WWE is continuing a trend of returning to cities of former pay-per-view events when the company announced on Thursday that WrestleMania 35 would be held MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on April 7, 2019.
Per the company’s website, the last time The Show of Shows came to MetLife was WrestleMania 29, an event held in April 2013 that grossed an excess of $72 million and attracted a sold-out crowd of 80,676 fans from all 50 states and 34 countries. The incredible event featured WWE Champion The Rock going head-to-head against John Cena, Triple H battling Brock Lesnar in a No Holds Barred Match, The Undertaker taking on CM Punk, and WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No clashing with Dolph Ziggler & Big E.
In the main event, John Cena defeated The Rock to win his record eleventh WWE Championship, as well as avenging his loss to The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII. It also included The Undertaker defeating CM Punk, concluding a storyline revolving around Paul Bearer’s death and The Undertaker’s WrestleMania winning streak. In the penultimate match, Triple H defeated Brock Lesnar in a No Holds Barred match; had Triple H lost, he would have retired.
Also, Alberto Del Rio retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Jack Swagger in the title’s final defense at WrestleMania, as it was unified with the WWE Championship in December 2013. Due to that, this was the last WrestleMania to feature two world titles until WrestleMania 33 in 2017.
Per Bleacher Report’s Rob Goldberg, “According to WWE.com, WrestleMania 29 ranks third all-time with 80,676 fans in attendance, trailing only WrestleMania 3 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan and WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium in Texas.
“With a New York City market and a stadium that holds 82,500, there is plenty of reason to expect more of the same in 2019.”
This year, the “Show of Shows” is being held in New Orleans at the Mercedes Benz Superdome.