Rant #1,407: Wrestlemania: The Alternative Universe Lives

Well, Wrestlemania was held this Sunday at Levi's Stadium in California, and all told, the alternative universe is alive and well.

To most people, professional wrestling is something that is heard about, but really, not totally understood, and to most people, the closest they get to professional wrestling is through the grapplers who turn actors and appear in mainstream fare.

And most of them are terrible actors, by the way, including the Rock, who is probably the biggest movie star in the world today based on box office receipts of his movies.

And yes, by the way, he was at Wrestlemania yesterday.

But that aside, the alternative universe is really alive and well.

For those people that are into pro wrestling, yesterday was the World Series, the Super Bowl, and Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus all rolled in one, less the elephants of course (yes, the PC Police get involved in the circus, too).

More than 76,000 people paid good money to attend yesterday's version of Wrestlemania. They spent millions of dollars to buy their tickets, and many millions of dollars more to purchase memorabilia, T-shirts, food, and rooms to stay in if they traveled from afar, and many of them did, with 40 countries represented by fans in attendance.

Many more millions of people watched either on pay per view, at about $60 a shot, or through subscription to the WWE Network, the brainchild of Vince McMahon, the chairman of the WWE, the largest and most important professional wrestling and sports entertainment organization in the world.

So no, he won't be waiting on any bread lines anytime soon.

Wrestlemania is not only big business, it is successful big business, and while professional wrestling will never be entirely mainstream, this event is as close as it gets.

Yes, Seth Rollins won the heavyweight title over Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase at just the right time; Big Show won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale; Triple H beat Sting while the NWO and Degeneration X beat each other up ... but you know what, it doesn't really matter who won or lost, it's not even how you play the game ...

The WWE was the real winner here, and St. Patrick's Day aside, they have the green to prove it.

The supposedly 100 percent legitimate sports leagues have copied a lot from the WWE, whether they want to admit it or not, from things like using entrance music to the spectacles they create around the All-Star, World Series and Super Bowl events. Much of that stems from what the WWE has done with its weekly shows and monthly pay per views.

People loves spectacles, whether it is movies like "Ben Hur" or "Cleopatra" or in their sporting events, making these events appear to be more important than they really are.

And that is really the bottom line with the WWE.

The whole thing is scripted, people generally know who is going to win and who is going to lose, but they are willing to spend their good money to ensure that they are correct in their assumptions.

Heck, it's not like a team winning the World Series or Super Bowl, but like these more legitimate events, Wrestlemania is an amazing diversion, something to take us away from our daily thoughts and chores.

It is fun, nothing more, nothing less, and last night's Wrestlemania was fun.