SUMMARY
- WrestleMania 40 turned out to be one of the greatest editions ever in the history of the special event.
- The 2-night event was well-executed by WWE, and that's why it made several new records.
WrestleMania 40 is done and dusted, and what a spectacular event it was. Ever since the match card started shaping up, the WWE Universe was expecting it to be a special show, and it’s safe to say that Triple H did everything in his power to make it one of the greatest WrestleManias of all time.
Amid the kind of show it was, WrestleMania XL broke numerous records, and the promotion has also announced the stats on their website. As per the press release, the two-night event in Philadelphia became the most socially viewed WrestleMania of all time, with over 660 million views across WWE’s social channels. Their YouTube channel also had its biggest day ever on Sunday, with 67 million views in 24 hours.
WrestleMania XL viewership was up 41% across both nights vs last year’s record-setting audience
— One Stop Wrestling (@1Stop_Wrestling) April 9, 2024
-WWE Press Release pic.twitter.com/hM6Jx7Vq2v
The Triple H-led promotion also recorded a 41% increase in viewership from the 2023 edition, and the merchandise was also up more than 20%. In addition to this, the gate for the event was up 78% compared to the previous record set during WrestleMania 39, as this year’s show had 145,298 in attendance across both nights.
This insane attendance resulted in almost a $20 million gate for each night, while the total earning for last year’s was stated to be around $21.6 million. With a monumental $38.4 million gate, these three records by this year’s WrestleMania will be extremely difficult to break.
Not just The Show of Shows, but the events before the special show also set up multiple records for the organization. WWE World was the highest-grossing and most-attended fan event in the history of the Triple H-led promotion. Additionally, the company also recorded its largest gates for their weekly shows during the event.
Another WWE record broken!
— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) April 1, 2024
Triple H confirms that tonight’s Raw in Brooklyn is the largest domestic gate in Raw history pic.twitter.com/NHL2ogV6FR
The go-home episode of Monday Night RAW, which took place on April 8, drew the largest gate in “RAW” history. Similarly, the April 5 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, which was organized at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, saw the largest gate in the history of the blue brand. Likewise, the company’s developmental territory, NXT, broke attendance records on the weekend.
The yellow brand’s live event “Stand and Deliver” on Saturday afternoon drew a record-breaking crowd of 16,545, the highest ever for an NXT event. All these feats were a result of the iconic buildup the Stamford-based promotion had for this year’s WrestleMania. Moreover, WWE breaking these many records through the show shows how Triple H and his entire team did some really exceptional work throughout the weekend.
Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns had a major role in breaking previous records
There were multiple aspects that played their part in making WrestleMania 40 the success it actually was. But nothing played a more important role in helping the special event break so many records than the storyline between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed Universal Championship.
The feud that had initially started after Cody’s 2023 Royal Rumble win first came to an end with Rhodes’ loss at WrestleMania 39. But after The American Nightmare’s victory at Royal Rumble 2024, the road for a rematch at WrestleMania XL began, but there was a huge obstacle to reach there, and it was The People’s Champion, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The Hollywood star took the fan-favorite star in the lead-up to WrestleMania and eventually turned heel. Even though Cody was able to regain his spot in the main event against The Tribal Chief, The Brahma Bull continued his involvement. All this resulted in a high-profile tag team match, as Dwayne and Roman took on the team of Seth Rollins and Cody.
But this encounter had high stakes, as a loss in the bout was going to put The Bloodline Rules in place for Cody vs. Reigns. As it actually happened, everything was against The American Nightmare, but it resulted in giving fans arguably the best WrestleMania main event in the history of the mega event.
In fact, the involvement of The Bloodline and legends like John Cena and The Undertaker took the story to another level, as Cody was finally able to finish his story at WrestleMania 40. With this, Rhodes also ended the historic title reign of The Head of the Table, as his run with the Undisputed Universal title ended at 1613 days, ending an era in the company.
Moreover, the way all the baby faces who were involved in Roman’s run as the champion came out to celebrate Cody’s victory made the end extra special. It was also a very emotional moment for the WWE Universe, as they had been backing their favorite star for a long time, and he finally got his moment at The Showcase of the Immortals by defeating Reigns.
Roman Reigns set to go on a long hiatus after WrestleMania 40 loss
The Tribal Chief’s legendary run as the Undisputed Universal Champion came to an end at WrestleMania XL, and everyone gave Roman his flowers for such an amazing reign. But alongside this, the pro wrestling world is also worried about his plans as a professional wrestler.
As there were rumors that Reigns might be retiring if he loses to Cody Rhodes, fans are wondering if that’s actually going to happen now. Until now, no confirmation about this has been made, and a recent report has revealed that Roman Reigns is set to go on a long hiatus after his loss to The American Nightmare at The Grandest Stage of Them All.
It has been stated that The Tribal Chief‘s next advertised appearance for the Triple H-led promotion is going to be on Friday Night SmackDown’s episode before SummerSlam 2024. As the event is still a long time away, he might return way earlier than this, but as of the time of writing, he’s expected to remain away from the organization for several months.
As of press time, the next episode of TV that Roman Reigns is advertised for is the #SmackDown before SummerSlam 2024. pic.twitter.com/lPFDpqHTH5
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) April 9, 2024
Even though Roman hasn’t made any public appearances since being dethroned from his Undisputed Universal title, he has posted a video on social media. In a short clip that he shared, The Head of the Table can be seen walking on a treadmill in the gym, as he wrote, “Yesterday I mourned. Today is Day 1.”
Looking at this, it seems that Reigns is now more focused than he has ever been, as he has high eyes on redemption. But when will he make his comeback to the organization to start going up the ranks and regain his spot at the top of the division? Moreover, it’ll be interesting to see how the company handles his character, as he hasn’t performed as a non-champion in the company since a long time due to his iconic reign.
With this, it also remains to be seen how this new era in the Triple H-led promotion will be, as The Game is now in complete charge of the company. As Cody Rhodes has now finished his story, fans will be looking forward to seeing how he performs as the champion, especially with the kind of support he has from them. Can he maximize this opportunity to become the face of WWE? We’ll surely get the answer to this in a few months.
