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

  1. Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1987". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
  2. Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2005". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
  3. Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1991". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
  4. Bayless, Brian (June 8, 2018). "WWF Barcelona – October 5th, 1991". Scott's Blog of Doom!.
  5. Lions, Phil (November 20, 2014). "Results: Paris, France (1933-1939)". WrestlingClassics.com.
  6. Wheeler, Jimmy, ed. (October 16, 2019). "France: 1933-1936". Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
  7. Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2010". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
  8. "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.
  9. Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2009". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
  10. "Nu Wrestling Evolution". OnlineWorldOfWrestling.com. 2009.
  11. "New Japan International Cards: USSR". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
  12. Labbe, Michael J. (November 25, 2016). "New Japan Pro Wrestling in the Soviet Union". TheWrestlingInsomniac.com.
  13. 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.
  14. Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1994". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
  15. Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1995". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
  16. Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2006". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
  17. Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 1992". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
  18. Cawthon, Graham. "Yearly Results: 2007". TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
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