List of professional wrestling attendance records on the independent circuit

This is a list of professional wrestling attendance records on the independent circuit. There are many professional wrestling shows held at sporting events, often as part of half-time or post-game shows, or major public gatherings that have ranged from 12,000 to 35,000 people. The most attended live event of all time, however, is All In which was attended by 11,263 fans. Co-promoted by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), it was the first non-World Championship Wrestling or World Wrestling Entertainment event in the United States to sell 10,000 tickets since 1993.

The early-1990s were dominated by the United States Wrestling Association based in Memphis, Tennessee. With the close of the American Wrestling Association (1933–1991) and Pacific Northwest Wrestling (1925–1992), the USWA was the last remaining territory-era promotion in North America. Its biggest show during this period was Memphis Memories held at the Mid-South Coliseum before 8,377 on March 7, 1994, in which the Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame was introduced. Within a few years, the USWA's position as the top independent promotion in North America was being challenged by other groups across Canada and the United States. The most successful of these were Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1991–1995) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (1992–2001). SMW's Superbowl of Wrestling, headlined by Shawn Michaels vs. Buddy Landel for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, was the biggest drawing show of 1995 with 5,000 fans in attendance. While SMW was forced to shut down in 1995, ECW survived to become a national touring promotion as part of the "Big 3" in pro wrestling.

By the early-21st century, a new generation of independent companies had emerged. The most prominent of these were Ring of Honor, Major League Wrestling, Northeast Wrestling and Juggalo Championship Wrestling. Canadian promotions such as Blood, Sweat & Ears, Border City Wrestling and Lutte 2000 were also represented for the first time. National Wrestling Alliance affiliates set a number of records as well. Following a successful international USO tour in 2000, NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling held the first-ever American pro wrestling shows in China from December 30, 2003, to January 3, 2004. The first night of The Next Revolution tour drew 7,500 people at Tianhe Gymnasium. The next two events drew 6,100 at Huadu Stadium and 3,400 at Guangzhou Gymnasium respectively. WWE developmental territories Deep South Wrestling, Heartland Wrestling Association and Ohio Valley Wrestling also made an impact on the independent scene. OVW, which was booked by SMW founder Jim Cornette from 1999 until 2005, was arguably the most successful of the three with record-setting shows at Louisville Gardens and Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.

Ring of Honor began holding regular pay-per-view (PPV) events via the Dish Network starting in 2007, and was acknowledged as the third major U.S. promotion following its national television deal with the Sinclair Broadcasting Group four years later. The 2010s saw the increasing influence of "lucha libre" in the industry with the debut of Lucha Libre USA (2010–2012) and Lucha Underground (2014–2018) on U.S. television. The Heroes of Lucha Libre, featuring Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Richard Trumposo in the main event, was held at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California on June 2, 2018, before 3,000 fans. It was the largest indy live event of the year (along with the Legends of Wrestling show at Detroit's Fraser Hockeyland) until the All In pay-per-view three months later.

Events and attendances Note: Minimum attendance of 5,000. Light Grey indicates event was a free show and/or held at a major public gathering. Promotion Event Location Venue AttendanceMain Event(s)WRKO's Taste of the Boss Boston, MassachusettsBoston City Hall Plaza35,0005-0 (Trooper Gilmore and Corporal Johnson) vs. Victor Rivera and Jay Kobain Alouettes Mania I Montreal, Quebec Stade Percival-Molson 20,000 Jacques Rougeau vs. King Kong Bundy Alouettes Mania III Montreal, Quebec Stade Percival-Molson 20,000This was part of a halftime show for a CFL game between the Montreal Alouettes vs. Calgary Stampeders. Jacques Rougeau vs. Kamala Alouettes Mania IV Montreal, Quebec Stade Percival-Molson 20,000This was part of a halftime show for a CFL game between the Montreal Alouettes vs. Edmonton Eskimos. Jim Duggan vs. Kurrgan with special referee Jacques Rougeau Warped Tour 2002 Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac Silverdome 19,000 Deranged vs. Tommy Starr in a UV Light Tube Death match BELIEVE 156 Orlando, Florida Central Florida Fairgrounds 15,000 Aaron Epic (c) vs. Andrew Merlin for the SCW Florida Heavyweight Championship Cement Belt Fair Cementon, Pennsylvania Cementon Fairgrounds 12,500 Heidi Lee Morgan vs. Baby Face Nellie OC Fair: Flower Power (Day 2) Costa Mesa, California Washington Mutual Arena 12,000 El Hijo del Santo, Lil Cholo and Silver Tyger vs. Infernal, Super Kendo 2 and Super Parka All In Hoffman Estates, Illinois Sears Centre Arena 11,263 The Golden Elite (Kota Ibushi, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. Bandido, Rey Fénix and Rey Mysterio in a six-man tag team match Caribbean Wrestling Bash: The Legends Tour San Nicolas, Aruba Joe Laveist Ballpark 11,000 Scott Steiner vs. Billy Gunn for the Aruba Wrestling Bash Championship WWNLive in China (Day 4) Beijing, China Cadillac Arena 10,500 Ricochet (c) vs. Johnny Gargano for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship OC Fair: Flower Power (Day 1) Costa Mesa, California Washington Mutual Arena 10,000 El Hijo del Santo, Lil Cholo and Silver Tyger vs. Infernal, Super Kendo 2 and Super Parka Caribbean Wrestling Bash: The Legends Tour San Nicolas, Aruba Joe Laveist Ballpark 9,000 Scott Steiner vs. Kevin Nash BaseBrawl Columbus, Ohio Cooper Stadium 8,757 Rory Fox (c) vs. Shark Boy for the HWA Cruiserweight Championship Memphis Memories Memphis, Tennessee Mid-South Coliseum 8,377 Jerry Lawler vs. Austin Idol vs. Brian Christopher vs. Doug Gilbert vs. Eddie Gilbert vs. Jimmy Valiant vs. Koko B. Ware vs. Moondog Spot vs. Terry Funk vs. Tommy Rich in a 10-man elimination match Sportsfest Allentown, Pennsylvania Cedar Beach Park 8,000 The Love Connection (Jay Love and Georgie Love) vs. D'Lo Brown and Owen Hart USWA vs. WWF Memphis, Tennessee Mid-South Coliseum 7,500 Bret Hart (c) vs. Jerry Lawler in a Steel Cage match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship NWA-MACW The Next Revolution (Day 1) Guangzhou, China Tianhe Gymnasium 7,500 Terry Taylor (c) vs. Steve Williams for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship LuchaMania USA Tour Los Angeles, California Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 7,000 Blue Demon Jr., Cien Caras Jr. and Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. El Hijo del Santo, L.A. Par-K and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. in a six-man tag team match FMW vs. WWA Los Angeles, California Cal State-Los Angeles Gym 6,250 Atsushi Onita, Tarzan Goto and El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas, Horace Boulder and Tim Patterson in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls Street Fight match NWA-MACW The Next Revolution (Day 2) Guangzhou, China Huadu Stadium 6,100 Steve Williams (c) vs. Terry Taylor for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship Big Butler Fair Prospect, Pennsylvania Big Butler Fairgrounds 6,000 Dusty Rhodes vs. Jerry Lawler World Wrestling Peace Festival Los Angeles, California Los Angeles Sports Arena 5,964 Antonio Inoki and Dan Severn vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Oleg Taktarov November to Remember New Orleans, Louisiana Lakefront Arena 5,800 The Triple Threat (Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow and Chris Candido) vs. New Triple Threat (Sabu, Rob Van Dam and Taz) Bloodymania Cave-In-Rock, Illinois Hatchet Landings 5,800 Sabu and The Insane Clown Posse (Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J) vs. Trent Acid and The Young Altar Boys (Young Altar Boy #1 and Young Altar Boy #4) Pierre Carl Ouellet vs. Kurrgan Montreal, Quebec Centre Bell 5,500+There are different reports on the attendance of the event with numbers ranging from 5,500 to as high as 10,000 and 12,000. Pierre Carl Ouellet vs. Kurrgan with special referee Sid Vicious Pride Inglewood, California Great Western Forum 5,500 Blue Demon Jr., El Hijo del Santo, Mil Mascaras and Tinieblas vs. Dr. Wagner Jr., Scorpio Jr. and Los Guerreros del Infierno (Rey Bucanero and Ultimo Guerrero) Funk Free for All Amarillo, Texas Amarillo Civic Center 5,500 Terry Funk vs. Eddie Gilbert in a Texas Death match Cleveland County Fair Shelby, North Carolina Cleveland County Fairgrounds 5,200 9-man battle royal Christmas Chaos Louisville, Kentucky Louisville Gardens 5,010 Leviathan vs. Kane Challenge for the Championship Memphis, Tennessee Mid-South Coliseum 5,000 20-man tournament for the vacant USWA World Heavyweight Championship Night of Legends Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville Civic Coliseum 5,000 Bob Armstrong, Tracy Smothers and Road Warrior Hawk vs. Bruiser Bedlam and The Funk Brothers (Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk) Superbowl of Wrestling Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville Civic Coliseum 5,000 Shawn Michaels vs. Buddy Landel for the WWF Intercontinental Championship Lake County Fair Painesville, Ohio Lake County Fairgrounds 5,000 Julio Dinero vs. Dick Trimmins Sportsfest Allentown, Pennsylvania Cedar Beach Park 5,000 Rapid Fire Maldonado (c) vs. Mana the Polynesian Warrior for the WXW Heavyweight Championship Throwback Night II Memphis, Tennessee Mid-South Coliseum 5,000 Terry Funk and Corey Maclin vs. Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Hart with special referee Jimmy Valiant DukesFest 2007 Nashville, Tennessee Music City Motorplex 5,000 Iron Cross, Bobby Houston and Jerry Lawler vs. Stan Lee, Eddie Golden and K.C. Thunder

Historical 1990s Note: Extreme Championship Wrestling became a national touring company after holding its first pay-per-view (PPV) event, ECW Barely Legal, on April 13, 1997. In July 1999, ECW was acknowledged as the third major U.S. promotion by Pro Wrestling Illustrated following its national television deal with TNN.