WWE’s WrestleMania 39 takes center stage in Southern California
LOS ANGELES — Professional wrestling has taken over Southern California, installing Inglewood as its temporary headquarters leading up to the WWE’s WrestleMania 39 event this weekend.
WrestleMania serves as the main attraction, but the company has built a whole week of events around its biggest annual event of the calendar year.
“It’s not just WrestleMania, which will be two spectacular nights but it will be a week-long event,” said Bianca Belair, the RAW Women’s Champion. “It’s going to be super fun and fans from all over the world have already made plans to come and attend the events. I’m just excited to be a part of it.”
The big event will take place at SoFi Stadium on April 1-2.
Crypto.com Arena will host three events, including Smackdown (March 31), NXT Stand and Deliver (April 1) and RAW (April 3).
RAW, Smackdown and NXT make up WWE’s weekly television programming each week.
“Los Angeles will see something special,” said WWE Global Ambassador and performer Titus O’Neil. “We take the Super Bowl and we magnify that by about five or 10 times with the pyro, the production value and everything in between.”
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will defend his title against Cody Rhodes in the main event match on April 2.
Both men share a common bond as sons of former pro wrestlers. Cody Rhodes is the son of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. Sika, one half of “The Wild Samoans” tag team in the 1980s, is the father of Reigns.
WWE announced that WrestleMania 39 had already set the event’s all-time gate record in January before a match was announced. The gross amount is more than $18 million. The company’s previous mark of $17.3 million was set in 2016 for WrestleMania 32 held AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The $5 billion, 70,000-seat sports and entertainment stadium was originally scheduled to host WrestleMania 37 in March 2021 but was rescheduled for 2023 as a result of the pandemic.
It will be the first time WrestleMania has returned to Southern California since 2005, when the event attracted a crowd of 20,193 people and set a Staples Center attendance record at the time.
The main event featured Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the current head of creative at WWE, and Batista, who is known outside of WWE for his role as Drax from the Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy series.
“This city is no stranger to bright lights but it is somewhat of a stranger when it comes to WrestleMania,” O’Neil said. “We’re excited to be able to come here and the new stadium is amazing. … We’re going to leave a lasting impact not only inside the ring but outside of the ring.”
O’Neil added that WrestleMania 38 taking place at AT&T Stadium generated more than $201 million in economic impact last year.
The company’s future has been a topic of discussion in recent months. WWE founder Vince McMahon is looking to sale WWE for $9 billion, according to a report from Bloomberg. McMahon briefly stepped down as executive chairman of the company in 2022 but was reinstated in January after paying millions to settle claims of sexual misconduct.
The in-ring action begins Friday with WWE Smackdown, followed by the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony.
Rey Mysterio will headline the 2023 class that includes The Great Muta, Stacy Keibler, former referee Tim White and entertainer Andy Kaufman, the latter two being inducted posthumously.
Mysterio, who remains an active competitor for the company, is widely considered one of the greatest luchadors in pro wrestling history. The San Diego native started his career in Mexico at the age of 14 in 1989.
Mysterio has spent 17 years with WWE and was an integral part of the Smackdown brand during the 2000s along with hall of famers such as Eddie Guerrero, Edge and Kurt Angle.
Rey’s son Dominik participated in a storyline in late 2005 that featured Guerrero and Mysterio.
Dominik has since gone on to follow in his father’s footsteps and became a wrestler, appearing again on WWE programming in 2020.
“There’s a ton of pressure,” Dominik said about joining the company. “Those are gigantic shoes to fill and I do what I can and try to give the people what they want.”
Rey and Dominik will compete against one another this weekend.
Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes will main event NXT’s Stand and Deliver Show on the morning of April 1.
The first night of WrestleMania will feature the United States Championship match between defending champion Austin Theory and John Cena.
Cena has returned from the silver screen for another stint with the company and adds a mainstream element to the card. Cena has been one of WWE’s top stars and won his first world championship in 2005 at WrestleMania 21.
Former UFC stars Brock Lesnar, Rhonda Rousey and social media personality Logan Paul are scheduled to compete on the show. Rapper Snoop Dogg will also make an appearance.
Rousey will be one of eight women coming in the WrestleMania Showcase match on Night 2.
“I’m so excited,” Raquel Rodriguez said. “This is the first year that I’ve had an opportunity to be on the card for WrestleMania and to have it here in Los Angeles gives me goosebumps.”
Rodriguez will team up with Liv Morgan as one of four teams in that women’s showcase.
The “post-Mania” episode of RAW is one of the most anticipated shows of the year because of its rowdy crowd and the likelihood of a surprise return or addition to the roster.
Outside of the ring, several other pro-wrestling-related events will take place throughout the area.
The WrestleMania Superstore opened Thursday and will remain open until Monday at the L.A. Convention Center.
WWE alumni Bret Hart, Ric Flair and Bryan Danielson will be among the notable names making an appearance at WrestleCon. The convention will be held at the Biltmore Millennium Hotel in downtown L.A. on March 31 to April 2.
The Undertaker will make an appearance at The Novo on Friday, after the Hall of Fame ceremony, during his one-man show. The 2022 WWE Hall of Fame inductee will share stories and experiences from a career that spanned over three decades. He’s competed in 27 WrestleMania matches throughout his tenure with the company.
HOW TO WATCH:
WrestleMania 39
When: April 1-2, 5 p.m. PT
Where: SoFi Stadium
TV: Peacock (streaming service)
