WrestleMania 40 Goes to Philly

The city of Brotherly Love had hosted the 40th anniversary of WrestleMania! This is what we have been preparing for since last year’s announcement and it was amazing! As the days got closer to WrestleMania weekend, WWE were dropping major announcements and surprises which had everyone ready to be in Philly. They featured a similar experience like AXXESS but it was called WWE World. This was my THIRD WrestleMania in a row yet you never know what fun surprises are ahead!

The night before I left I went to wrestling training to rev up the motivation. I got home late and spent the night/early morning making sure I had everything. I got to the train station super early because I did not want any mishaps. I took the Amtrak and upgraded to Business Class and that was the most relaxing experience I had traveling. Those 6 hours flew by with ease. I arrived to Philly around noon and made my way to the hotel. It was cold and raining but that didn’t hinder my excitement. My first day was super chill; I went to Target to go mini grocery shopping and then went to Cleavers to get cheesesteak. I mean how can you come to Philly and not get one? There were so many cheesesteak options I ended up getting the “Cheesesteak Hoagie” that came with ribeye steak, white American cheese, romaine lettuce, plum tomatoes, onion and mayo. The portion was enormous I ended up taking the second half with me.

I ended up staying in and watching AEW which was nice after a long day of moving and grooving. I had to prepare myself for the next few days of fun chaos.

Thursday I was up and early to make my way to the WWE Superstore. It was the first day of the store opening and I wanted to grab all my essentials before they sold out. This year I did something different; I got myself the suite package. YES, the suite life! Because I had the suite package I had to make my way to the dedicated entrance to pick up my Priority Pass lanyard. Okay GLAMOROUS LIFESTYLE! Pickup was seamless and I made my way to shop ’til I dropped. I would say my top 3 favorite items are: jersey, tumbler and fanny pack. Those are quick to sell out. The store was filled with merch and people running and snatching what they needed. It felt like Black Friday but I run a tight game strategy so I am good. I ended up leaving with 2 hefty bags filled WrestleMania 40 merch. I was in and out!

For dinner I went to Juno’s for their happy hour. It was Taco Thursday so their tacos were $1.33. Yes you read that right! They come in 3’s so it was just enough to fill me up. Happy hour was fun but I had to head back and get ready for WaleMania! I pulled up to WaleMania around 9:15 and it was already jumping! My only critique was the venue layout. It wasn’t as spacious as the other venues in the past (Dallas & Los Angeles). This VIP package did not feel like it at all. Space was extremely tight making it uncomfortable. Towards the end we had to use the restroom and we were told we could not go back up because of capacity. It was just really disorganized, I saw a few mutuals on Twitter saying they left early . Overall, I enjoyed myself and it was nice to see the Philly legend Beanie Siegel perform. It is just cool to be around so many wrestling fans and just vibe out.

Friday: I woke up bright and early to make it to WrestleCon. My goal was to meet Booker T and get a signature since Harlem Heat is one of my mother’s favorite tag teams. It was a pleasure meeting Booker T and he appreciated the Harlem Heat homage. I ran back to the hotel to drop off my stuff and headed to WWE World to meet Jazz. I was interested in the WWE world tickets but something told me to wait because I did not know which day I wanted to attend. I believe it was Thursday morning someone on Twitter said Jazz was going to be there Friday. I could not believe it so I ran to the site, confirmed it and instantly bought my ticket for WWE World! I kept saying how I wish she was doing WrestleCon so I could finally meet her BUT THIS WAS WAY BETTER!! And I had my belt so this was perfect! By the time I got to WWE World Naomi was already at capacity so I ran over to watch her podcast interview then went back in line at 12pm to stand in line for my fav. I finally got to meet her and if anyone knows me? Knows how much of an inspiration Jazz is to me. She is the reason why I fell in love with wrestling. She was MY representation growing up. She is a trailblazer and a living legend. Meeting her was the highlight of my trip. I literally said I can go home right now and be okay! LOL! She is so nice and just THAT GIRL! When I went to her & Rodney Mack’s camp back in 2021 she was not there so this interaction was everything!

I ran back to the hotel to do a quick fit change and explored WWE World. They had so many activities next time I will definitely buy a ticket for 2 days. The lines are pretty long so it is best to split your activities up. Another person was almost waiting 2 hours in line for the DIY entrance activity. I was in line for a meet and greet (in which I stepped out of) because I asked a couple how long they were waiting they said close to 1.5 hours and they were only 2 rows up from me. That’s what made me get out of line and explore. I do not regret it because the place shut down an hour earlier than I thought. My favorite was the 360 photo-op we were able to download the video to our phones. I had so much fun: they had live entertainment, great displays including the Hall Of Fame and Attitude Era, endless amount of props to take pics and interviews you can watch comfortably. I liked the Attitude Era exhibit. I spent the whole day at WWE World, I was so tired I ended knocking out for the rest of the night through the show I wanted to attend. I was totally okay with that because I had 2 more hectic days to anticipate. Meeting Jazz made my Friday worth it!

Saturday- It was the day of WrestleMania Night 1 and I woke up like a kid on Christmas! I was so excited about the first night. I knew the match card but I was so excited to see the entrances and who was going to win. This is the night we all have been looking forward to! I ran back to WrestleCon in the morning to meet Queen Aminata; she is someone I have been following since 2021. As a fellow African I love how she represents her culture it is a beautiful sight to see. We got to speak on representation and how much it meant. It is amazing to see so many Black women in this wrestling space from content creators to wrestlers to media we are taking up space and I love it! It is so inspiring. After WrestleCon, I went to the Reading Terminal Market to get lunch. I didn’t know what the suite food options were going to be so I wanted to prepared. The Reading Terminal market has something for everyone. I ended up getting pupusas which were so tasty. I then went to the Suplex Vintage Wrestling block party. It was a nice layout they had food vendors, live music and matches. It was pretty cool. I had to head back and get ready for WrestleMania Night 1!

The suite package really elevated the WrestleMania experience. There was food, drinks and a mini bar and it was super cozy. We were given a gift bag that had a tumbler and memorabilia fancy! I love how freeing it was to walk around and stretch if needed or sit on the couch and watch from the TV it was like being at a rich friend’s house who had a private chef. Some superstars came by and we were able to take photos with them. Night 1 was good. Becky and Rhea opened the show and they delivered. But like I always say it’s women’s wrestling are we surprised?! my favorite match was the 6-woman tag team match between Damage CTRL and my girls Bianca, Naomi and Jade. I mean what a debut match for Jade! I wish the match was longer but it was good! I am so happy that R-Truth got his WrestleMania moment! He TRULY deserves it! And I am so happy they finally decided to split up the titles it has been too long. There are too many factions so I am excited to see the feuds this year. I was actually surprised Gunther ended his IC reign but honestly it was one of the best and memorable reigns in a long time. Overall it was nice start to the 2 night saga.

Sunday was the 2nd night of WrestleMania 40. I could not believe we were already at the end of this amazing trip. Time really flies when you are having a blast! As you can tell waking up early is instilled in me so once again I woke up super early to get more photos in front of the superstore then made my way to lunch. One of the girls had a birthday during Mania weekend so we went to Brunch N to celebrate. They had good music going, great customer service and the food hit the spot. The birthday girl got the fish and grits and the rest of our orders were: peaches n’ cream stuffed French toast, chicken and waffles and then I ordered the Philly Cheesesteak omelette.

Getting ready for WrestleMania 2 was so fun because I had my Bret Hart cosplay. Everything went together perfectly: the jacket, tights, boots, hoodie, hair and down to the nails and accessories! I LOVE how the fit turned out. I would rate myself 10/10! S/O to FineGehGlam for executing the heart nails perfectly! I wish Bret Hart had a WrestleCon meet and greet because I would’ve paid top dollar to take a pic with him. I feel like I have outdone myself and I am ready to dive more into cosplay. I have a few more wrestlers in mind in case I attend anymore shows this year.

This time around I arrived to the arena soon as the doors opened. Doors opened at 4:30pm and the event started 7pm. Those 2.5 hours will fly by especially if you are in a comfy environment. It is better to get there early than to deal with traffic and the long lines. We had a dedicated line so it expedited the waiting a bit. As I as I walked in, I was greeted with an assortment of snacks. I got to my seat and relaxed. The rest of the crew came around 6:30pm and I was able to meet them before the show began. They were able to take photos and videos of me which helped because I did not take any prior in front of the huge sign. As I walking to and from the suite I received so many compliments on my fit. I remember one person even shouting “I don’t even like Bret, but this is sick” I responded “I love Bret, but thanks for complimenting the fit”. Someone even stopped me in my tracks because they wanted a photo because Bret was their favorite wrestler. I even took a pic with a fellow Bret hart fan who was dressed up. This is why I love wrestling. Because of the cool fans forreal. My favorite part of attending these shows is seeing fans in cosplay it is so cool.

In my opinion Night 2 cleared Night 1 by a landslide. The opening match really kicked up the energy. Damien cashing in on Drew was crazy. The pace of the show was great. During the show we had superstars stop by our suite and the person I was hoping for Big E came by!! It was so nice to see him, what a national treasure! He complimented my outfit! Other superstars were on our floor so during some of the matches I went out and snapped some photos! I got a pic with Dustin Rhodes and DDP then I saw Bull Nakano and almost froze up! She is one of my favorite wrestlers and she was so sweet (she also complimented my outfit). Listen this outfit/cosplay really ate okay!

What is so funny is the security guard in front of our suite was mad cool. All he said was “be on the lookout” because we started realizing how busy our floor was. I go “you think Jazz is here?” He goes “I know her”. I was like “OMG if you see her, you better give me a cough signal or something!”. I ran back to my seat because I had to make sure I was seated for Bayley Vs. Iyo. That was the main match I was looking forward to. That was an excellent match and I am so happy for Bayley! Soon as it ended I walked and who do I see?! JAZZ! We both made eye contact, I got the nod of approval and I quietly scurred over to her. I was so happy to take a proper pic with her because Friday we were rushed. We got to talk a bit and it was so nice! That made my night! The rest of the night was astounding. As you all know by now Cody Rhodes finally finished his story! What a crazy match man, this one had me on the edge of my seat!!! I was honestly getting scared of how it will end. Overall WrestleMania did its big one. I am so happy I got to witness this live and take it in! It is nothing like being there live with thousands of fans! I just realized they haven’t announced next year’s WrestleMania’s location. But in the meantime I will start saving and y’all should too!

Monday was my departure day so I had to get up super early to finish packing and head to FedEx to send off the poster. I started off the morning by getting breakfast from the concierge lounge. I ran back to the superstore to get a few more things because you never have too much merch right? As I was coming and going I ran into so many superstars. I guess I chose the right hotel!

Before my 6 hour train ride, I grabbed lunch at Olympia Gyro and when I tell you I was blown off my feet? I am still thinking about that plate. I would make a trip back to Philly just for that. For dessert I went to The Famous 4th Street Cookie Company for their famous cookies. I tried their chocolate chip cookies Saturday and was instantly hooked. WrestleMania 40 did not disappoint! This is my 3rd one in a row and I can honestly say my experience keeps getting better. I did so much and I met so many of my faves. The thrill of it all! I am still on Cloud 9. I said this year I was going to take it easy on WWE shows but now I am second guessing. If you see me just know I tried my hardest!

Nonetheless my time in Philly was amazing and I can’t wait to do it again. Until next time!