WWE News: WrestleMania 35 Weekend Schedule Changes Include 2019 Hall of Fame and NXT Takeover Switching Dates
The schedule for WrestleMania 35 weekend in New Jersey/New York has changed with regards to the dates of the Takeover and Hall of Fame events. World Wrestling Entertainment sent out this announcement about the change:
“WWE will be going back to its previous WrestleMania Week schedule with NXT TakeOver on Friday, April 5 and the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, April 6. We believe this better serves our fans.”
The statement was originally sent to ticket holders that purchased travel packages and later, WWE sent out the statement to media outlets.
That means the WrestleMania 35 week schedule in April 2019 looks like this:
Friday, April 5 – WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn @ Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Saturday, April 6 – WWE 2019 Hall of Fame ceremony @ Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Sunday, April 7 – Wrestlemania 35 @ Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
Monday, April 8 – Monday Night Raw @ Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
Tuesday, April 9 – Smackdown Live @ Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
The WWE Axxess sessions that will allow fans to meet superstars, see some matches and check out WWE memorabilia will be held from the Friday to the Monday. In past years it was Thursday to Sunday.
What’s also interesting about this change is that it is good news for fans that are also attending the Madison Square Garden live event that Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling are running on Saturday, April 6. That event is sold out. If you want to check out Takeover, the ROH/NJPW show and WrestleMania three nights in a row then you can do that.
The schedule might look a bit different at WrestleMania 36 in 2020 because Smackdown will start airing on Friday nights on Fox in October 2019. That could mean Takeover gets moved to Thursday night in 2020, but that’s obviously a long time away, so there’s no official announcement about that.
Analysis: I think it’s a good move by WWE. I always thought that doing Takeover one night before WrestleMania, Raw and Smackdown was a bit too much even though that’s what we get during Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and Survivor Series weekends. WrestleMania is different, though, because it’s such a long night and I like having the Hall of Fame ceremony one night earlier.