WrestleMania Weekend: Where It All Begins Again

The tag line of WrestleMania XX couldn’t be more appropriate for the Showcase of the Immortals in 2019.

New York will be the center of the wrestling world again. As in recent years, several independent promotions will be storming into the host city of WrestleMania to grab their slice of the consumer pie. However, unlike in the past, there will be an equally major event as WrestleMania taking place at WWE’s hallowed grounds – New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor have sold out Madison Square Garden.

When tickets went on sale for the public on August 10, NJPW and ROH only had to sell 3,000 tickets. Due to pre-order availability via “HonorClub,” the promotions had already sold 9,000 tickets a couple days prior. WWE’s attempt to block this show from taking place only seemed to be the gasoline dumped on a campfire that’s been burning for a better part of the last decade. Momentum has been building for a rival to the McMonopoly – Impact Wrestling was the closest to compete, challenging for space on Monday nights before ultimately suffering a devastating downfall. Even Ring of Honor was slow out of the gates to the point that the independent promotion was two weeks away from shutting down in 2009.

Now there is a combination of independents gaining traction and established promotions experiencing resurgence. Promotions like PWG and Evolve have exposed fans to wrestlers such as Keith Lee, The Young Bucks and so many others. Also, as the U.K. wrestling scene has gone through a rebirth, there are now options for fans and wrestlers alike.

Everybody will have their eyes on how WWE reacts. Fans have grown tired of the same-old same-old at the top of the card: Brock Lesnar still holding the Universal Championship, Triple H donning the tights once again, Baron Corbin getting the honor of Kurt Angle’s farewell match. C’mon now!

We have seen WWE give in to the fans’ demand before, such as Daniel Bryan going over at WrestleMania 30, but how much is Vince McMahon willing to change this time? This could be the most critical WrestleMania since the inaugural edition in MSG. While New Japan and ROH may have a complete card with a good variety of wrestlers from junior heavyweights to the big names, WWE has seemingly gone the same route with its roster, putting in no effort in trying to promote popular competitors like Finn Balor and Ember Moon.

Of course, the landscape of pro wrestling has certainly changed since Madison Square Garden sold out. ROH and NJPW no longer have The Elite — Cody, Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page will be nowhere in sight during the historic event. WWE has also resigned major players like Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles, a couple of ROH forefathers whose presence in MSG would have greatly impacted the weekend.

Regardless, WrestleMania Weekend 2019 will be the most important weekend in wrestling in quite some time. MSG will be the center of the wrestling world and WWE is not even hosting an event there. The best independent stars will be in town and top international talent will be front and center. This is the most pressure that has ever been put on WWE to produce a topnotch event.

How will McMahon and co. respond? Perhaps they should go on the Network and relive what brought them to the dance in the first place. After all, WrestleMania in New York is where it all begins again.