-finishes, including a no contest between Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan.
*Venue: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, March 27, 1988
7 WrestleMania 16 - Attendance (18,034)
WrestleMania 16 was the grand show that was supposed to bring in the 2000 year with a bang. It did just that with some memorable matches. The legendary triple threat ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championships between The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz, and Edge and Christian was one of the most notable on the night. The Dudley Boyz came into the match as champions but Edge and Christian won the gold.
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There was a two-fall triple threat match for the Intercontinental and European Championship, with the show main evented with a fatal four-way between four of the biggest stars at the time, Triple H, Mick Foley, The Rock, and Big Show, although that match was underwhelming.
*Venue: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, April 2, 2000
6 WrestleMania 22 - Attendance (17,159)
Even though John Cena retained his WWE Championship against Triple H in the main event, this show was all about Rey Mysterio, who would win the World Heavyweight Championship that night. Mysterio would pull off the win in a triple threat match between Randy Orton and Kurt Angle, who was the champion coming into the match.
Other notable matches on the night included the bloody battle between Mr. McMahon and Shawn Michaels, and a legendary hardcore match between Mick Foley and Edge.
*Venue: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois, April 2, 2006
5 WrestleMania 9 - Attendance (16,891)
This main event had a plot twist to it. It was originally Bret Hart vs Yokozuna for the WWE Championship. Yokozuna would win against Hart, but Hulk Hogan would later come out and challenge Yokozuna for the title. Hogan would win the title in less than 30 seconds.
This poor ending summed up what is often considered to be one of the worst WrestleManias of all time, with an array of other poor matches on the night too.
*Venue: Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, April 4, 1993
4 WrestleMania 2 - Attendance (16,585)
This WrestleMania took place at three different locations, with the most attendance (16,585) being in Uniondale, New York at the Nassau Coliseum. This location held the most attendance likely because of its main event Mr. T vs Roddy Piper. The rivalry leading up to this match was intensely personal, with it stemming into real life too. Mr. T would win by disqualification because he had the upper hand on Piper for most of the match but then Piper chose to bodyslam him.
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The other two venues brought in fewer people, so placing it here on the list instead of having either three different entries or adding up the attendance feels like the correct placement.
* Venue: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, April 7, 1986
Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, April 7, 1986
Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois, April 7, 1986
3 WrestleMania 11 - Attendance (16,305)
This main event featured an NFL legend Lawrence Taylor. Taylor would face Bam Bam Bigelow and defeat him. This was a showcase match and one of the more successful showings for a non-wrestler at WrestleMania.
The match before that was Diesel vs Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship. Diesel would retain the title against Michaels in a great match with Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy at ringside, providing some mainstream crossover.
* Venue: Hartford Civic Center, Hartford Connecticut, April 2, 1995
2 WrestleMania 7 - Attendance (16,158)
It was a wild storyline for the main event of WrestleMania 7. Sgt. Slaughter would disrespect the American flag and praise Iraq, and of course, Hulk Hogan would retaliate by getting his revenge when he faced Slaughter at WrestleMania after winning the Royal Rumble. Hogan would win the title off of Slaughter. On that same night, The Ultimate Warrior would defeat Randy Savage in a retirement match, forcing Savage to retire.
Although it was claimed that the event was moved to this venue due to a safety concern, rumors point towards a lack of ticket sales for the swapping of arenas.
*Venue: Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, March 24, 1991
1 WrestleMania 36 - Attendance (0)
This was the first-ever Mania that took place over two nights, with it doing so due to the pandemic, with also causing this event to take place behind closed doors. There were some interesting recorded segments like the Boneyard Match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles, and the Firely Funhouse Match between Bray Wyatt and John Cena. Both of those seemed more like short movies but were still great to watch.
Fans saw an NXT Title get defended on WrestleMania for the first time when Charlotte Flair defeated Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Title. Then, Braun Strowman would defeat Goldberg in a short match for the Universal Championship, and Drew McIntyre would defeat Brock Lesnar for the WWE title in another short match in the main event.
*Venue: WWE Performance Centre, Orlando, Florida, 2020
