Wale‘s wrestling-themed music event is making a comeback. For the first time since the pandemic, WaleMania will go down, this time at the House of Blues in Dallas, Texas.
“WaleMania has always been a passion of mine because it combines all of my loves into one place during a weekend that I always have the most fun,” the D.C. native said in a statement. “I love doing this for fans of myself and my music as well as the fans of professional wrestling because at the end of the day, I’m one of you too. I love that WaleMania has become the unofficial welcome to the big weekend party so I’ve got a few things up my sleeve to make sure this one is unforgettable.”
Some of those “things” include exclusive merch from Footlocker and a live episode of the professional wrestling-based podcast The Ringer’s Masked Man Show, which will open the event. Guest appearances include but are not limited to Swerve Strickland, Ricky Starks, IMPACT Wrestling’s Machine Gun Karl Anderson, Joey Janela and Impact Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz. Wale will also perform at his event alongside some surprise guests.
The return of WaleMania will mark its sixth celebration since Wale first introduced the event to the world. While reflecting on the first WaleMania, the rapper told Sporting News that he didn’t anticipate the reception.
“I thought it was just going to be a little thing,” he said in 2019. “I had no idea that it would grow to what it is today. That first one set the tone because it was in San Jose and that’s not really a party city. I never understood the energy behind WrestleMania weekend until that first one and being able to compare it to the Super Bowl or NBA All Star weekend. Once I felt that similar energy, I recognized how special it would be for the hip hop community to get involved.”
Since then, the event has continued to grow. Thanks to a new partnership with Spotify, the upcoming one will be even bigger and better.
WaleMania is set to take place on March 31. Tickets can be purchased on the House of Blues website.