April 9, 2007 Observer Newsletter: WWE WrestleMania 23 review

This year’s biggest pro wrestling event of the year will be remembered as the night promoter Vince McMahon shaved his head to draw what will likely be the most money any non-boxing event on PPV ever drew.

Wrestlemania 23 on 4/1 at Ford Field in Detroit would have been a good show, and would have set certain records no matter what. As each year goes by, the name “Wrestlemania” grows bigger. It was a huge closed circuit and later PPV event from its inception in 1985. Somewhere, probably in 1991, it started losing its luster and, while still the biggest PPV event of the year through 1996, those events are probably remembered as bigger deals than they were at the time. In 1997, WCW put on five shows that drew bigger money on PPV than Wrestlemania.

The turnaround came with Mike Tyson in 1998, and they’ve never looked back. As a live event, every ticket available will sell out long before any matches are announced. But PPV in North America has been strong for wrestling every year. In the big picture, it’s not been a gigantic deal in that regard since 2002, with the Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock match.

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