As we were the first to report month back, the bidding to host WrestleMania 31 came down to Santa Clara, CA and Philadelphia, PA.  As we now all know, Levi’s Stadium, the future home of the San Francisco 49ers, was chosen as the home of the big event.  Many assumed that Philadelphia, a historic staple to the success of the WWE, would be selected and were surprised when it was not chosen.  Now we know why.

First, a source told me that WrestleMania 29 being at East Rutherford’s Metlife Stadium actually worked both for and against Philadelphia’s bid.  The success of WrestleMania 29 in the cold weather environment proved to be a glaring success, prompting Philly to jump into the bidding process in the first place.  In the end, however, the WWE was worried about returning back to the tri-state area just one year removed from WrestleMania 29.  With Philadelphia and East Rutherford being separated by barely over an hour of driving time, the WWE wanted to spread WrestleMania around the country a bit.

Second, the WWE felt like Santa Clara simply did a better job in the pitch process.  According to a report from PWInsider, WWE officials got the feeling from Philadelphia and Lincoln Financial Field associates like the city was doing them a favor by allowing them to host their signature event in their town.  Santa Clara and 49ers officials were said to have made the WWE feel more invited and showed more enthusiasm in having the show there.  In the end, the WWE simply felt like Santa Clara had a much larger interest in hosting WrestleMania 31.