The road to WrestleMania ran through the Big Apple on Monday Night RAW just days ahead of this weekend’s extravaganza in Philadelphia.
Thousands of excited wrestling fans lined up outside of Brooklyn’s Barclay Center with handcrafted signs and replica championship belts slung over their shoulders. Chanting the slogan of their favorite superstars, the energy was palpable for what would mark the final televised Raw before the company’s latest show of the year.
Ray Hammond, 54, says he has been attending WWE shows ever since he was five years old and believes Monday’s event was one of the biggest RAWs ever.
“This is the best show of the year,” Hammond said. “It brings people together, it brings family together, and it brings unity.”
Hammond’s assessment seemed to be spot on. According to WWE, the event drew the largest domestic gate in Raw’s more than three-decade history.
“We’re not even a full day into #WrestleMania Week, and the @WWEUniverse is already smashing records. Tonight’s#WWERaw in Brooklyn will be the largest domestic gate in the history of the red brand. @barclayscenter,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque wrote on X.
Fans say they were drawn to the show thanks to the new found direction Levesque has taken WWE in as of late and the rise of fan-favorite stars like Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley.
Yet many attending fans say they were most excited to see The Rock despite him taking on a more villainous role.
“I love him! Good guy, bad guy, center guy, he’s my man no matter what,” 44-year-old Yanely Henriquse said, clinging to a sign she made for the wrestler and actor. “This is my first event so to see him is a dream come true.”
The Rock was joined in the ring by fellow Bloodline member and long running Universal Champion Roman Reigns, while Ripley had a chaotic brawl with Becky Lynch.
Lynch herself had just visited New York in the week prior, meeting fans for the launch of her book Becky Lynch: The Man Not Your Average Girl.
The night ended with Seth Rollins battling Solo Sikoa in a Bloodline Rules free-for-all that ended with both Rhodes and Rollins being attacked by The Rock and Reigns heading into their big tag match on Night 1 of WrestleMania Saturday.
