As we have already reported in SUPER LUCHAS, despite the official announcement of 101,763 people in the stadium at WrestleMania 32, the actual number was lower. As usual in WWE, the numbers are often inflated, and even though the real numbers are extremely impressive, they add a few thousand more.
WWE.
See also: Pontiac Silverdome, the venue of WrestleMania III, to be demolished - What was the actual number of people who attended that event?
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer newsletter, Dave Meltzer reveals that the actual number was 97,769 people, which still breaks the record of 79,127 from SummerSlam '92 and the 78,000 from WrestleMania III (announced as 93,173).
"Despite how popular WrestleMania is, there was concern when 'only' 60,000 tickets had been sold a couple of months ago. There was a huge increase in sales when the match between Undertaker and Shane McMahon was announced, which showed them that the draw is not only the name of WrestleMania and that a match can make a difference."
Meltzer adds that since WWE decided to hold all WrestleManias in stadiums starting with the 25th edition, only three out of nine WrestleManias have sold out, although in all cases the company has announced that they were completely sold out. As an example, at WrestleMania 31, where they announced 76,976 people, the actual number was 67,000, of which 57,800 were paid tickets, and they fell short by 3,000 to achieve a sellout.
"This year's event sold about 30,000 more tickets than last year's, despite the lower ratings, higher ticket prices and all the complaints about the weak card and poor build-up. The reality is that they charged higher prices and had better results than last year. Perhaps part of the draw was being part of history and breaking the mythical number of 93,173 from WrestleMania III, as the company has been selling the idea of surpassing 100,000 people from the beginning (thus ensuring that they would announce a higher number or it would be disappointing for the fans). However, they made the same promotion in 1991, when they were preparing WrestleMania at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, asking people to be part of the record of over 100,000 people. They had to abandon the idea when they had only sold 16,000 tickets a few months before and changed the event to the Memorial Sports Arena.
"WWE announced the number 101,763, which is the mythical number 'for show purposes,' as Vince McMahon told me a few years ago when talking about the difference between real numbers and announced numbers."
The largest attendances in WWE history are now:
- WrestleMania 32 → 97,769
- SummerSlam '92 → 79,127
- WrestleMania III → 78,000 (75,700 paid tickets)
- WrestleMania 23 → 74,287
- WrestleMania 29 → 72,000