WWE News: WWE Trying To Shut Down Independent Wrestling Events During WrestleMania Weekend
Every year, WWE WrestleMania is one of the biggest events in all of entertainment. Like the NFL’s Super Bowl, WWE’s WrestleMania can help a city make millions during the entire WrestleMania week. WWE has stuff going on all week long, and it is always a fun experience for those involved. A number of years ago, independent wrestling companies realized the power of WrestleMania and realized they could do big business if they ran shows during the week of WrestleMania.
Some would do shows on Friday, others on Saturday. Some even run shows the day of WrestleMania, a number of hours before Mania begins. At the end of the day, it has worked out well for an entire week of wresting that fans seemed to love. WWE does not seem to like sharing the spotlight, however, which is why they are trying to shut down events for other organizations before they even start.
According to the Wrestling Observer, WWE will be opening Levi’s Stadium as early as 1:30 p.m. local time on the day of WrestleMania. This will hurt many Indy promotions who plan to run shows the same day as WrestleMania. To add further evidence that WWE is trying to shut stuff down before it starts, WWE is currently trying to reserve various venues for next year’s WrestleMania in Dallas, Texas.
While AT&T Stadium will serve as WrestleMania 32’s home, WWE will be trying to get surrounding venues so that promotions cannot operate shows anywhere near Dallas. This will make it tougher for people to commute to shows close by.
This is an effort to try and stop promotions from piggy-backing on WWE’s success. Many can see why WWE would do this, as it allows them to make most of the money during WrestleMania week. The thing is, other promotions being present makes the entire week better for many who attend. Even WWE talent will get a chance to go to some events due to how close by they are to major Indy promotions.
The Indy promotions aren’t competing with WWE by running shows on the same day and time. Rather, they are just trying to make an extra buck while WWE is in a city making a lot of money. Mania sells out every year, and thousands end up coming to spend the entire week in a city. Shows going on at this time work because of that. The more people around, the more chances you have to sell out a place.
Ring of Honor, Chikara, and even TNA have made their presence known during WrestleMania week. WWE doesn’t seem to like it, so they will attempt to shut them down, but will they be able to? We’ll have to see.
[IMG Credit: insidepulsedev.com]
