WrestleMania is a professional wrestling event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by the American company WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 39 events have been held, with its most recent 39th edition occurring at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on April 1 and 2, 2023. WrestleMania was WWE's first-ever pay-per-view (PPV) produced and is the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in history. The event has been broadcast through traditional PPV since 1985 and has been available via livestreaming since WrestleMania XXX in 2014, which was WWE's first major event available through this medium. WrestleMania was conceptualized by former WWE executive chairman Vince McMahon and named by ring announcer and WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel. It is the company's flagship event and along with Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank, it is referred to as one of the "Big Five", WWE's five biggest annual events of the year.
Randal Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. With the third most world championship reigns in history, and a career spanning over 20 years, Orton is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
Nicholas Theodore Nemeth is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under his real name, stylized as Nic Nemeth. He also makes appearances on the independent circuit and for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is best known for his tenure with WWE from 2004 to 2023, where he performed under the ring name Dolph Ziggler. Known for his athleticism and versatility, Nemeth is regarded as one of the most talented wrestlers in the world.
Stephen Farrelly is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus.
Leati Joseph Anoaʻi is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the current and longest-reigning WWE Universal Champion in his second reign and the current WWE Champion in his fourth reign, thus making him the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. He is also the leader of The Bloodline stable and a member of the Anoaʻi family. Reigns's ongoing reign of 1,299 days as Universal Champion is the fourth-longest world title reign in WWE history and the longest championship reign since 1988.
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kofi Kingston and is part of The New Day.
WrestleMania XXVI was the 26th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on March 28, 2010, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. It was the first WrestleMania since WrestleMania XI with a non-title match as a main event, the first WrestleMania held in Arizona, and the third held in an open-air venue, after WrestleMania IX and WrestleMania XXIV.
WrestleMania 29 was the 29th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on April 7, 2013 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Nine professional wrestling matches were contested at the event, with one match contested on the Pre-Show.
The 2012 Royal Rumble was the 25th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on January 29, 2012, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. As has been customary since 1993, the Royal Rumble match winner received a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For the 2012 event, the winner received their choice to challenge for either the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII. It was the first Royal Rumble held since the end of the first brand extension in August 2011.
The 2012 TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was the fourth annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on December 16, 2012, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. It was the first professional wrestling event to be held at the Barclays Center and WWE's first event held in Brooklyn.
WrestleMania 32 was the 32nd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on April 3, 2016, at the AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. This was the last WrestleMania to be held before the reintroduction of the brand extension in July, which introduced another world championship, the WWE Universal Championship, thus it was also the last WrestleMania to feature one world championship. It was also the third WrestleMania to be held in the state of Texas.
WrestleMania 33 was the 33rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 2, 2017, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, and was the third WrestleMania held at the state of Florida after XXIV and XXVIII. The New Day served as the hosts of the event. It was the first WrestleMania to feature Goldberg since WrestleMania 20.
The 2013 Elimination Chamber was the fourth Elimination Chamber professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on February 17, 2013, at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Shield was a professional wrestling stable in WWE that consisted of Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins. Their original characters were mercenaries for CM Punk; however, they quickly became mainstay main-event names. The group debuted on November 18, 2012 at the Survivor Series pay-per-view. The Shield was a dominant force in six-man tag team matches with an undefeated televised streak lasting from December 2012 to May 2013, during which they scored a victory at WrestleMania 29. In May 2013 at Extreme Rules, all three members of The Shield won a championship, with Ambrose winning the United States Championship while Rollins and Reigns captured the WWE Tag Team Championship. Rollins and Reigns were WWE Tag Team Champions until October 2013, and Ambrose was United States Champion until May 2014, which was a record reign for the WWE version of the championship. As a Shield member, Reigns gained prominence by setting and equaling elimination records at the 2013 Survivor Series and the 2014 Royal Rumble events.
The 2014 Survivor Series was the 28th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on November 23, 2014, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, and was the first Survivor Series event to livestream on the WWE Network, which launched in February. The event was notable for the WWE debut appearance of former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) wrestler Sting and also the first Survivor Series since 2001 to not feature a world championship match.
The Authority was a villainous professional wrestling stable in WWE, which originated due to Triple H helping Randy Orton win the WWE Championship from Daniel Bryan at the 2013 SummerSlam pay-per-view immediately after cashing in the Money in the Bank contract. The name of "The Authority" was introduced on October 7, 2013 on Monday Night Raw during a match between The Shield vs Cody Rhodes, Goldust and Daniel Bryan. Jerry Lawler first said "The Authority" during that match. The Authority initially referred to only Triple H and Stephanie McMahon as a power couple. The Authority shares similarities with The Corporation and The McMahon-Helmsley Faction, and also had ties to Triple H's previous stables D-Generation X (DX) and Evolution, the latter of which existed alongside The Authority for a brief period in 2014.
Thomas Pestock is an American professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Baron Corbin and is one-half of the current NXT Tag Team Champions with Bron Breakker in their first reign.
Live from Madison Square Garden, also called Live from MSG: Lesnar vs. Big Show, was a professional wrestling live event produced by WWE. It was livestreamed exclusively on the WWE Network. The event took place on October 3, 2015, and was broadcast from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. It was hailed as part of Brock Lesnar's "Go To Hell Tour" as well as his return to Madison Square Garden in his first match in the arena since his original departure from the company in 2004. The event also marked the 25th anniversary of Chris Jericho's debut in professional wrestling.
The history of WWE Raw began as WWF's Monday Night Raw on January 11, 1993. Over the next two decades, Raw would become the promotion's flagship show, achieving numerous milestones along the way.
