List of professional wrestling attendance records in Europe
The following is a list of professional wrestling attendance records in Europe. The list is dominated by the American professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment which has controlled the industry in North America since 2002. As the World Wrestling Federation, it became the first national promotion in the U.S. during the 1980s wrestling boom. Its first-ever show in mainland Europe took place on October 23, 1987, at the sold-out Bercy de Paris in Paris, France. The main event was a match between Harley Race and Junkyard Dog featuring André the Giant as special guest referee. The event was attended by 12,000 people and televised on Canal+.[1]
According to this list, 7 events are from WWE's weekly television programs WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown, with the June 18, 2005 episode of WWE SmackDown in Dublin, Ireland being the most attended wrestling event in Europe of all time. Only eleven of the attendances listed are non-WWE events, with Fédération Française de Catch Professionnel and Nu-Wrestling Evolution being the only European-based promotions on the list. There are still six attendance records remaining from the "Pioneer-era". All but thirteen of the events have been held in the Paris, France, while five have held in Spain, four in Germany, two in Italy, and one each in Ireland and the Soviet Union.
Events and attendances
Promotion | Event | Location | Venue | Attendance | Main Event(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WWE | WWE SmackDown June 18, 2005 |
Dublin, Ireland | Convention Centre Dublin | 22,000 | John Cena (c) vs. John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Kurt Angle in a three-way elimination match for the WWE Championship with special guest referee Steve Austin | [2] |
WWF | WWF on Tele5 October 5, 1991 |
Barcelona, Spain | Palau Sant Jordi | 19,000 | Tito Santana vs. The Undertaker | [3][4] |
FFCP | Dan Koloff vs. Charles Rigoulot January 22, 1934 |
Paris, France | Palais des Sports | 18,000 | Dan Koloff vs. Charles Rigoulot | [5][6] |
WWE | WWE Raw September 24, 2010 |
Paris, France | Bercy de Paris | 15,800 | Randy Orton (c) vs. Sheamus for the WWE Championship | [7] |
WWE | WWE Raw September 25, 2010 |
Paris, France | Bercy de Paris | 15,800 | Randy Orton (c) vs. Edge vs. Sheamus in a three-way elimination match for the WWE Championship | [7] |
WWE | WWE Live in Madrid November 7, 2015 |
Madrid, Spain | Barclaycard Center | 15,000 | Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt in a Street Fight match | [8] |
WWE | WWE SmackDown & ECW September 27, 2009 |
Paris, France | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy | 15,000 | The Undertaker (c) vs. CM Punk for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship | [9] |
WWE | WWE SmackDown & ECW September 26, 2009 |
Paris, France | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy | 15,000 | The Undertaker, Matt Hardy and Batista vs. Chris Jericho, CM Punk and Big Show | [9] |
NWE | NWE USA Pressing Catch Tour (Day 1) April 19, 2008 |
Madrid, Spain | El Palacio Vista Alegre | 15,000 | Booker T vs. Kishi | [10] |
NJPW | NJPW Martial Arts Festival December 31, 1989 |
Moscow, Soviet Union | Luzhniki Stadium | 15,000 | Antonio Inoki and Shota Chochishvili vs. Brad Rheingans and Masa Saito | [11][12] |
FFCP | Henri Deglane vs. Ed "Strangler" Lewis December 3, 1934 |
Paris, France | Palais des Sports | 15,000 | Henri Deglane vs. Ed "Strangler" Lewis | [5][6] |
FFCP | Dan Koloff vs. Henri Deglane November 20, 1933 |
Paris, France | Palais des Sports | 15,000 | Dan Koloff vs. Henri Deglane | [5][6] |
FFCP | Henri Deglane vs. Charlie Santen January 8, 1934 |
Paris, France | Palais des Sports | 15,000 | Henri Deglane vs. Charlie Santen | [5][6] |
NWE | NWE Summer Tour 2008 (Day 3) June 25, 2008 |
Badalona, Spain | Pavelló Olímpic | 14,000 | Orlando Jordan (c) vs. The Warrior for the NWE World Heavyweight Championship | [10] |
Misc. | Antonio Inoki vs. Bad News Allen January 24, 1988 |
Rome, Italy | Palasport | 13,854 | Antonio Inoki vs. Bad News Allen | [13] |
WWF | Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart February 6, 1994 |
Dortmund, Germany | Westfalenhalle | 13,000 | Yokozuna (c) vs. Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship | [14] |
WWF | WWF In High Gear Tour (Day 1) April 17, 1995 |
Dortmund, Germany | Westfalenhalle | 13,000 | The Undertaker vs. Bam Bam Bigelow | [15] |
WWE | WWE SmackDown April 23, 2006 |
Cologne, Germany | Kölnarena | 12,500 | Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. Mark Henry in a three-way elimination match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship | [16] |
WWF | WWF European Rampage (Day 8) April 14, 1992 |
Munich, Germany | Olympiahalle | 12,345 | Randy Savage (c) vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship | [17] |
WWE | WWE Live in Badalona November 6, 2015 |
Badalona, Spain | Pavelló Olímpic | 12,300 | Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt in a Street Fight match | [8] |
Misc. | Antonio Inoki vs. Bad News Allen January 23, 1988 |
Milan, Italy | 12,125 | Antonio Inoki vs. Bad News Allen | [13] | |
WWE | WWE SmackDown September 14, 2007 |
Paris, France | Bercy de Paris | 12,000 | Rey Mysterio and Batista vs. The Great Khali and Finlay | [18] |
WWF | Harley Race vs. Junkyard Dog October 23, 1987 |
Paris, France | Bercy de Paris | 12,000 | Harley Race vs. Junkyard Dog with special guest referee André the Giant | [1] |
FFCP | Dan Koloff vs. Youssef Mahamut December 4, 1933 |
Paris, France | Palais des Sports | 12,000 | Dan Koloff vs. Youssef Mahamut | [5][6] |
FFCP | Henri Deglane vs. Sailor Arnold October 10, 1933 |
Paris, France | Palais des Sports | 12,000 | Henri Deglane vs. Sailor Arnold | [5][6] |
See also
References
- Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1987". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2005". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1991". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- Bayless, Brian (June 8, 2018). "WWF Barcelona – October 5th, 1991". Scott's Blog of Doom!.
- Lions, Phil (November 20, 2014). "Results: Paris, France (1933-1939)". WrestlingClassics.com.
- Wheeler, Jimmy, ed. (October 16, 2019). "France: 1933-1936". Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
- Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2010". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- "WWE Madrid, Spain, house show results (11/7): Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns street fight". F4WOnline.com. Wrestling Observer / Figure Four Weekly. November 7, 2015.
- Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2009". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- "Nu Wrestling Evolution". OnlineWorldOfWrestling.com. 2009.
- "New Japan International Cards: USSR". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- Labbe, Michael J. (November 25, 2016). "New Japan Pro Wrestling in the Soviet Union". TheWrestlingInsomniac.com.
- Meltzer, Dave (February 8, 1988). "New Japan". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
Antonio Inoki proved to be very over in Italy. His shows drew 12,125 on 1/23 in Milan and 13,854 on 1/24 in Rome.
- Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1994". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1995". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2006". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1992". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2007". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.