Why the WWE Owes Las Vegas a Good WrestleMania This Year

WrestleMania 41 comes to Las Vegas this weekend, and the flagship event of World Wrestling Entertainment is bigger than ever — growing from a hyped-up 1985 house show in New York’s Madison Square Garden to a two-night spectacle at Allegiant Stadium, surrounded by a week’s worth of fan-friendly activities.

The annual extravaganza was last in Las Vegas 32 years ago when WrestleMania IX took over a parking lot at Caesars Palace with a pop-up outdoor stadium. The backstage logistics and politics were fascinating enough to warrant a newly released documentary, but while wrestling fans don’t agree on much, few will dispute that the 1993 show was notoriously one of the worst — maybe even the worst — WrestleMania of all time.

The company, then the World Wrestling Federation, was in a transitional period between the ‘80s boom of Hulk Hogan and the late ‘90s resurgence of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. The show leaned heavily into its Vegas theme with live animals, announcers in togas, and odds posted “for entertainment purposes only” at the Caesars Palace sportsbook.

Even the best matches were “just ok” with the hot Vegas sun taking its toll on both spectators and performers. But the worst part of WrestleMania IX was how it ended.

Hulk Hogan — older, skinnier, and sporting a mysterious black eye — returned after a year off for an undercard tag-team nostalgia match. Later, after Yokozuna defeated Bret “Hit Man” Hart for the championship in the main event, Hogan showed up for an unadvertised impromptu challenge to win the title in less than 30 seconds.

It was supposed to be a surprise happy ending, but it felt more like the Hulkster (the man, the character, you pick) was weaseling his way back into the spotlight. It left a bad taste in the mouth of fans worldwide, including the once-proud Hulkamaniac who writes this newsletter.

Hogan would reinvent his career by officially becoming a bad guy a few years later, much like John Cena is doing at this week’s WrestleMania. While the popularity of pro-wrestling ebbs and flows, the WWE is an established economic powerhouse, publicly traded under the TKO banner it shares with Las Vegas’ own UFC.

Maybe it’s time to see what it’s all about during WrestleMania Week 🤔 It couldn’t be any worse than last time.

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City Cast Las Vegas welcomes a local superfan to discuss the evolution of pro wrestling and what the fuss is all about during WrestleMania Week in Las Vegas. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]