NEW ORLEANS — It was a rainy night in The Crescent City, but a little downpour couldn’t keep Rey Mysterio, the New Orleans Saints dance team, “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and thousands of members of the WWE Universe away from the WrestleMania XXX On-Sale Party.
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Officially kicking off WWE’s march towards the biggest night on the sports-entertainment calendar, the bash celebrated the release of tickets for April 6, 2014’s WrestleMania XXX. But the WWE fans who queued up outside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome got a lot more than entry to The Grandest Stage of Them All.
In a party that only WWE and The Big Easy could pull off, the WWE Universe was entertained by acrobats on stilts, a rock band and the dance teams of both the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans. Add to that autograph sessions with Superstars Sheamus, Mark Henry and Rey Mysterio, Divas Kaitlyn and Alicia Fox and WWE Hall of Famers Mick Foley, Booker T and Jimmy Hart and you have the makings of the best party this side of Mardi Gras.
“I just think it’s awesome that [WrestleMania XXX] is in New Orleans, because it’s a never-ending party,” Kaitlyn told WWE.com. “It’s the one time of year that we really get to meet people from around the world. It’s a lot of fun.”
For The Crescent City — a community that has continually flourished in the years since the tragic events of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina — WrestleMania XXX is yet another sign that it is better than ever. The city hosted 2013’s Super Bowl XLVII, but even New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu had to admit that nothing compares to The Grandest Stage of Them All.
“You can’t hit the big time until you have WrestleMania,” he told the crowd.
This isn’t the first time the Superdome has presented sports-entertainment. The city’s most beloved Superstar, The Junkyard Dog, headlined the stadium on a regular basis in the late ’70s and early ’80s and WCW Nitro emanated from the arena when The New World Order was at the height of its popularity.
“I vividly remember how crazy it was then,” Booker T said. “I can only imagine what we’re going to see in the same venue when the greatest spectacle in sports-entertainment is here.”
Still, those events only played to a small portion of the stadium’s capacity. When WWE comes to town on April 6, 2014, more than 80,000 WWE fans will be rocking the home of the Saints. It’s a singular feeling WWE fans simply have to be a part of to truly experience.
“It is so great,” Jimmy Hart said. “I was part of [the inaugural] WrestleMania, but it just gets bigger and bigger ever year!”
Indeed, 30 years since Hulk Hogan teamed up with Mr. T to battle Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff at the first Showcase of the Immortals, the stage will be set for what promises to be the biggest WrestleMania yet.
As Mayor Landrieu promised, “We’re going to show WWE the best city they have ever been to.”