Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams announced today that WrestleMania 32 generated $170.4 million in economic impact for the Dallas/Arlington region this past April, according to a study conducted by the Enigma Research Corporation. This marks a new record for WrestleMania’s economic impact and the fifth consecutive year that WrestleMania generated more than $100 million in economic impact for its host region.
Over the past ten years, WrestleMania has generated nearly $1 billion in cumulative economic impact for the cities that have hosted the event. WrestleMania 32 also generated approximately $23.8 million in federal, state and local taxes.
“On behalf of our city, we would like to thank all of the domestic and international WWE fans that converged on Dallas for WrestleMania Week to enjoy all that North Texas has to offer,” said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings. “The week-long series of events brought a tremendous economic windfall to our region.”
“We are proud that WWE’s biggest event in history was held here in Arlington,” said Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams. “The event was an incredible success for our city, and we would like to thank the Dallas Cowboys for their tireless efforts in bringing WrestleManiato AT&T Stadium.”
“We are thrilled that WrestleMania continues to break records for both WWE and our host community,” said John P. Saboor, WWE Executive Vice President, Special Events. “This success would not have been possible without the support of Mayor Rawlings, Mayor Williams, Charlotte Jones and the entire Dallas Cowboys organization as well as all of our public and private sector partners that embraced WWE’s worldwide fan base for this historic celebration. We now look ahead to our return to Orlando for WrestleMania 33.”
A record crowd of 101,763 fans from all 50 states and 35 countries attended WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza this past April, making it the highest-grossing and best-attended event in WWE history. Key highlights from the study include:
- $170.4 million in direct, indirect and induced impact derived from spending by visitors to the Dallas/Arlington region for WrestleMania 32.
- 72% of fans that attended WrestleMania were from outside the greater Dallas/Arlington region and stayed an average of 3.9 nights.
- $25 million was spent on hotels and accommodations within the Dallas/Arlington region.
- The economic impact derived from WrestleMania Week was equal to the creation of 1,550 full-time jobs for the area.
- $8.4 million was spent by visitors to the Dallas/Arlington region at area restaurants.
Next year, WrestleMania 33 will take place Sunday, April 2 at the Orlando Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL. Tickets go on sale this Friday, November 18 at 10 AM Eastern through Ticketmaster. The event will be broadcast live on WWE Network in more than 180 countries.

Movie
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters

If you were born in the ’80s, ’90s, or literally ANY decade after those, you know about Super Mario. A cultural phenomenon was brought to life on the big screen this last weekend. One that has not only stood the test of time but reinvented itself time and time again. This wasn’t even the first time it’s been made into a movie but, well, let’s be honest.. some of us choose not to acknowledge the LIVE action adaptation of the beloved game from 30 years ago.
It was pretty bad… But this was animation. ILLUMINATION animation at that. The Universal company that brought us Gru and his Minions, showed us the Secret Life of Pets, and gave us a reason to SING! Still, I had my reservations and even some concerns, especially when the casting was announced.
Eyebrows were raised. As big of stars as they were on paper, could they really deliver on voicing characters from a staple of our childhood? They did.
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day may not be Italian, and Jack Black may not be a King or Turtle creature from the Mushroom Kingdom, but they make the characters their own all while paying homage to the lore of a video game.
From the jump, the story reintroduces us to the brothers that just want to save Brooklyn one clogged sink at a time. We feel an instant connection and relate to these “underdogs of the plumbing world”. The movie is riddled with easter eggs, each of which tugs on the heartstrings of every generation of Mario fandom. And the soundtrack was beautifully put together to not only make us feel like we’re taking a walkthrough of the game but like an experience all its own with some familiar favorites thrown in.
Every word in the movie is pure eye candy for both those that are casual fans, and those analyzing every frame to see what they’ll catch next. Bowser’s ship, the Mushroom Kingdom, Kong’s arena, and the Rainbow Road.. They’re all meant to give us just enough of a “new” look at these amazing worlds, but stay true to how we remember them.
The movie itself moves along at the perfect pace. Although, if you don’t really know ANYTHING about the Super Mario Bros, you may have gotten a little lost and felt left behind in the green tunnel. But that’s ok! It’s an adventure of the imagination and a classic story of a boy that meets a girl and tries to save the world from a monster that wants to destroy it.
What’s funny is that you could easily say this is a story about two characters who couldn’t be more opposite if they tried, battling to win the heart of a princess. Who would’ve thought that the King of the Koopas was just trying to impress his crush?
And that song? Ohhh THAT song! It’s my new ringtone and deserves the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Back to the movie.
Universal and Illumination clearly understood the assignment. Is it missing some things or could things have been done differently or even better? Absolutely! We’re the worst critics of the things we hold nearest and dearest to our hearts. But if you’re up for going on a 90-minute adventure through amazing worlds, with awesome music, and characters that’ll make you smile and laugh, then this is the perfect movie to spring you into that warm summer feeling.
Plus there’s the whole part with karts and shells, and banana peels and oh my goodness how amazing was that?? It’s enough to make you want to stand up and cheer, then go home and destroy your friends and family on your favorite track haha.
The bottom line, it pays homage in all the right ways to the little guy with the mustache, while giving us something new and exciting. Take the kids and go see Super Mario Bros. You’ll be glad you did!
Events
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023


Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Opening Act Saturday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. on North 200A. Talent confirmed so far to participate in the post-screening panel is Natalie Alyn Lind (Big Sky, The Goldbergs, Gotham) as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and longtime RWBY cast member Lindsay Jones (Camp Camp) as Ruby, Kara Eberle ( RWBY: Ice Queendom) as Weiss, Arryn Zech (Detective Now Dead) as Blake and Barbara Dunkelman (Blood Fest) as Yang – along with Jeannie Tirado (Soul, Saints Row) as Green Lantern and Tru Valentino (The Rookie, The Cuphead Show!) as a cyborg. Also attending the panel will be producer/director Kerry Shawcross (series RWBY) and writer Meghan Fitzmartin (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II).

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023 with the big screen debut from DC Animated Films: highlights this year include the world premieres of the highly anticipated Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham and Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Part One the weekend of March 24-26 in Anaheim, California. Both screenings will be followed by panel discussions with actors and creators. Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham premieres at The Arena on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted) as Kai Li Cain, Christopher Gorham (The Lincoln Lawyer, Insatiable) as Oliver Queen, David Dastmalchian (Dune, Suicide Squad, Ant-Man) as Grendon, producer/co-director Sam Liu (The Death and the Return of Superman), co-director Christopher Berkeley (Young Justice) and screenwriter Jase Ricci (Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem Across the Multiverse).
Both films will have encore screenings in the Arena on Sunday, March 26. Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One will screen at 12:15pm, followed by Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham at 2:00pm