WrestleMania

WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, produced annually in mid-late March or early April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. WWE first produced the event in 1985 to be its premier annual event and has since produced twenty-eight editions with the twenty-ninth scheduled to take place in East Rutherford, New Jersey in 2013. WWE regards it as a flagship event due to it being the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in history. WrestleMania was conceptualized by WWE owner Vince McMahon.

WrestleMania's widespread success helped transform the professional wrestling industry and make WWE the most successful wrestling promotion in the world. The event has facilitated the rise to stardom of wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Macho Man Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, John Cena, Batista, Rey Mysterio and CM Punk. Celebrities such as Aretha Franklin, Cyndi Lauper, Muhammad Ali, Mr. T, Alice Cooper, Lawrence Taylor, Pamela Anderson, Mike Tyson, Donald Trump, Floyd Mayweather, Snoop Dogg and others have participated or made special appearances within the events.

WrestleMania propels the worldwide commercial success of the WWE through media, merchandise and shows. All of the events produced have been sold out within a short period of time, with recent editions being sold out within minutes of tickets going on sale. The first WrestleMania was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City; the 10th and 20th editions were also held there. WrestleMania III in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan was the highest-attended indoor sports event in the world, with 93,173 fans in attendance. The record stood until February 14, 2010, when the 2010 NBA All-Star Game broke the indoor sporting event record with an attendance of 108,713 at Cowboys Stadium. All but the two editions held in Toronto, Canada have been hosted in U.S. cities.