WWE considering making a huge change to WrestleMania pay-per-view: Report
The length of Wrestlemania pay-per-view has become a topic of discussion in the recent years, with the pay-per-view stretching nearly eight hours long.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is under a lot of pressure at the moment. With the rise of independent wrestling circuits Ring of Honour (ROH) and New Pro Japan Wrestling (NPJW), and the emergence of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) last year, there is a lot of pro-wrestling on television at the moment for fans to pick and choose from. WWE has been unable to create a new “superstar” after John Cena, the ratings have dropped, and last month, the stocks took a hit after Chairman of the Board Vince McMahon sacked co-presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios.
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But, if there is any consolation for the WWE bosses, a successful Royal Rumble, followed by a couple of good episodes of RAW, has lured some of the fans back to the brand, and WWE is eager to keep a hold of them. In the period between January to April, in which Royal Rumble and Wrestle The fans and critics have slammed the length of the show, which had a run time of nearly four to six hours in the past five years:
WrestleMania 35 - 12 matches: 5 hrs, 24 min and 16 sec
WrestleMania 34 - 11 matches: 5 hrs, 10 min and 54 sec
WrestleMania 33 - 10 matches: 5 hrs, 10 min and 41 sec
WrestleMania 32 - 9 matches: 4 hours, 51 minutes and 53 sec
WrestleMania 31 - 7 matches: 3 hrs, 59 min and 38 sec
WrestleMania 30 - 7 matches: 3 hrs, 55 min and 30 sec
Add two hours of KickOff show, and the total length of Wrestlemania pay-per-view in last five years has ranged from six to eight hours. To cut down competition from rival brands, the WWE has signed a huge roster, and to accommodate all of them in their biggest pay-per-view of the year, along with some of the legends who usually make a return at WrestleMania, the company has found it hard to trim the length of the show. But according to a recent report, a new solution has been envisioned by WWE, to sort out this issue by WrestleMania 2021.
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A report from Justin LaBar from WrestlingInc suggests that WWE might be considering making WrestleMania a two-day event to sort out this issue. “Continue to hear water cooler talk in #WWE circles about potential of WrestleMania itself being 2 days. All just talk but some have said to me they think it’s been tossed out as a hypothetical ‘how would we do it” for as soon as 2021 in LA,” a tweet from LaBar read.
This looks like an initiation of dialogue, if report is to be believed, but considering the heavy roster and length of WrestleMania in the past few years, WWE should seriously consider this option. NPJW’s biggest professional wrestling event of the year, “Wrestle Kingdom”, which is regarded as “WrestleMania of Japan”, is also a two-day affair, and some of the bigger stars, actually compete in two matches on both the days. This could also present WWE with larger advertising opportunities, and also allow them to include NXT roster at WrestleMania as well.
