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After much anticipation over how the show would be received, WrestleMania 37 proved to be a huge success.
Of course, it wasn't without a few slips. The turbulent weather forced WWE to delay the action on Night One, while it was smooth sailing on Night Two. Either way, the company delivered. The live crowd at Raymond James Stadium was treated to two brilliant nights of fun wrestling, grand spectacle and special moments.
This does beg the question, though - Should WrestleMania be held over two nights from now on?
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The opinion of most seems to be, yes, it absolutely should. The past two editions both happened over two nights, with fans thoroughly enjoying the format change. WrestleMania 36 had to be split because of the lack of fans, while the recently concluded Showcase of the Immortals proved it could work even with live fans in a stadium.
Let's take a look at five reasons why WWE must keep WrestleMania a two-night event going forward.
#5 Both Royal Rumble winners can main event WrestleMania
This point mainly works from a kayfabe standpoint, but it is still valid. One of the many reasons why the Royal Rumble Match is so beloved by fans is because of the stakes attached to it. The winner gets a championship match at WrestleMania.
However, winning such a prestigious match should get you more than that. The Rumble winner should ideally always main event the Show of Shows. This has been the case for the last few years, with either the men's winner or the women's winner headlining WrestleMania.
However, both winners can main event under the two-night format. This was the case at WrestleMania 37, with Bianca Belair and Edge in the show-closers on either night. Keeping the format would further boost the prestige of the Royal Rumble, with the victor receiving a guaranteed main event match.
By default, it ensures WWE will constantly book the women at a similar level to the men. Despite Belair and Sasha Banks main eventing Night One, that hasn't quite been the case this year. If every WrestleMania had one women's main event and one men's main event, we would see so many more female megastars in WWE have their time to shine.
Also, this move would set a structure in stone and maintain the value of every world title in the company, be it the WWE, Universal, or any of the Women's Titles.
#4 WWE has more storytelling opportunities for WrestleMania
A two-night WrestleMania opens up a lot of possibilities storyline-wise for WWE to explore. The company could run effective angles across both nights, tying the event together. It did so last year and this year, albeit on a relatively small scale.
The 24/7 Championship changed hands on both nights of WrestleMania 36. Meanwhile, this year's show featured a two-night story arc for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. Natalya and Tamina won a Tag Team Turmoil Match on Saturday, before facing Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the titles on Sunday.
WWE also teased the use of the format to resolve the Universal Championship picture. Daniel Bryan suggested Edge and Roman Reigns face each other on Night One of WrestleMania, with the winner defending the title against him on Night Two. But it's safe to say the triple threat was a much better option.
A lot of fun stories can be told using the two-night format for WrestleMania at future editions. Some ideas include a midcard title match on Night Two for the winner of the Andre the Giant Battle Royal on Night One and a story-arc similar to Bret Hart's at WrestleMania 10, where he wrestled twice.
#3 WrestleMania is much more watchable over two nights
One of the biggest positives of a two-night WrestleMania comes from a fan's view. Simply put, the Show of Shows is so much more watchable over two nights. Earlier editions of WrestleMania never used to cross four hours, with the runtime constantly increasing in the late 2010s.
Four hours became five, along with the addition of a two-hour Kickoff Show. As a result, fans get fatigued from watching too much wrestling. This particularly hampered WrestleMania 35. The crowd was barely into the main event of the show, which saw Becky Lynch defeat Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair.
It was a shame, but the problem can forever be avoided. The two-night format allows WWE to give the main portion of WrestleMania a combined runtime of up to seven hours, without affecting the fans. Spreading the action across two nights makes the event much more palatable.
It's likely the case most fans would rather watch two three-hour shows with seven to eight matches each, instead of one five-hour show with twelve matches on it. WrestleMania is truly too big for one night.
#2 Undercard stars get to shine at WrestleMania
Complementing the point of having two shorter shows, a two-night WrestleMania is also beneficial from a talent's perspective. A few more spots open up for the Show of Shows, giving various undercard performers the chance to prove their worth on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
It is unlikely we would have seen Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and Apollo Crews all get a singles match at a one-night WrestleMania. One of them might have gotten lucky, but the card would be too bloated. As a result, many matches suffer from the lack of time and investment, especially during the latter stages of a particular 'Mania.
The two-night format allows every match on the card to breathe and tell a proper story. It happened at the Performance Center last year, with a few matches truly benefitting from the layout. That was the case at WrestleMania 37 as well, with pretty much every match serving a purpose.
More WWE Superstars can get their WrestleMania moment this way as well. Quite a few of them got to shine this year, being given the appropriate time to tell their stories effectively. Cesaro was the standout performer of the bunch, with his match against Seth Rollins on Night One arguably stealing the show.
#1 It is the next step in the evolution of WrestleMania
WrestleMania has grown exponentially from the special event it once was in 1985. A sold-out pay-per-view in Madison Square Garden slowly turned into a show befitting a stadium venue. The Show of Shows went from strength to strength and now regularly attracts over 70,000 fans every year, with the exception of 2020/2021.
Along with the larger scale of WrestleMania, the show attracted an entire week of events. The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony became a tradition, as did NXT TakeOver in recent years. Surely the next step in this growth would be to retain the two-night format. Booking Saturday and Sunday for WrestleMania should become a regular thing.
WWE would sell out the stadium two nights in a row with compelling matches on both of them. This is a much better growth to the Show of Shows than bloating the card and making it last over seven hours in total.
The permanent addition of the two-night format would instantly make WrestleMania bigger in the best possible way. Which format do you prefer - two nights or one night? Sound off in the comments below.
