12 Incredible Behind-The-Scenes WrestleMania Photos
Life Through A Lens.
Noted photographer and documentarian Robert Frank once mooted that “there is one thing the photograph must contain - the humanity of the moment.”
Professional wrestling, and WrestleMania in particular is gifted with hundreds of talented lensmen and women who have captured some of the greatest instances of theatre and grandeur the show has ever crafted.
Reminiscing as a fan, the mind's eye often leaps to captivating moments from the 'Showcase of The Immortals' thanks to era-defining moments captured on film for generations to enjoy.
Whilst the matches tell the long-form story, legendary images of Hulk and Andre, Hart and Austin, Cena and The Rock and others capture every facet of the story in a single shot.
However, the magic on stage is only ever half the story in Sports Entertainment. And fortunately, photographers have occasionally continued to snap backstage, where wrestlers are often captured out-of-character or unusually understated in comparison to the larger-than-life persona they portray to the joy of millions.
It's in these pictures where another side of history can be seen. Quiet profundity, humour, introspection or other sights rarely seen suddenly emerge. Without the lights, camera and action, the crucial humanity still remains.
Often telling completely different stories to the ones in the ring, here are 12 Incredible behind-the-scenes WrestleMania photographs.
12. Cancelled
A disparate moment in several careers was captured when the planned WrestleMania 29 mixed tag team match featuring Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, The Bella Twins, Brodus Clay, Tensai and The Funkadactyls was cut from the card at the very last moment due to pay-per-view time running low with a John Cena/Rock WWE Title match set to headline.
Cena's entrance was noticeably abbreviated at the New Jersey event as well, but that couldn't compare to the heartbreak suffered at an entire match going up in smoke.
With the advent of the WWE Network, time constraints no longer trouble the organisation, with each monthly 'pay-per-view' event seemingly more indulgent than the last.
Ironically, this was most apparent during a WrestleMania event itself, when 2016's edition of the show almost reached an intolerable five hours, or seven if you endured the two-hour pre-show.
The incident became the main subject for the premiere episode of E! Network's Total Divas, and highlighted how big the gap still was between the company's value of male and female performers.