Super Bowl LIV is officially in the books and the Kansas City Chiefs are world champions after 50 years of waiting. They were able to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in what many consider to be one of the best Super Bowls of all time.
However, while it may have been a notable game, it still doesn't serve as the biggest sports (or sports entertainment) event of the year: not even close.
That honor goes to WrestleMania. The showcase of the immortals is right around the corner and as such, we thought there was no better time to compare the two occasions.
10 Hall of Fame
There’s an argument to be made that the Pro Football Hall of Fame is much more prestigious than the WWE Hall of Fame, and it’s an argument that deserves to be heard.
However, one big difference between the two is that the WWE HOF receives the biggest shine on the biggest weekend of the year: WrestleMania weekend. The fact that we can double up with the event itself to go alongside the Induction Ceremony makes it feel all the more special, and as the years go on, the Ceremony will continue to improve and become even more enjoyable to watch.
9 More International
The problem with the title of ‘world champions’ in association with the National Football League is that there isn’t an international aspect to it whatsoever. Outside of the United Kingdom and a handful of other countries, the primary nation that thrives in the league is the United States.
With WrestleMania, there is an incredibly diverse range of superstars from all around the world and in addition to that, fans from every corner of the globe gather to watch the night unfold.
Just take a look at the flags in the crowd and it’ll tell you all that you need to know.
8 No Commercials
Everyone enjoys the odd Super Bowl commercial if only because of how random they always seem to be. Still, one thing that sticks in the mind of most viewers is that while they’re watching the commercials, it automatically means they aren’t watching any form of action – which is what the game is all about.
You simply do not get that problem with WrestleMania. There are no commercials, and the only time you’re taken away from the action is for a 15-second spot that tells you about the next PPV or maybe even a WWE Shop advertisement.
7 Consistent Broadcaster
While you are free to purchase WrestleMania as a one-off event on pay per view, the majority of people will subscribe to the WWE Network.
Sometimes you have to pay $9.99, and other times you get the first month free. Either way, it’s just a much more practical way of watching the show – and it doesn’t buffer anywhere near as much as you’d think a live streaming service would.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you’ve got NBC, FOX, and CBS who currently alternate between them for hosting rights, creating the kind of inconsistency that we simply don’t enjoy.
6 Legends Appear
Who doesn’t love a bit of nostalgia?
The extent of legends reappearing at the Super Bowl comes in the form of appearances on the sidelines and guest spots on commentary.
In WWE, your favorite old school wrestler could pop up out of nowhere without you even realizing they were in town for the show. These guys and girls can usually perform up until the age of 50 and potentially even above, whereas most of the time, we can cap a great NFL player at around 40 – unless your name is Tom Brady.
5 Season Doesn’t End
While there’s the NFL Draft for some diehard fans to get excited about, the bottom line is that there is no football of real importance between February and September. There are pre-season games, but they don’t count.
In WWE, there simply is no off-season. These superstars get back out there to perform immediately after WrestleMania comes to an end, with the post-Mania edition of RAW often being one of the most entertaining shows of the entire year.
They keep the ball rolling and as such, there’s a real momentum with what they’re producing.
4 Affordable Tickets
At times you will be able to purchase a ticket or two to WrestleMania for double-digit figures, sometimes even as low as $50, as long as you’re happy to be up in the nosebleeds which doesn’t actually impact your experience all too much.
This year, the cheapest tickets to the Super Bowl were priced at somewhere around $2,500 which is quite literally a whole monthly wage for some people.
That’s just not feasible, especially when you think about how hard the tickets are to acquire in the first place.
3 Royal Rumble > AFC & NFC Championship
There’s often a great deal of tension involved with the AFC and NFC Championship games because, as we all know, they serve as the final barrier between the four teams and a place in the Super Bowl.
As exciting as that may be, it holds no comparison to the Royal Rumble which marks the official start of the Road to WrestleMania. The drama and intrigue surrounding the Rumble is insane, whereas a lot of fans will only choose to tune into the final few minutes of the AFC/NFC Championship games just to see who they’ll be betting on when the Super Bowl rolls around two weeks later.
2 Guarantee Of Big Moments
A lot of skeptics aren’t big fans of the fact that professional wrestling is scripted. However, that’s one of the best things about it.
Even during editions of WrestleMania that aren’t considered to be very good, WWE will write in a moment or two that winds up blowing us all away in the most spectacular manner imaginable.
The Super Bowl features a whole lot of organic great moments and that’s wonderful to see, but now and then you’ll get a Panthers/Broncos or Patriots/Rams showdown that stinks the place out.
1 Stronger Host City Emphasis
WWE prepares itself months in advance for the task of hosting WrestleMania by building a real atmosphere around the city in question. With the Super Bowl, the whole thing feels a bit more exclusive in the sense that they think more about the people coming to the big game than the city itself.
From community events to the week-long festivities, WrestleMania just does a better job of embracing their surroundings and working it into the theme of the show.
In summary: both events are spectacular, but there’s nothing quite like the showcase of the immortals.