Opinion: It's the right time for WrestleMania to become a two-day event
Coming off the heels of another WrestleMania that ended past midnight for the East Coast of the United States, and at even more absurd times for fans overseas. The question needs to be asked once again: Is it time for WrestleMania to become a two-day event? This is a discussion that has been going on for years now since the launch of the WWE Network.
Before the WWE Network era, WrestleMania usually ended around 11PM, if not a little after that. There was no two-hour pre show or meaningless Battle Royals. However, ever since the Network, WrestleMania has gotten longer and longer and ended later and later. This year’s event ended at around 12:30 AM, with the main event not beginning until midnight. There is even a video of fans falling asleep inside MetLife Stadium.
It is even worse for fans who live overseas, where WrestleMania ended around 5:30 or 6:30 AM depending on location. At that time, most people have to prepare for school, work or other things with absolutely no sleep at all. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. With a two-day event, not only can WWE get all of the talents on the card, but they can also give each match an ample amount of time without screwing another match.
The crowd will also be alive and energized throughout the entire show instead of being dead after eight hours. One night can be dedicated to Smackdown and their side of the card while the other night is dedicated to RAW and its portion of the card. Each show can start at 7 PM and run three or four hours, which would see it end at 11PM like it used to. This is a reasonable time and it allows fans to get home and have time to prepare for the next day and what they need to do.
The main question is how would this affect ticket pricing and attendance? Would fans pay to attend one show or both? Would they lower prices to make up for possible attendance loss? What effect would this have on other wrestling events in the area that weekend?
WWE scheduling wouldn’t suffer much as they can move the Hall of Fame ceremony to Thursday, have NXT Takeover on Friday like they did this year, and then truly have a “WrestleMania weekend”. While these details would need to be ironed out, there is no doubt that a two-day WrestleMania event would be beneficial for both WWE and fans worldwide.