SUMMARY
- WWE WrestleMania is the biggest annual event in the Triple H-led promotion.
- The Show of Shows has been running successfully since 1985, and it is one of the most iconic things in the industry.
WWE’s annual WrestleMania show is without a doubt the biggest event in WWE. In fact, many consider it to be one of the best organized events in the world. The Show of Shows has been successfully running for the last four decades, and is one of the most iconic things to come into existence in the pro wrestling industry.
The first edition of the show took place on March 31, 1985, and since then, it has been a special attraction for fans. But now, the PLE is not something that ends in a single day, as The Showcase of the Immortals has turned into an entire week of events. The Hall of Fame, an annual NXT special, and several other events lead up to the main show, which is obviously what all the fans wait for.
Moreover, the match card has also been distributed over two nights, as the organization added a second night to WrestleMania 36. Starting from the 2020 edition of the show, The Grandest Stage of them All has now become a two-night affair, and the Triple H-led promotion makes sure that the fans get the best product on both nights of the event.
Even though the company doesn’t leave any stone unturned to give entertainment to the audience, many still wonder what was probably the reason to add a second night to The Showcase of the Immortals. To get the answer to this question, let’s check out three reasons why the Triple H-led promotion did so and how it is the best decision WWE has taken to save the legacy of the fourty-year-old show.
More WWE stars get the opportunity to showcase their talent at WrestleMania
Among all the different aspects that might have led to the decision to add a second night to WrestleMania, one that’s arguably the biggest is the showcase of performers. Before night 2 got added to the historic PLE, a lot of fans used to complain about not seeing their favorite stars perform at The Show of Shows.
A major reason behind this was the scarcity of time, as the company used to have just a limited period of time, and getting every deserving WWE star on the card used to be very difficult. But with the addition of a second night to The Showcase of the Immortals, the Triple H-led promotion has probably reached the end of this problem forever.
The complete WrestleMania XL card so far…
This shit is STACKED af 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AM71Rcbc5n
— EliteRockerz 𝕏 (@EliteClubS0B) March 30, 2024
As the event is now covered across two nights, the company gives more WWE stars the opportunity to showcase their talent at the WrestleMania stage. In fact, we have seen this over the last four editions of the show, as after the pandemic-affected edition, the company has pretty much been able to keep fans happy by having almost all the deserving workers perform at the mega event.
Additionally, this change has also helped the company make special moments even more memorable for the fans. Before the show was a two-night event, several incredible moments used to lose their charm because of the stacked cards. But by splitting WrestleMania in half, an extra number of matches will be remembered by the audience, as they will have 24 hours for sink in everything from night 1 before they watch Sunday’s show.
Enables longer matches at The Show of Shows
Another reason why adding a second night to WrestleMania is the best decision WWE has taken to save the marquee event is because it enables longer matches. When The Show of Shows used to be a one-night show, a lot of times fights used to go beyond their scheduled time, and it used to make the event longer than the supposed time.
In an example of the same, WrestleMania 34 went over seven hours, which is extremely long for any show. Even fans who love to watch WrestleMania won’t really be happy sitting through such an extended time period. Moreover, to sit in a hard stadium chair surrounded by people screaming loudly and with limited food options is something that nobody would really like.
To get rid of this problem, airing the show across Saturdays and Sundays was the best possible solution, and that’s why the Stamford-based promotion used it for their own benefit. Instead of one very long show, which even puts pressure on the company to keep the matches short, the two-night idea is better.
By using this method, WWE gets the luxury of planning the card better, and also gets the opportunity to give fans instant classics that can even take up an extended period of time in the ring. All in all, it can be said that the addition of this second night gives performers all the time they need to show their exceptional in-ring skills on The Show of Shows.
Adds a whole new layer of excitement among the WWE Universe
It’s true that the decision to add a second night to WrestleMania has enabled the company to put on extra matches and give stars extra time to put on classics on The Showcase of the Immortals. But, arguably, the biggest positive from this change is that it adds a whole new layer of excitement to the WWE Universe.
As everyone knows, the audience receives a lot of surprises from the organization on the WrestleMania stage. But with the two-day method, the number of surprises or shocks they receive at The Show of Shows has increased. In fact, fans even compare which night was better in terms of giving them unexpected moments, which is obviously pretty cool.
Moreover, WWE also tries to make sure that the audience doesn’t get disappointed in terms of expectations from the event. That’s a major reason why the creative team makes extra efforts to provide the professional wrestling community with the best product, which is what they want.
Additionally, the company also gets the opportunity to carry on with the momentum they built on night 1 and make the second night even better. On the other hand, there is also the chance to pull up the socks for Sunday’s show if the audience isn’t satisfied with the kind of product they got from the organization on Saturday.
All in all, it can be said that this decision to turn WrestleMania into a two-night show has resulted in a lot of positive changes for the event. As the show is set to complete four decades of its inception with WrestleMania XL, it remains to be seen what WWE has in store for its fans. It’ll be interesting to see what happens at the 2024 edition of The Show of Shows.