On April 7, 1986, WWE did something very unique for their second-ever WrestleMania event. They held the event in three different locations, and did so live. The show took place in the three biggest media markets in the country: New York (Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York), Chicago (Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois) and Los Angeles (Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California). At the time, the technology wasn’t where it needed to be for that event to come off the way WWE would have liked, but it was still a great idea.
Was it as innovative as they had promoted it to be at the time? Not exactly. As noted in one of my “WrestleMania Moments” editorials (WrestleMania Moments: 3 Locations, 1 Historic Night) Jim Crockett Promotions attempted something similar with their Starrcade event in 1985 (as well as 1986) where they held the show in two different locations on the same night (Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina and The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia).
Regardless, it was a unique concept, one that was probably well ahead of its’ time. Now, however, might be the perfect time to pull off something like that. It’s actually a cool idea for a few different reasons.
First and foremost, it gives more fans the ability to attend WrestleMania in person. If WWE were to hold the event in three different locations, and at this point with the technology being what it is today, they could even do so at three different international locations, it would really give the event a true global feel.
Another positive would be for the wrestlers. This opens up what would amount to basically having three legitimate main events all in the same show. Each venue in each location would need a true main event, both for drawing purposes, as well as for structural reasons.
From a business perspective, it’s an absolute positive. When you total up the live gate receipts, one could only imagine the one-night record that WWE would set for attendance, revenue from ticket sales for a single event, etc. It would also open up the opportunity for the weekend festivities, such as WrestleMania Axxess, to be available in different parts of the world.
After writing that WrestleMania II feature, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. There’s really no downside as I see it, and I hope WWE takes on the idea at some point in the future. It really would be cool for a bunch of different reasons, and as noted, with technology where it is today, shouldn’t be as much of a production nightmare as it appeared to be back in 1986.
What do you guys think? Leave your feedback in the “Comments” section below. You can also hit me up directly at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR.
