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Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
WrestleMania 41: The greatest celebrity matches in WrestleMania history, from Lawrence Taylor to Bad Bunny
From the very beginning, WrestleMania has been a balance of in-ring wrestling and Hollywood glitz and glamour. The excitement around the first WrestleMania was built on pop star Cyndi Lauper, who was managing women's champion Wendi Richter and television/movie star Mr. T, who was in the main event tag match. Celebrities have donned the tights many times, and while the results have been sort of hit and miss (no one is going to be looking to rediscover the greatness of Maria Menounos's WrestleMania 28 tag match), there have been some truly excellent celebrity WrestleMania matches. From WrestleMania 1 all the way to last year's Philadelphia showcase, here is a list of the best: Bunny is a huge music star and has to be given a lot of credit for how he clearly prepared for this match. He broke out a bunch of high spots, a satellite head scissors, plancha and Canadian destroyer. The match never really felt like a fight, though, a feeling significantly less polished celebrities were able to pull off. Miz and Morrison are experienced hands and certainly did their best to install some credibility, but this ended up feeling more like a handful of cool twitter gifs than a complete match. (Still some admittedly cool twitter gifs.) Taylor was one of the greatest pure athletes in football history, and that athleticism jumped off the screen in this match. You get the sense that Taylor spent less time preparing for this match than any other celebrity on this list. If he tried to do anything complicated, it didn't look good — but the match still completely worked. Most of Taylor's offense were these leaping forearm smashes where he just sprung himself through the air and landed with the kind of explosive force that terrorized quarterbacks throughout the '80s and '90s. Bigelow was a pro's pro, and you could see him moving "LT" around into positions and feeding him openings and gamely taking the potatoes that Taylor was delivering. Bam Bam was always a bit of a what-if — for whatever reason he never really reached the heights that his talent and look should have taken him to. But in his most high-profile moment, he totally delivered. An incredibly 1980s moment: Muhammed Ali as the special referee, Libarace as the time-keeper and Billy Martin sitting at ringside. A sea change in the way professional wrestling was presented. A great Piper performance — just an all-time s***-stirrer, getting in Mr. T's face, cheap-shotting, stooging for Hogan, injecting the entire match with an unhinged energy, a little grit in the gloss. Mr. T did a nice job with his role as well, hitting some nice takedowns, being a good hot tag and coming off like a tough guy. Hogan in 1985 was a master of this kind of spectacle, playing to the cheap seats with big expressive selling and moves, delivering what the crowd paid to see. While Ronda Rousey would go on to have a pair of runs as a full-time wrestler, she was fully a celebrity attraction at this point, coming into the WWE after being one of the biggest sports stars in the world as a UFC champion. This was one a great example of the excellence of structure, a classic southern tag where the catharsis is deferred and deferred to make the moment when it hits mean so much. The rules of the match only allowed men to wrestle men and women to wrestle women, so the beginning of the match was Triple H trying to keep Angle from tagging in Rousey and forcing his wife into the threshing machine. McMahon could certainly outstay her welcome as an on-air character, but this was her masterpiece, a cheap-shotting obnoxious heel, who the crowd is begging to see get her comeuppance. They actually use a lot of bells and whistles to have a competitive finish run, with Steph in full hair-pull, eye-rake mode, keeping the audience from the moment where Ronda catches her, to the point where the crowd comes unglued when Ronda finally snaps her arm with the armbar. Logan Paul has become a staple of the WWE in the past three years, but came into this match as a social media star without previous in-ring experience — and he demonstrated here what would make him such a successful wrestler. Paul just seemed to intrinsically understand the way to dig under the skin of fans. There is a moment where Paul does Eddie Guerrero's signature combos to taunt Mysterio. It's a spot that has been done hundreds of times since Eddie's death, but just watch how Paul pauses after each suplex to maximize the boos — and his absolutely contemptible little shimmy on the top rope before the frog splash. A lot of wrestling heels these days exist in a sort of meta world where fans cheer them for 'being a good bad guy.' Paul in this match channels the kind of hate which would make old ladies try to stab Tully Blanchard. Basically a live action Tom and Jerry cartoon. Knoxville did a tremendous job translating what made "Jackass" so special over the years into a wrestling match — and Sami Zayn took the kind of insane bumps necessary to pull it off. Giant hands, tables full of mousetraps, bowling balls to the privates, crazy amounts of punishment. It was like if Kevin versus the Wet Bandits happened live with no special effects or cutting. Most celebrity matches are built around how the celebrity can integrate himself into the world of wrestling. This was basically Sami Zayn dropped in an episode of "Jackass," and he fit in perfectly. One of the great pro-wrestling spectacles of all time, the ultimate glitz and glamour celebrity fight. Mayweather was the biggest boxing star since Mike Tyson and someone who was facing off with a behemoth who was 250-pound heavier and a foot and a half taller. Somehow Floyd's natural brand of hateable charisma made the crowd root for Goliath to take his revenge against David. Mayweather came equipped with an entourage to run interference and take bumps, but when he got his chances, he showed off his blinding hand speed and power, throwing maybe the nastiest body shots ever in a pro-wrestling ring. Big Show got his licks in too, stepping on Mayweather's chest and arms and chucking him around the ring — huge bumps for an active champion boxer (although Mayweather was technically in the middle of one of his many retirements.) The finish was incredible, with Floyd using distractions to wallop Big Show with a chair and then crush him with a brass-knuckle assisted right hand, which he didn't appear to pull even a little bit.
USA Today
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
WrestleMania history: Every location, host city, venue for WWE's biggest live event
WrestleMania history: Every location, host city, venue for WWE's biggest live event WWE is bringing WrestleMania 41 to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, but the event has taken place all over the United States (and Canada) over the years. Show Caption Hide Caption John Cena, Cody Rhodes headline Wrestlemania 41 in Las Vegas Jordan Mendoza breaks down all the exciting matches to expect from Wrestlemania 41 in Las Vegas. Another WrestleMania is fast approaching and WWE's iconic premium live event is returning to Las Vegas for the first time in more than 30 years. What was initially dubbed the Super Bowl of pro wrestling, beginning with WrestleMania 1 in 1985, is now the centerpiece of the WWE calendar and a de facto industry convention given all the fans and legends that descend on the WrestleMania host city each year. Allegiant Stadium, home to the Las Vegas Raiders, will be the site of WrestleMania 41 beginning on Saturday, April 19 and continuing through Sunday, April 20. It's a more conventional setting than WrestleMania 9, which was held in a stadium built in a converted parking lot at Caesars Palace. This will also be the latest date for the event in its history. The card's two main events are scheduled to feature Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk in a triple threat match on the first night and Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena for the WWE championship on the second night. WRESTLEMANIA 41 PREDICTIONS: Who will be winners of every match in Las Vegas? Madison Square Garden and Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois (formerly the Rosemont Horizon) have each hosted WrestleMania three times – the most of any venues. The largest crowd on a single night at WrestleMania occurred at WrestleMania 32 in 2016, according to WWE, when it announced a record 101,763 fans in attendance at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas. Allegiant Stadium's capacity is listed as 65,000 for football games. Ahead of WrestleMania 41 this weekend, here's a breakdown of where every previous WrestleMania took place and a look ahead to what city and stadium will serve as host for next year's WrestleMania: KEVIN OWENS INJURY: WWE star confirms neck surgery, WrestleMania 41 match canceled WrestleMania locations: Every city, venue to host WWE's iconic event WrestleMania 1 (March 31, 1985) : Madison Square Garden in New York : Madison Square Garden in New York WrestleMania 2 (April 7, 1986) : Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York; Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois; Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles : Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York; Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois; Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles WrestleMania III (March 29, 1987) : Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan : Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan WrestleMania IV(March 27, 1988) : Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey : Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey WrestleMania V (April 2, 1989) : Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey : Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey WrestleMania VI (April 1, 1990) : SkyDome in Toronto, Canada (now called Rogers Centre) : SkyDome in Toronto, Canada (now called Rogers Centre) WrestleMania VII (March 24, 1991) : Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles : Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles WrestleMania VIII (April 5, 1992) : Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis : Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis WrestleMania IX (April 4, 1993) : Caesars Palace in Las Vegas : Caesars Palace in Las Vegas WrestleMania X (March 20, 1994) : Madison Square Garden in New York : Madison Square Garden in New York WrestleMania XI (April 2, 1995) : Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut (now called XL Center) : Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut (now called XL Center) WrestleMania XII (March 31, 1996) : Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California (now called Honda Center) : Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California (now called Honda Center) WrestleMania 13 (March 23, 1997) : Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois (now called Allstate Arena) : Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois (now called Allstate Arena) WrestleMania 14 (March 29, 1998) : FleetCenter in Boston (now called TD Garden) : FleetCenter in Boston (now called TD Garden) WrestleMania XV (March 28, 1999) : First Union Center in Philadelphia (now called Wells Fargo Center) : First Union Center in Philadelphia (now called Wells Fargo Center) WrestleMania 2000 (April 2, 2000) : Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California (now called Honda Center) : Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California (now called Honda Center) WrestleMania X-Seven (April 1, 2001) : Reliant Astrodome in Houston : Reliant Astrodome in Houston WrestleMania X8 (March 17, 2002) : SkyDome in Toronto, Canada (now called Rogers Centre) : SkyDome in Toronto, Canada (now called Rogers Centre) WrestleMania XIX (March 30, 2003) : Safeco Field in Seattle (now called T-Mobile Park) : Safeco Field in Seattle (now called T-Mobile Park) WrestleMania XX (March 14, 2004) : Madison Square Garden in New York : Madison Square Garden in New York WrestleMania 21 (April 3, 2005) : Staples Center in Los Angeles (now called Arena) : Staples Center in Los Angeles (now called Arena) WrestleMania 22 (April 2, 2006) : Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois : Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois WrestleMania 23 (April 1, 2007) : Ford Field in Detroit : Ford Field in Detroit WrestleMania XXIV (March 30, 2008) : Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida (now called Camping World Stadium) : Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida (now called Camping World Stadium) WrestleMania 25 (April 5, 2009) : Reliant Stadium in Houston (now called NRG Stadium) : Reliant Stadium in Houston (now called NRG Stadium) WrestleMania XXVI (March 28, 2010) : University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (now called State Farm Stadium) : University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (now called State Farm Stadium) WrestleMania XXVII (April 3, 2011) : Georgia Dome in Atlanta : Georgia Dome in Atlanta WrestleMania XXVIII (April 1, 2012) : Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida (now called Hard Rock Stadium) : Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida (now called Hard Rock Stadium) WrestleMania 29 (April 7, 2013) : MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey : MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey WrestleMania 30 (April 6, 2014) : Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans (now called Caesars Superdome) : Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans (now called Caesars Superdome) WrestleMania 31 (March 29, 2015) : Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California : Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California WrestleMania 32 (April 3, 2016) : AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas : AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas WrestleMania 33 (April 2, 2017) : Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida (now called Camping World Stadium) : Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida (now called Camping World Stadium) WrestleMania 34 (April 8, 2018) : Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans (now called Caesars Superdome) : Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans (now called Caesars Superdome) WrestleMania 35 (April 7, 2019) : MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey : MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey WrestleMania 36 (April 4-5, 2020) : WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida : WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida WrestleMania 37 (April 10-11, 2021) : Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida : Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida WrestleMania 38 (April 2-3, 2022) : AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas : AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas WrestleMania 39 (April 1-2, 2023) : SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California : SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California WrestleMania 40 (April 6-7, 2024) : Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia : Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia WrestleMania 41 (April 19-20, 2025) : Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas : Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas WrestleMania 42 (April 11-12, 2026): Caesars Superdome in New Orleans How to watch WrestleMania 41: TV, live streaming for WWE Dates : April 19-20, 2025 : April 19-20, 2025 Time : 7 p.m. ET : 7 p.m. ET Location : Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) : Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) TV : None : None Streaming: Peacock (United States), Netflix (internatinal) Watch WrestleMania 41 with Peacock
