Fans from Ireland, Atlanta and beyond flock to Philadelphia for WrestleMania 40 Night 1
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- After 25 years, WrestleMania is back in Philly, and WWE's main event sold out Lincoln Financial Field Saturday night.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Charlene Brown, who made the trip from Atlanta.
"I've been waiting like two years since they announced it in Philly, I've been keeping posted on it," said Jahdyn Green.
The excitement began with the Women's World Championship Match. The holds, hits, and takedowns had fans on their feet.
"It's the biggest WrestleMania ever and it's the 40th anniversary and we just couldn't be at home and watch it on TV we had to come the whole way here to do it," said Gary Toner, who has been to WrestleMania before.
Toner has been counting down the months to WrestleMania XL. He traveled from his home in Northern Ireland to see The Rock back into the ring for the first time in 11 years.
"He's the biggest celebrity in the world, he's the biggest wrestler in the world and we've been watching him for 25-26 years," Toner said.
For Freddie Rodriguez, Saturday night was a chance to pass down his passion for wrestling to his 5-year-old son.
"I've been watching this since I was a kid, and I finally get to do it with my son," Rodriguez said.
Eagles fans were pumped when two masked men turned out to be Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson, who got into the action and stole the show during a surprise appearance.
"As a kid, I always wanted to be here at WrestleMania and finally came to Philadelphia so it's a dream come true to come watch," said Edgardo Gutierrez, who lives in Wilmington, Delaware.
"I haven't seen anything like this ever in life, and I was like I don't know if I want to go all the way to Philly for this, but I'm glad I did," Brown said.
A second night of WrestleMania is set for Sunday. Then, on Monday, WWE Raw will head across the parking lot to the Wells Fargo Center.
WrestleMania is bringing in big bucks to Philadelphia's economy. Last year, the WWE said the event pumped more than $200 million into the economy in Los Angeles.