This weekend the WWE will be holding its annual WrestleMania, the largest event on its calendar and one of the most watched entertainment events in the United States. Love wrestling or hate wrestling, it is a thing that is part of the pop culture zeitgeist.
And it is part of the Central Florida sports scene.
WWE has made Orlando something of a home base with its performance center at Full Sail University and hosting NXT events throughout the Central Florida area. It has a foothold in Orlando.
And the company will be bringing its biggest show to the Orlando Citrus Bowl in 2017. It will be the second time Orlando and the Citrus Bowl will host WrestleMania.
It appears it is not just a choice of convenience. The Citrus Bowl was genuinely a good host for the event.
Rob Wolkenbrod of Fansided.com ranked all the WrestleMania venues and has the Citrus Bowl in at No. 6 all time. From the weather to the logo to the stage to the quality of the event itself, WrestleMania XXIV was one of the very best in the event’s 30-plus-year history.
As noted, WWE loves using the state of Florida to host events and have their Performance Center there. One of those events was WrestleMania XXIV which was in the Orlando Citrus Bowl.
The setup for WrestleMania at the Orlando Citrus Bowl was entertaining. They had a massive stage for the show that kind of looked like a hotel. A “WrestleMania” logo appeared to go vertical down the stage as well to this unique feature. Palm trees.
A lot has changed since that first WrestleMania in 2008.
Since then, the Citrus Bowl has undergone a massive renovation. The event likely would not return to Orlando if it were not for those renovations. It should help put on an even better show in the end.
Orlando will wait its turn for next year. WrestleMania airs from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. The WWE will return for a house show in June at Amway Center in addition to NXT events around the state.
