WWE WrestleMania 30 Weekend: Full Calendar of WWE and Independent Events

A glut of events awaits wrestling fans on the weekend of WWE WrestleMania 30.

In addition to WWE's official WrestleMania activities, Ring of Honor, Dragon Gate USA and WrestleCon will bring big names and independent in-ring action to New Orleans. Fans can eat breakfast with former WWE stars or snap photos with Hall of Famers. 

When the wrestling world descends on The Big Easy, wrestling-related events from movies to giant monsters can add to one's WrestleMania experience.

The calendar is overflowing. The choices are plentiful. 

We begin with a look at the official WWE events before digging into the independent and obscure portion of the weekend's schedule.

Official WWE Events

WrestleMania Axxess, which is detailed later, will run from Thursday, April 3 until Sunday, April 6. Axxess is a fan extravaganza where kids can play with WWE toys and fans can peruse a graveyard dedicated to Undertaker's WrestleMania victims.

On Saturday, April 5, WWE welcomes its newest Hall of Famers.

The Smoothie King Center hosts the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony at 8 p.m., where WWE will induct Jake Roberts, Scott Hall, Carlos Colon, Lita, Paul Bearer, Mr. T and The Ultimate Warrior. The entire ceremony will be shown in its entirety on the WWE Network for the first time ever.

The Showcase of the Immortals will be on the Network the very next night.

WrestleMania XXX begins at 6 p.m. CT from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. A two-hour pre-show precedes the event.

Daniel Bryan faces Triple H, with the victor challenging Randy Orton and Batista for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. Bray Wyatt faces John Cena, Brock Lesnar battles Undertaker and 30 men compete in the inaugural Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

WWE won't leave New Orleans for WWE Raw on April 7. Bryan, Sheamus, The Shield and the usual faces are scheduled to appear at the Smoothie King Center.

Before championships change hands and rivalries are settled at WrestleMania, fans have four days to meet and greet with their favorite Superstars.

WrestleMania Axxess Signings/Photo Ops

The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center will become a WWE fan's paradise for the weekend. WrestleMania Axxess' fan activities include acting out Superstar entrances, checking out WrestleMania memorabilia and much more. Live matches are also a part of the package.

WWE.com lists a number of chances to meet both the stars from NXT and Superstars, Divas and Legends. The VIP sessions include an 8x10 glossy photo and a professional shot taken with the Superstar. 

Thursday, April 3 

• 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. - Adrian Neville, Paige
• 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. - Cesaro, Charlotte, Sami Zayn
• 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. - Kane, Roman Reigns, Dolph Ziggler, The Usos, R-Truth, Sin Cara, The New Age Outlaws

 Thursday's VIP sessions featuring Orton and Bret Hart are already sold out.

Friday, April 4 

• 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. - Bo Dallas, Adam Rose, William Regal
• 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. - Big E, Sasha Banks, Tyler Breeze
• 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. - Big E, Trish Stratus, The Miz, The Wyatt Family, Ricky Steamboat, Titus O'Neil

Cena and Batista's VIP sessions are already sold out.

Saturday, April 5

• 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. - Damien Sandow, Konnor, Viktor
• 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Paige, Aiden English, Mason Ryan
• 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. - Mojo Rawley, Sylvester Lefort, Dusty Rhodes
• 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. - Bo Dallas, CJ Parker, Bayley
• 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. - Corey Graves, Colin Cassidy, Charlotte
• 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. - Emma, Baron Corbin, Alexa Bliss, Tye Dillinger
• 8 a.m. - The Bella Twins, Cesaro, Booker T, Alberto Del Rio, Christian, Cody Rhodes and Goldust, Natalya
• 1 p.m. - Kofi Kingston, Mick Foley, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Ryback, Naomi, Cameron
• 6 p.m. - The Wyatt Family, Mark Henry, Fandango & Summer Rae, The Usos, Booker T, Darren Young, Emma, Alicia Fox

All the VIP sessions are sold out for Saturday as well. The first session has fans meeting Undertaker and Hulk Hogan. Bryan, Sheamus, Big Show and Ric Flair headline the second session. 

Sunday, April 6

• 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. - Jason Jordan, Troy McClain, William Regal
• 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Adrian Neville, Sasha Banks, Alexander Rusev, Lana
• 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. - Konnor, Viktor, Adam Rose, Sami Zayn
• 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. - Big Show, Alberto Del Rio, AJ Lee, Dean Ambrose, The Real Americans with Zeb Colter, Bad News Barrett

Bruno Sammartino, Rey Mysterio and Shawn Michaels are the stars of the sold-out VIP sessions for Sunday.

Independent Events

WrestleMania weekend has become a celebration of the art of wrestling. Independent promotions converge on New Orleans this year to continue the tradition.

Even if one doesn't have tickets to WrestleMania itself, the long list of enticing events from groups like SHIMMER, EVOLVE and Kaiju Big Battel offer plenty of reason to make the trip to New Orleans anyway.

Thursday, April 3

EVOLVE 28 begins at 8 p.m. at the McAlister Auditorium at Tulane University. 

Chris Hero and Trent Baretta will battle in the main event. Stellar athletes AR Fox, Ricochet and Rich Swann are scheduled to wrestle as well.

At 9:30 p.m., fans can hear Hall of Famer Jim Ross talk about his storied career. The House of Blues is hosting "An Evening with Jim Ross."

Indy star Colt Cabana, known as being one of the funnier men in wrestling, will be doing commentary over bad wrestling movies at The New Movement Theater. The show is at the same time as Ross' event, but it will also be running on Friday night.

Friday, April 4 

WrestleMania Axxess has a myriad of big names one can meet, but older fans may be happier with the collection of great wrestlers the Mid-South Legends Fanfest will be hosting.

Kamala, Jim Cornette, Rock 'N' Roll Express, The Midnight Express and several others will be signing autographs at the Sigur Center in Chalmette, La. Doors open to the general public at 10 a.m.

There will also be a live wrestling event afterward, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Mickie James and Angelina Love will square off, and the show will also feature a Battle Royal comprised of wrestlers from a variety of promotions.

A Wrestling Odyssey, featuring CZW and Shine stars, begins at 3 p.m. Trent Baretta and Mia Yim are among the wrestlers on the card.

DGUSA's Open the Ultimate Gate event kicks off at 8 p.m. Fans headed to the McAlister Auditorium will see Masato Tanaka vs. Chris Hero and Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet, among other bouts.

Ring of Honor's latest IPPV, Supercard of Honor VIII, comes to the John A. Alario Sr. Event Center at the Bayou Segnette Sports Complex in Westwego, La. Westwego is just over 11 miles away from New Orleans.

The event begins at 7:30 p.m. and will feature Adam Cole vs. Jay Briscoe in a Ladder match for the ROH World Championship as well as Kevin Steen vs. Michael Elgin.

At the same time that night, Roberts and Scott Hall, both of whom will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the very next day, are hosting an event at The House of Blues called "A Night of Wrestling Legends."

Both wrestlers will answer questions and tell stories. There will be no shortage of material with everything that those men have gone through. 

Meet Me There, penned by wrestling writer Brandon Stroud, will premiere at the Prytania Theater.

The film stars Dustin Runnels (Goldust), who will be in attendance for the premiere. Fans can also meet the director and several members of the cast. The screening begins right before midnight.

A more surreal option awaits fans at the same time at the McAlister Auditorium.

Kaiju Big Battel will present "Little Trouble in Big Easy." The promotion is famous for having its wrestlers dress like giant movie monsters and destroy model cities in the ring.

Steam-Powered Tentacle Boulder and Kung Fu Chicken Noodle are scheduled to appear.

Saturday, April 5

WrestleCon will dominate Saturday. The huge, star-filled event comes to the Sugar Mill. Scheduled guests include Sting, Edge, Kurt Angle, Roddy Piper, Terry Funk, Rob Van Dam and Jimmy Snuka.

Sid Vicious says he will be there as well.

Goldberg will be taking photos and signing autographs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. with a Q&A session in between.

A Mickie James concert starts at 2:30 p.m. and a live Art of Wrestling podcast with Colt Cabana begins at 4 p.m.

WrestleCon will then host Independent Wrestling Supershow, which boasts talent from promotions like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Combat Zone Wrestling. Chris Hero, Jeff Jarrett, Joey Ryan and Cabana are all on the card.

The John A. Alario Sr. Event Center hosts an ROH live event at 2 p.m. Jay Lethal, Elgin, Cole, Mark and Jay Briscoe and other ROH stars will compete.

ROH consistently produces some of the highest quality in-ring action in the country. This is an excellent opportunity for WWE-only fans to experience the standout promotion.

For the finest women's wrestling this side of Japan, head to the McAlister Auditorium at 3 p.m. SHIMMER Women Athletes is set to put on Shimmer 62. Cheerleader Melissa and LuFisto clash in a 2-out-of-3 Falls main event.

DGUSA's Mercury Rising 2014 begins at 8 p.m. in the McAlister Auditorium. Baretta, Gargano, Swann and AR Fox will all be a part of the action.

Sunday, April 6

Sunday's schedule slows down, but there are still a few interesting sights to take in.

Diamond Dallas Page, fresh off inducting Roberts into the Hall of Fame, will host a breakfast and Q&A. 

The second day of WrestleCon will offer a chance to meet Sting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will also feature live talk shows with Steen and Steve Corino.

James will sign autographs and take photos, and Matt Striker will host a trivia contest.

If one has any energy left after the buffet of wrestling-centric entertainment that is the long weekend, Bryan needs a crowd cheering him as he chases a championship, and Cena will be in need of vocal support as he faces a monstrous opponent.

New Orleans will host a WrestleMania for the first time ever. The events before and after WWE's version of the Super Bowl promise a party-like atmosphere that the vibrant city will have no trouble welcoming.