WWE’s announced attendance for this year’s WrestleMania 35 — you know, the one where Kofi Kingston won the WWE Championship, Dave Batista got his nose ring torn out and retired, and WWE got into beef with New Jersey transit over nobody being able to get home after the show — was 82,265.
WWE claimed this as a MetLife attendance record, but the actual number of paid attendees at the Showcase of the Immortals™ is always a little less than advertised. For examples of how this works, check out our feature on the biggest WrestleMania draws and how those announced figures differ from the receipts.
Per the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer, the paid attendance for WrestleMania 35 was said to be, “approximately 63,000.” While that’s not an exact number, it makes sense. WWE’s previous WrestleMania in MetLife Stadium (WrestleMania 29) brought in 68,900 paid with 74,300 in the building, and an announced attendance of 80,676. That shakes out to a lower paid attendance for this year’s event, with a higher attendance number announced. Factor in comp seats and everyone in the press booth, yonder Observer estimates between 68-70,000 people in the building, total.
That’s still a legitimate sellout for MetLife, by the way, especially considering how much space the stage takes up and how many non-salable seats needed to be blocked off. Trust us, we’re already trying to get seats on the pirate ship for WrestleMania 36 in Tampa.
