Wrestlemania rolls out Hall of Fame red carpet

Lisa Amin Gulezian Image
ByLisa Amin Gulezian KGO logo
Sunday, March 29, 2015
WrestleMania Hall of Fame ceremony
The WrestleMania Hall of Fame ceremony is taking place at the SAP Center in San Jose Saturday night.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Tens of thousands people from 40 nations throughout the world are in the Bay Area for one of sports entertainment's biggest nights - WrestleMania 31.

Sunday is the big show at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, but Saturday is the night when several legends of the mat are being honored at the Hall of Fame ceremony at the SAP Center in San Jose.

The red carpet was rolled out for some wrestling superstars.

Ten people will be honored Saturday including the late "Macho Man" Randy Savage and local San Franciscan, Rikishi. Rikishi went to Balboa High School and has a lot of family still in the Bay Area.

Even former governor and body builder, Arnold Schwarzenegger is going into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame.

Several superstars and legends on the red carpet Saturday night say they're a little amazed by how much the WWE has grown over the years and how big WrestleMania has got.

"This is where we celebrate our history, this is the foundation of this business and I'm looking forward to it and to celebrating the induction of my cousin Rikishi. He's such a hard worker and a great talent in this," said WWE Superstar Roman Reigns.

"There seriously is nothing better, just to have that hometown feel to it and I did access last night and this morning and to feel the love that I'm back and a hometown girl. It's amazing," said Total Divas star Eva Marie.

The Hall of Fame ceremony sold out in about a week once fans were able to start buying tickets back in January.

Up to 100,000 people will pack the South Bay during the four day long WrestleMania event.

The majority of fans are coming from out of town which means hotels managers are happy with their occupancy rates right now.

The thought is that WrestleMania 31 will bring in more than $140,000 million to the South Bay.

This is day three of the four day event.