Big sporting events in Atlanta is nothing new to the city. The Final Four, World Series, the NBA All-Star game, the Major League Baseball All-Star game and the Super Bowl have graced the Peach State the last two decades.
But there is one event that took place this past Sunday that could have been the biggest of them all. An event where Drew Carey and Pee Wee Herman made an appearance along with Jersey Shore’s Snooki and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Wrestlemania XXVII took place at the Georgia Dome and to say that it was a success would be an understatement. Pro wrestling has always been big in Atlanta, so it made sense for the biggest show in sports entertainment to make its way to the dome.
“WrestleMania XXVII was an overwhelming success and one for the Atlanta history books,” said John P. Saboor who is the Senior Vice Presidents of Special Events for the WWE. “WWE would like to thank our public and private sector partners for helping to make WWE’s annual pop-culture extravaganza a memorable one.”
But Wrestlemania does not take place for just one night. It’s a week-long event that starts with the Wrestlemania Art show where the WWE Superstars showcase their artistic side with painting of other wrestlers, and the paintings are on display at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.
Then, Wrestlemania Axxess kicked off the following day, which was held at the Georgia World Congress Center. I went to Axxess on Friday and it had everything a Wrestling fan could ask for. Not only fans get to get autographs and photos with their favorite Superstar and/or Diva, there was also a ring in the center of Axxess for fans to enjoy live matches and Q&A sessions with their favorite wrestlers. There were also championship belts on display and fans could play the new video game WWE All-Stars on the Playstation 3 or XBOX 360.
The night before Wrestlemania is a special night for fans as well as WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends. The 2011 Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place at Philips Arena and it was a time to honor some of the most influential people in WWE history. The 2011 inductees included, the dynamic tag team the Legion of Doom with Paul Ellering, the first WWE Diva Sunny, hardcore legend Abdullah the Butcher, “Bullett” Bob Armstong, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Drew Carey and Shawn Michaels who according to some say he is the best in-ring performer of all-time. The inductees told stories about how they got into this business and why they love it so much.
Then Sunday was the main event, Wrestlemania XXVII. Fans were lining up at the Georgia Dome as early as noon which was four and a half hours before the doors opened. Once the show started at 7:00 p.m. the fans were loud from the start until the final match was over which was at 11:00 p.m.
What got the crowd going was when The Rock came out to open the show. The Rock, who made his return to the ring six weeks ago after being gone the last seven years, got the crowd amped up and ready for the show. He also came back at the end of the show to “lay the smack down” on John Cena and WWE Champion The Miz.
There were 71,617 fans in attendance for Wrestlemania. While it’s not an overall dome record, it’s a record for the highest attend entertainment event at the Georgia Dome which is an 11-year old record. This year’s Wrestlemania also grossed $6.6 million which broke the Georgia Dome record set by the U2 concert which grossed $5.7 million.
So does this mean Wrestlemania will be back next year? No, because Wrestlemania XXVIII will be in Miami. But because this Wrestlemania was so successful and the WWE being a popular brand in the city, it’s safe to say that Wrestlemania will be back in the very near future.
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