10 Highest Attended Non-WrestleMania Events In WWE History
2. The Big Event 1986 - 64,000
At the height of Hulkamania in August 1986, the WWF launched a special event from Toronto's Exhibition Stadium that featured Paul Orndorff challenging Hulk Hogan for the world title in the main event.
When the WWF announced an attendance of 64,000 people for the show, it was considered the largest wrestling crowd for any event in history. However, the actual attendance may have been higher.
Let me explain.
The year before, Bruce Springsteen played a concert in the same arena and drew 69,000 fans in a huge show. However, the fire marshall allegedly went crazy about the capacity of the arena and nearly shut down the show. When the WWF arrived in 1986, they may have squeezed as many as 74,000 fans into Exhibition Stadium but announced a smaller figure to avoid fines and legal trouble.
The undercard did feature such stars as Harley Race, Pedro Morales, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, Adrian Adonis, and King Kong Bundy but everyone knew that Hogan drew the crowd.
In the main event, Hogan defeated Orndorff by disqualification, setting the stage for their legendary steel cage match on Saturday Night's Main Event and leading into Wrestlemania III.