wrestling / News
UPDATED: New Jersey Transit Blames WWE & Late-Ending WrestleMania 35 For Fans Being Stuck In New Jersey, NJ Governor Apologizes, WWE Issues Statement
UPDATE: Despite New Jersey Transit blaming WWE for last night’s post-WrestleMania 35 mess that saw thousands of fans stranded without a way to get back to New York City after trains stopped running at 1AM, the Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy is taking responsibility for the issues. He said the following during his morning press conference (h/t PWInsider).
“At the end of the day, if folks are frustrated, they ought to be. I would have been crazed. It’s completely and utterly ‘dog-ate-my-homework’ unacceptable. We’re fixing it. We’re gonna learn from this. I’ll be damned if it happens again.”
WWE also has issued this statement, saying they “regret” any inconveniences fans may have experienced.
“We regret any inconveniences fans may have experienced with mass transportation after the event.”
ORIGINAL: As we reported earlier, the late ending of WrestleMania 35 left thousands of fans stranded in New Jersey without a way to get back to New York City since New Jersey transit stops running at 1AM. This left thousands to stand in the Uber/Lyft line and Uber/Lyft drivers charging over $100 to take people back to NYC, with private cars charging over $200.
The New Jersey Transit issued a statement today on the mess, blaming WWE for keeping WrestleMania 35 running until so late and not informing them of that plan until very late into the night, and stating that they were limited in what they could do due to federal requirements limiting train crew hours.
“The primary factor contributing to the post-event delays was the WWE’s decision to extend the event to 12:30 a.m., which had significant operational impacts on the evening. NJ Transit was not informed of this decision until late last night. The decision to extend this event resulted in our inability to operate some of those trains due to federal requirements limiting train crew hours. Last-minute adjustments, such as holding the final trains of the night and adding several additional trips between Secaucus and Penn Station New York by utilizing crews and trains from throughout the system were made.”
Here are some of the tweets about how late into the night thousands of fans were stuck waiting in New Jersey for Ubers.
It’s past 1 a.m. and 80,000 people are trying to find a way home from MetLife Stadium. Taxis and Ubers are running over $100 at the moment to get back to Manhattan or Brooklyn if you can even find one. Some drivers are walking around the Uber/Lyft area offering rides for $200.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) April 8, 2019
Lucky you, 2:22 am and there are still thousands of us waiting to get a train out of Secaucus! #sendhelp #wrestlemania
— Chris Delanoy (@SkyHighYYC) April 8, 2019
And last I looked, it appeared thousands still in the Uber line, and it’s POURING. https://t.co/dS6CPKtuFU
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) April 8, 2019
Geez @NJTRANSIT @MetLifeStadium @WrestleMania @WWE you had thousands of people waiting in the rain for 3 hours for trains that were ridiculously delayed. Uber also impossible.
We’re your fans, some traveled far to be here. Please do better next time. @Deadspin @cagesideseats pic.twitter.com/H89wRNv8kp
— Sherri Nienass (@nienass) April 8, 2019