WrestleMania 39: The Rock Match Rumors Help Propel WWE to Largest Ever WrestleMania Gate

While not a single match has been announced for WrestleMania Goes Hollywood (WrestleMania 39), rumors of returning superstars – one in particular – were enough for WWE to reach a brand new gate record for WrestleMania ticket sales.

Tickets for WrestleMania 39 went on sale to the public in August 2022 and in the ensuing five months, close to 100,000 tickets across the two nights have already been purchased according to Wrestle Tix. As a result of the sales, WWE has surpassed their previous record gate of $17.3M for WrestleMania 32. This despite the show not scheduled for another three months and despite the Road to WrestleMania – and the match announcements that come with it – only just beginning.

Of course, while these sales are being reported on the heels of a record attendance year for several WWE events in 2022, it should be worth noting the elephant in the room. It is hard to imagine that the months-long rumors of the Rock returning to WWE for a marquee WrestleMania 39 match against Roman Reigns didn’t have an impact on these record sales. The Rock is a bonafide star and much the way that John Cena moved the needle for WWE in his SmackDown appearance to end 2022, the Rock will do so should his match become official. In fact, he’s already done so, and it’s not even confirmed if his schedule will allow him to appear.

WWE released a press release on Monday detailing the record gate attendance for WrestleMania 39:

WrestleMania Goes Hollywood at SoFi Stadium Surpasses WrestleMania 32 as Best-Seller in Company History, Nearly Three Months Prior to Event

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE^® (NYSE: WWE) today announced that WrestleMania Goes Hollywood (WrestleMania 39), which will originate from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles across two nights, broke the company’s all-time gate record for any WrestleMania, despite having yet to announce a single match. The previous record announced was $17.3 million in 2016 at WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

WWE^® BREAKS ALL-TIME WRESTLEMANIA^® GATE RECORD

The record gate comes on the heels of unprecedented ticket sales demand for WWE in 2022, in which it produced the highest-grossing gates of all-time for Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and Extreme Rules. Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, which marked WWE’s first major stadium show in the U.K. in 30 years, was the highest-grossing U.K. event in company history.

Additionally, WWE set in-market gate records for SmackDown and Raw events in more than 20 markets for the year, including the December 30 SmackDown, which took place in Tampa, Fla. and heralded the return of WWE Superstar John Cena.

Limited single and two-day combo tickets for WrestleMania Goes Hollywood (WrestleMania 39) can still be purchased through Ticketmaster.com. The event streams live on Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2 exclusively on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else.

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Marilee Gallagher, Manager

Marilee Gallagher is a Philadelphia native and lifelong sports fan with interests beyond just the major five U.S. sporting leagues. At Last Word on Sports, she is the Department Manager for Last Word on Pro Wrestling, helping lead a team that covers WWE, AEW, and indies both in the U.S. and internationally. Past writing experience includes time as a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and Rant Sports.