The best locations to have hosted WWE's WrestleMania event.

WrestleMania has become the Super Bowl of wrestling over the years, and when a city lands WWE's yearly event, it now very much resembles landing a major sporting event. Cities officially make "bids" to host WrestleMania, and WWE selects a location after several cities have given formal presentations on why they would be a good host.

It wasn't always that way. When WrestleMania started in 1985, it was obviously a major financial risk for the McMahon family. Over the years, the company has added fan festivals, the Hall of Fame ceremony, and various other events that have turned WrestleMania into a week-long celebration.

However, when it comes down to it, WrestleMania on Sunday night (or Saturday and Sunday this year) is still the primary focus of everything. One of the first things people notice when the show goes on the air is the look of the the stadium hosting the show.

So with that said, let's look back on the five best venues that WrestleMania has been held in over the years. While the stadium or arena itself was the primary factor in deciding on these locales, the city itself sometimes played a role as well.

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New York City's Madison Square Garden

WrestleMania X held at Madison Square Garden in 1994

How can you not pick "The World's Most Famous Arena" for a list such as this? The first-ever WrestleMania occurred there in 1985, and WWE returned for WrestleMania X in 1994, as well as WrestleMania XX in 2004.

Though The Garden is an older venue at this stage, it's still arguably the most famous arena in the United States, possibly (as the name states) the world. Despite not running the venue much in recent years (pre-pandemic), MSG is still often referred to as WWE's home venue.

And quite literally, it was the original home to WrestleMania. Madison Square Garden is a shoe-in for a list like this.

Detroit's Pontiac Silverdome

WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome

How could this not make the list? Obviously, this event was held at a time when WrestleMania was a single day event versus a full week festival. WWE would return to Detroit years later with the 23rd edition of the show, held at new Ford Field.

However, the crowd drawn at WrestleMania III in 1987 makes the venue too iconic to be ignored. This was maybe the most spectacular venue in wrestling history despite no real "set," per say. Though the memorable ring carts that brought the wrestlers to the ring was a memorable touch. Anyone who grew up in the 1980s rented the Coliseum Video of this show over and over again to marvel at the size of the crowd and the venue as much as to watch the matches.

While there will be other venues on this list with sets that are a whole lot more fancy than what we saw at WrestleMania III, this one stands the test of time as a simple yet spectacular viewing experience. Truly the first of its kind.

Las Vegas' Caesar's Palace

This one might be a bit of a surprise to readers as 1993's WrestleMania IX wasn't exactly a memorable show. At least, not for the reasons you'd want it to be (Hulk Hogan?). In fact, the show is often panned as one of the worst in the history of WrestleMania.

That being said, the set-up for WrestleMania IX was incredibly cool. It was the first time the show was held outside, and the backdrop of the Las Vegas strip made for some great visuals. WWE set this one up as the world's largest toga party, and signs were printed to look like Roman columns at the the top of the bleachers, the rig above the ring, as well as on the entrance itself, making for a unique set at a time when WrestleMania's sets were usually pretty stagnant.

Every WrestleMania prior to IX either featured no real set at all or just a WWF logo above the entranceway. WrestleMania VII went a little bit further with red, white, and blue signs on the concourse, though the entranceway itself was still pretty bland. WrestleMania IX changed the ball game from a production standpoint.

Seattle's Safeco Field

WrestleMania 19 as a show often gets a bad rap. It did a disappointing PPV buy rate and the event didn't sell-out. With that in mind, it's not likely we'll see another WrestleMania in Seattle any time soon despite it being a great city for tourists to visit. It's really too bad as it seems like the perfect type of place for a WrestleMania getaway. Seattle is absolutely a destination city.

That being said, WrestleMania 19 was the first time the event had been held in a stadium built primarily for baseball, leading to a memorable (if not zig-zaggy) entrance way for the superstars to walk down on the way to the ring.

The stadium itself is also very picturesque, with the natural lighting coming in from the walls of the venue and a retractable roof. While the event led to some disappointment among fans (Brock Lesnar nearly breaking his neck, Triple H defeating Booker T for some reason), the venue itself was a massive hit and remains memorable from a visual standpoint.

New Orleans' Superdome

While the Superdome is an aging venue (with small, cramped concourses), it's a legendary stadium that has held many historical sporting events, concerts, and wrestling shows over the years.

However, this is one selection on the list where the city as a whole factors into my decision. The Superdome is a walkable distance from Bourbon Street and the French Quarter, which has made both WWE's WrestleManias held in the city (30 and 34) revered experiences among the fan base. New Orleans is often mentioned in fan surveys as a favorite host location for the event. There's so much to do in the immediate vicinity of the stadium, with some of the best food and night life available in the United States. The Mardi Gras theme has also led to some very memorable sets for the event and commercials in advance of WrestleMania.

I was at WrestleMania 34, and honestly, I wouldn't be mad if WWE just held the event every year in the city. New Orleans is the perfect city for WrestleMania week.

Other venues worth mentioning

WrestleMania VI at Toronto's Skydome in 1990

There were several other venues that nearly made my top five that are worth mentioning. First of all, Chicago's Allstate Arena (formerly the Rosemont Horizon) has hosted WrestleMania on three different occassions and is probably the loudest arena in the United States. Wrestlers often mention the venue being their favorite to perform in. However, from a visual standpoint, it's not the most impressive looking venue, which is why it just missed the list.

Toronto's Skydome is another. The host of two different WrestleManias which are pretty iconic in the pantheon of WWE history, this was one was very close. However, I didn't feel the "look" of the show and the stadium itself had what it takes to overcome the five mentioned on the list.

Many of the WrestleMania events in recent years have had some really awesome sets, though the arena structures themselves tend to run together. WrestleManias 24-28 are all good examples of this. If I was ranking just the set/stage alone, one of these would have a pretty good chance at making the list.

When it comes to the modern WrestleMania shows, WrestleMania 31 at Levi Stadium was the closest to making the list for me. A pretty picturesque setting in the Bay Area that night made for a memorable viewing experience. However, WrestleMania 30 and 34 at the Superdome overcame all of the other recent WrestleManias using the city hosting the show itself as the tiebreaker. It's just really hard to top New Orleans as a host city. There's a reason WWE returned there so quickly following the success of WrestleMania 30 in 2014.

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