WWE News: Big News Regarding ‘WrestleMania 34’ Already Confirmed
We are four months away from WrestleMania 33, but speculation has been swirling around certain aspects of WrestleMania 34 for nearly seven months. Back in 2007, the WWE made a commitment that WrestleMania would occupy the biggest and best, state-of-the-art facilities, with a concentration on indoor/outdoor arenas that could potentially break attendance records. They did just that back on April 3 with an announced crowd of over 100,000 inside AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
WrestleManias 20, 21 and 22 were held in famous arenas like Madison Square Garden, Staples Center and the All-State Arena, but the capacities limited their potential gates. WrestleMania 23 emanated from Ford Field in Detroit, and ever since then, we’ve seen the big event at the Citrus Bowl, Reliant Stadium in Houston, University of Phoenix Stadium, the Georgia Dome, Sun Life Stadium in Miami, MetLife Stadium in NY/NJ, the Superdome, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, and this past year in Jerry’s World.
News that WrestleMania 33 would return to Orlando’s Camping World Stadium this coming April was reported in March of 2016, and it hasn’t been uncommon for the next year’s venue to be confirmed even before the WrestleMania of that year. The Citrus Bowl underwent a $207.7 million face-lift that began in 2014, so the setting will look vastly different than it did when it hosted WrestleMania 24.
In our report back in May, we noted that the WWE was considering three cities to host WrestleMania 34 in 2018: Minneapolis, Philadelphia and the Meadowlands in New Jersey. Most circles believed Minneapolis to be the favorite considering the impressive new U.S. Bank Stadium the Vikings broke in this year, and it being the former home of WWE superstar Brock Lesnar.
However, according to a report from Daily Wrestling News, all three are out of the running. Instead, WWE and WrestleMania will return to New Orleans in 2018. Much like it did in 2014 for WrestleMania 30, WrestleMania 34 is expected to take place at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome. An official announcement from the WWE is expected soon, perhaps as early as next week when Monday Night RAW invades New Orleans.
That show, next Monday, will also feature the returns of Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker. The two legends, who are synonymous with WrestleMania are expected to make announcements related to their involvement with this month’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. The Deadman may even declare his intentions of competing in the actual Royal Rumble match.
As noted, the last time the WWE held the WrestleMania event in New Orleans was just three short years ago. That night in April 2014, of course, will be most remembered for two things: The coronation of Daniel Bryan and Brock Lesnar ending the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. After Bryan had capped the night off by defeating Randy Orton and Batista for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, WrestleMania became “Yes-tlemania” and the “Miracle on Bourbon Street.”
Philadelphia and Minneapolis were both considered for either WrestleMania 32, 33, or both, but were eventually eliminated from consideration, and history has repeated itself. Next year was, at one time, believed to be Brock Lesnar’s final WrestleMania, but Vince McMahon has made it a priority to re-sign him beyond 2018. It’s unknown whether that played any part in the lack of urgency to secure Minneapolis a year from now. Philadelphia recently hosted a visit from the pope in what was a showcase of the city’s ability to entertain large crowds for major events.
Los Angeles hosted WrestleMania 21, but ever since the NFL relocated the Rams to the west coast, dots have been connected for the WWE to bring their extravaganza there as well. However, a new football stadium won’t be completed until at least 2019, so the absolute earliest that WrestleMania could take over L.A. would be WrestleMania 35. Look for news on that year’s event to start materializing between March and May of this new year.
[Featured Image by WWE]
