By Christopher Horrell

The World Wrestling Entertainment, widely known as WWE, has been around for several decades and has entertained millions around the world. If you combine the theatre of Broadway, the electricity of a rock concert, the athleticism of world athletes and Olympians, and the intensity of your favorite thrill ride, you get the WWE. The fans of the WWE are some of the most loyal and passionate fans you can find. The journey of a WWE fan goes through many variations, and everyone has their own level of fandom. As we gear up towards WWE’s WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium, here are some fun facts to know as a fan of the WWE.

WrestleMania is their biggest show of the year.

The WWE runs over 170 Televised shows a year and many non-televised events as well with no set “off-season” like most other sports. Every show builds into the next, and ultimately leads to— the commonly compared— Super Bowl of professional wrestling and sports entertainment, WrestleMania. WrestleMania is their largest show held per year and holds the highest caliber matches of WWE’s calendar year. Dating all the way back to 1984, the first WrestleMania was held at the world-famous Madison Square Garden where the main event saw Hulk Hogan team with Mr. T to take on “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff & “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Since then, there have been several “dream matches” and iconic moments held at the “Showcase of the Immortals” as nicknamed by fans. This year will mark the 38th installment of the event and the second time the show has been held at AT&T Stadium. This year’s show at AT&T Stadium is widely anticipated, as the last show held there holds the record title for the largest attendance in WrestleMania history with 101,763 people present for the event.

The Undertaker’s WrestleMania Winning Streak started on his birthday.

The Undertaker (Mark Callaway) is perhaps one of the most important WWE superstars in history. His WWE career began in November 1990 at the Survivor Series pay-per-view event and would span for an entire 30 years following that historic night. However, there was one event that eventually became synonymous with The Undertaker— WrestleMania. The Undertaker had his first WrestleMania match on March 24, 2991, which many might not know so happened to be his birthday. This WrestleMania winning streak would continue all the way through 2013 where he would extend his winning streak to an unprecedented 21-0 record. The following year in 2014 at the 30th Anniversary of WrestleMania, he was shockingly defeated by Brock Lesnar, this year’s main event holder, who set the record to 21-1 in defiant fashion. The Undertaker later would go on to lose only one other time before seeking retirement and having his last match in April of 2020, setting his final record at 25-2. This year The Undertaker will be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame while the victors of his previous WrestleMania bouts will have a match against one another.

The first WrestleMania is the only WrestleMania to not feature a WWE World Championship Match.

Throughout the show's illustrious history, the WWE World Championship has been up for grabs at WrestleMania. Through the 36 matches where this title has been on the line, it’s unsurprisingly paired with emotional moments as the top superstars of the WWE compete for the gold and a chance to have their name etched in history. What might come as a surprise though is that this tradition was only initiated the 2nd year of the event, as the very first WrestleMania did not feature a WWE Championship match. The WWE Champion at the time of the first WrestleMania event was Hulk Hogan, who was then at the beginning of his fabled 1,074 WWE Championship reign. As mentioned previously, Hulk Hogan teamed with Mr. T that night and therefore, meaning his championship would not be contended for. This year makes up for that though as the main event of WrestleMania will see WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, and WWE Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar, both compete for each other’s championships in a Winner-Takes-All, Championship Unification Match. This will mark the first time in the company’s history that a match of that nature has taken place at WrestleMania.

The winners of the only women’s WrestleMania main events will compete against one another this year.

In 2019, for the very first time in the company’s history, the Women’s Championship match headlined WrestleMania. The match featured an array of talent as three women with decorated careers faced off for the ultimate prize in the women’s division, the WWE Women’s Championship. The triple-threat match featured Becky Lynch, in the midst of skyrocketing stardom and momentum, Charlotte Flair, the daughter of legendary wrestler Ric Flair who was on her way to being the most decorated women’s wrestler of all time, and Ronda Rousey, who had a globally-known run in the UFC and had debuted in the WWE just a year prior to the match. The match was hard-hitting, edge-of-your-seat excitement, and saw Becky Lynch pin Ronda Rousey to win the WWE Women’s Championship as the first woman to be victorious in the main event of WrestleMania. In 2021, WrestleMania 37 featured another women’s main event on the card that headlined the multi-time Women’s Champion, Sasha Banks, against the relatively new Bianca Belair. In a match filled with what can be described as a roller-coaster of emotion, Bianca Belair pinned Sasha Banks to become the WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion as celebration erupted. This year Becky Lynch will defend her 600+ day reign as WWE Women’s Champion against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania.

The Legacy of the A’noai family.

The Current WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, has a lot to live up to when it comes to WrestleMania legacy. He is on the run of his career, but he is not the first from his family tree to headline the extravagant show. Roman Reigns (Joe A’noai) comes from the historic A’noai family tree, a legacy that spans four generations in wrestling entertainment. Throughout history, members of the family have appeared and competed in 30 out of 38 WrestleManias. Roman Reigns currently holds the highest number of appearances on “The Grandest Stage of Them All” with nine appearances, followed by his cousin, now world-renowned actor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, with eight appearances at WrestleMania. Roman Reigns will be main eventing WrestleMania for an impressive sixth time this year against opponent Brock Lesnar for the Winner Takes All Championship.

Ready for WrestleMania 38 at AT&T Stadium?  Don't miss out on the epic two day showdown!