Topps Transcendent WWE WrestleMania 35 Event, Experience of a Lifetime – As I made the 6.5-hour drive from Northeast Ohio to East Rutherford, New Jersey my mind was racing. Not only was I going to experience my first live, in-person WrestleMania but I was also going to be attending the Topps Transcendent VIP Experience. Suffice it to say that neither disappointed.
Arriving at the MetLife Stadium a little after 1 pm, I was amazed by the number of people tailgating in the parking lot a full 3.5-hours before the start of the official pre-show. After locating the designated entry-gate and checking in with Topps staff, 
there was little to do but wait. However, the lull before the storm did provided an opportunity for a couple of random WWE Superstar sightings who were utilizing a nearby VIP entrance. Most notable of these was the always beautiful Stacy Keibler, who the night before had the honor of inducting Torrie Wilson into the WWE Hall of Fame. Shortly thereafter who pulls up but Hulk Hogan himself accompanied by “Mouth of the South”, Jimmy Hart.
Topps Transcendent WWE WrestleMania 35 Event, Experience of a Lifetime – VIP Party
Finally, at about 2:15 pm, the moment arrived where the, approximate, 50 Topps guests were escorted to a private party area on the stadium’s luxury concourse level. We were greeted by Topps staff and a tremendous gourmet buffet and open bar. As guests ate, drank and mingled, excitement built as speculation on who the WWE Superstar VIP guests would be. The answer came shortly as the ginormous Big Show made his way into the area, followed by Sting and Mojo Rawley. Each were personable and told stories while waiting for one more guest to arrive. WOOOOOO!!! And there he was, the Nature Boy himself, Ric Flair.
The four settled in and the panel of guests participated in an entertaining and informative Q&A session. The Superstars regaled the audience with lively stories, many of which caused the room to erupt in laughter. After a short break, attendees were called up by groups of ten. There, they ran the gauntlet and were treated to a photo-op and on-card autograph of each of the Superstar guests. This was with the exception of Mojo Rawley who was mingling with the crowd, taking candid selfies and posing with attendees.
At about 4:30 pm the party wrapped-up. As each guest exited they were given a really cool Topps backpack that was absolutely LOADED with swag and product. Each guest’s bag included a dual autographed card of WWE executives, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. Other items included boxes of Topps WWE cards and specially created packs, each of which contained an autograph, relic or autographed relic card. Additional items included assorted Topps WWE Transcendent gold-framed autograph cards, high-end headphones, a Transcendent ball cap and more!!
Topps Transcendent WWE WrestleMania 35 Event, Experience of a Lifetime – The Spectacle
Finally, the time had come to find our seats. Turns out the face-value of our tickets was $1,007! The day before, those same seats were going for $4,500 on Stub Hub. I made my way to the floor and took my seat, 11th row, center, ringside behind the announcers table, opposite the entrance ramps. OH MY GOODNESS. I’ve never had this good of a seat for a concert let alone WRESTLEMANIA!!
WWE’s WrestleMania can only be described as a spectacle. It’s like a rock concert, meets Super Bowl, meets monster-truck rally. The 82,265 people in attendance set a stadium record. The $16.9M revenue generated at the venue set a record for highest grossing entertainment event ever held at MetLife Stadium.
The event itself saw some first-ever and memorable happenings take place. It was the last match of Hall of Famer, Kurt Angle. It was the first women’s Royal Rumble at a WrestleMania. In addition, it was the first time that a women’s match would be the headlining main event in WrestleMania history.
The match card itself produced some epic moments and the event lived up to all the hype. Several titles changed hands including the Universal Championship with the defeat of Brock Lesnar at the hands of Seth Rollins. As well as the WWE Championship being won by Kofi Kingston who defeated the heel-turned Daniel Bryan.
The Iiconics, comprised of Peyton Royce and Billy Kay, won the Women’s Tag Team Championship. And in the main event, Becky “The Man” Lynch, made good on her promise in the winner takes all match, nabbing both the Raw and SmackDown LIVE women’s titles away from Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair, respectively.
It was a night and an experience I will never forget. And at the end of it all I even got to keep my seat as a souvenir.
A special thank you to Topps for hosting such a great event. I heard from a handful of people who had attended previous Transcendent experiences and all said that this was by far the best. Also, a special thanks to GTS for allowing me to attend. Two of us from GTS attended and all swag items, including the chairs, will be bundled with the two remaining Topps WWE Transcendent items we have in stock.
- Check out items from the event already popping up on eBay.
- Read my guide to collecting autographs of WWE WrestleMania 35 Superstars.
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