Indianapolis, IN
Many mock WWE. 70,000 fans who shattered Royal Rumble records in Indy ‘don’t give a damn’
INDIANAPOLIS — William Skiler rose at the crack of dawn Saturday morning to a rooster crowing, fed the pigs then made an off-the-cuff, last-minute decision to drive from the land of peaches to his 10th Royal Rumble, buying nosebleed seats in Lucas Oil Stadium on the way.
Skiler is a hard-working farmer outside of Atlanta, Ga., who grew up loving the raucous and rowdy WWE. He was not only at his 10th Royal Rumble Saturday, but he’s been to multiple Smackdowns, Raws and one WrestleMania.
To say he is a diehard fan would be an understatement. He has a cluttered room in his house stuffed to the brim with all the figures, T-shirts, championship belts and autographs he’s gotten of wrestlers through the years.
As he waited in line to buy merchandise inside Lucas Oil before the matches began, he wore a Rey Mysterio mask and a Triple H shirt. There, with more than 300 others waiting in his line and more than 70,000 in the stadium, Skiler said he felt like he could truly be himself.
After all, Skiler said, he sometimes feels judged when he tells people he is a WWE fan.
“We know what they think. We know. I hear it all the time, people making fun of us WWE fans, making fun of the sport,” said Skiler, 45. “I hear it, and you know what? To be honest, I don’t give a damn.
“They’re the ones missing out on greatness.”
What is WWE? That’s the burning question from the naysayers. Is it a sport or not? Is it fake? Is it scripted? Skiler said he often feels as if those naysayers look down on WWE fans, and he doesn’t understand why.
“I’ve never played a day of golf in my life, but there are guys obsessed with it like I am with WWE,” he said. “I don’t make fun of those guys.”
Even if choreographed, these wrestlers are athletes and they have to be in shape to do what they do, said Josef Aguilar, who lives in Indy and was attending his first Royal Rumble.
“Just look at their muscles. They perform just like an NFL player performs,” he said. “People want to say the outcome is written up before but so what. The NFL wrote the Chiefs winning last week and the refs made that happen.”
As Josie Marlin sat in the hallway of the Indiana Convention Center next to her boyfriend, who had two championship belts beside him, waiting for the doors to Lucas Oil to open for the Royal Rumble, she told him to cover his ears.
“It’s so silly,” she said laughing. “I don’t even like it or get the appeal. I’m here because I love him, and he loves it.”
The WWE is definitely a product with little middle ground. “You are either a fanatic about it,” said Claire Sawyer-Mills, of Illinois, “or you hardly have any idea what it even is.”
Per the crowd at Lucas Oil, there are a lot of fanatics. The more than 70,000 fans who descended on the stadium Saturday night shattered the Royal Rumble’s all-time record. It was the largest attendance for any non-WresteMania pro wrestling event in history. Approximately 70% of the fans were expected to be from outside the Indianapolis area.
They watched Jey Uso win the men’s event, eliminating John Cena in his final Royal Rumble, and watched Charlotte Flair as victor in the women’s match.
The crowd also proved there is no one “type” of WWE fan.
WWE fans: Loud and proud
From the world’s most popular streamer Kai Cenat to Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton to 73-year-old musician John Mellencamp to actor O’Shea Jackson, Jr., who is Ice Cube’s son, to women, little boys, teenage girls, grandparents, young parents, middle-aged couples, there was diversity all around.
According to Wrestlenomics.com, about 25% of WWE’s audiences are Black with 12% of viewers Hispanic. Women make up 36% of the fans and the biggest fan base is males 30-44 years old.
While its popularity is unmatched in the United States, the WWE says India is one of its largest international markets. The latest numbers show Raw and SmackDown events in India had an average of 50 million viewers weekly.
The franchise is also popular in Japan, Australia, the Philippines and has held events in Canada, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. For Royal Rumbles, those bring the second largest international crowd of all WWE events. And that crowd is loud and proud.
Outside of Lucas Oil hours before the Royal Rumble began, the golden championship belts glistened in the chilly sunshine, mostly grown men wearing them slung over their shoulders or wrapped around their waists.
Little kids held poster signs, handcrafted tributes to their favorite wrestlers. Women were dressed in fishnet stockings, glittery skirts, emulating the WWE divas they admire. Other fans went full force, wearing wrestling singlets and black boots, the temps barely 40 degrees.
It was not quite the outrageous attire GenCon brings to Indy but, out of context and having no idea one of the WWE’s three main events was in town, some of the fans packing the streets would have seemed completely over the top.
Indy went all out for those fans, dressing the city with its own attire. Twenty-five streets were named for the WWE, including Cody Rd., Bianca Belair Blvd., KO Ave. and Seth “Freakin’” Rd. Indianapolis International Airport went all-in on Royal Rumble and restaurants crafted special menu items.
Indianapolis International Airport welcomes WWE fans for Royal Rumble
Indianapolis International Airport is ready to welcome the more than 50,000 fans arriving for WWE Royal Rumble this weekend.
More than $40 million in economic impact is expected from the Rumble in Indy on Saturday night. It is part of a three-event deal between the city and WWE to also bring Summer Slam and WrestleMania to Indy. Dates for those events are yet to be determined, but all three combined will infuse $350 million into the city, according to Indiana Sports Corp.
Settling the debate over what WWE is and hopefully putting an end to its mocking, Lauren Sparkman, a diehard WWE fan, describes it this way.
“I always say WWE is 100% sport and 100% entertainment,” said Sparkman, who co-hosted the local organizing committee that brought the Royal Rumble to Indy. “It’s absolutely world-class athleticism. It is more cinematic than a soap opera, but a lot more spectacle than a football game. It’s the intimacy of live theater, but it’s also completely electric, like an arena tour. It’s just, it’s completely unique.”
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A man is dead, and a suspect has been detained following a shooting on Indy’s far east side.
The shooting took place around midnight Sunday near the intersection of East 10th Street and Shadeland Avenue.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived at the scene and found a man with multiple gunshot wounds. Medics rushed him to a hospital, where he later died.
Investigators say they believe it started as an altercation in the parking lot of a business before the shooting happened.
The suspect stayed on the scene and was later detained. IMPD says they located a gun in the suspect’s car.
IMPD Capt. John Arvin told media at the scene, “It’s Mother’s Day. Here’s the tragedy. A mother is going to get a knock on the door this morning that her son is dead. For the rest of her life, every Mother’s Day, she’s going to remember that’s the day my son died.
“That just makes this a senseless tragedy. We have no idea what the fight was over, what led to the shooting, but whatever it was, does it lead to someone’s mother knowing for the rest of her life my son died on mothers day. That’s just tragedy.”
Police say many of the surrounding businesses have security cameras, and they will contact them today to review the footage as part of the investigation.
IndyCar race results from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
IndyCar Series drivers are on the grid in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course is set to host a day of open wheel racing.
View Indianapolis race results for the IndyCar Series below.
Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward set the front row. 85 laps laps of stock car racing are up next…
Race Report
Green flag, Alex Palou is clear out of turn one. Pato O’Ward is turned! Scott Dixon and others are collected. The caution is out.
Penalty: Felix Rosenqvist will serve a drive thru penalty for contact in turn one.
Green, Palou leads Malukas and Kirkwood into turn one.
Lap 7, Kirkwood dives inside of Malukas into turn one. Kirkwood takes 2nd away.
Lap 21, Alexander Rossi is stalled and the caution is out. Multiple pit strategies are now in play.
Palou heads for the pit lane. Power is handed the lead as Palou restarts 19th.
Green, Power leads Malukas and Lundgaard. Felix Rosenqvist jumps over the top of Kyffin Simpson, caution.
Power pits from the lead with others. Malukas is handed the lead.
Green, Malukas leads Lunagaard into turn one.
Lap 48, Malukas and others head for the pit lane. Lundgaard pits the following lap. Malukas cycles out ahead. Malukas is saving fuel.
Lap 52, Power leads Malukas by 8 seconds.
Lap 63, Alex Palou pits for the final time from 5th.
20 to go, Lundgaard and many of the leaders dive for the pit lane. A lap later, Malukas heads for the pit lane.
Malukas cycles out ahead of Lundgaard. Lundgaard trails by 1.3 seconds.
18 to go, Lundgaard is all over the gearbox of the leader! Malukas blocks the inside into turn one. He misses a shift and Lundgaard pulls on the outside. They fight for space into turn four, Lundgaard to the lead!
8 to go, Lundgaard leads Malukas by 3 seconds. He’s driving away.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race Results
May 9, 2026
IndyCar Series
Pos | Driver
1. Christian Lundgaard
2. David Malukas
3. Graham Rahal
4. Josef Newgarden
5. Alex Palou
6. Scott Dixon
7. Louis Foster
8. Dennis Hauger
9. Kyle Kirkwood
10. Nolan Siegel
11. Marcus Armstrong
12. Kyffin Simpson
13. Will Power
14. Santino Ferrucci
15. Rinus VeeKay
16. Scott McLaughlin
17. Sting Ray Robb
18. Pato O’Ward
19. Caio Collet
20. Mick Schumacher
21. Romain Grosjean
22. Marcus Ericsson
23. Felix Rosenqvist
24. Christian Rasmussen
25. Alexander Rossi
IndyCar Series
Point Standings
Pending
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Video Highlights
Pending
Links
Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Indycar
TODAY
Early clouds give way to gradual clearing, and the afternoon turns much nicer than the damp start might suggest. Highs reach the mid 70s, with a west-southwest breeze around 10 to 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. Once we get past the morning gray, this looks like a very usable day for outdoor plans, just a bit breezy at times.
TONIGHT
Clouds increase again overnight, and scattered showers with a few thunderstorms may arrive late, mainly after 3 a.m. Lows settle in the mid 50s, with a light breeze becoming northerly late. Most of the evening stays quiet, but by early Sunday morning a few neighborhoods could hear some rain on the roof.
MOTHER’S DAY
Cooler than Saturday, with a mix of clouds and some breaks of sun along with the chance for an isolated shower. Highs top out in the mid 60s, and a north breeze around 5 to 10 mph adds a slightly cooler feel. It is not a washout, but it is also not as nice as Saturday afternoon, especially south of Indianapolis where a stray shower may hang on longer.
TOMORROW NIGHT
Partly cloudy and cooler, with lows in the mid 40s and a north northeast breeze around 5 to 10 mph. The air dries out nicely, and this looks like a quiet, comfortable night across central Indiana.
MONDAY
Bright and seasonably cool with sunshine taking over. Highs reach the mid 60s, with a light north wind around 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. This looks like one of the cleaner forecast days of the stretch, great for errands, practices, or getting outside without weather trouble.
MONDAY NIGHT
Mostly clear and chilly again, with lows in the low to mid 40s and light wind fading late. Quiet weather continues, and there are no meaningful travel concerns overnight.
TUESDAY
Another decent start, then clouds begin to increase later with a chance for showers and thunderstorms after mid afternoon. Highs reach the mid 60s, with a light south southwest breeze around 5 to 10 mph. Most of the day still looks usable, but the late afternoon and evening carry the next better rain signal.
TUESDAY NIGHT
Showers and thunderstorms become more likely for part of the night before activity starts to ease later on. Lows hold in the low to mid 50s, with a south-southwest wind around 10 to 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. It does not look like a high-end severe setup right now, but it is enough of a signal to keep an eye on late evening plans.
WEDNESDAY
A leftover shower is possible early, then the trend turns drier with more sun returning through the day. Highs recover into the upper 60s, and a northwest breeze around 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph will make it feel a little brisker at times. The day improves as it goes, and by afternoon it should look much better than the early morning may suggest.
7 DAY FORECAST
After a milder Saturday and a small late Saturday night into Sunday shower window, the broader pattern settles down for Sunday night and Monday with quieter, cooler weather in place. The next more meaningful chance for rain arrives Tuesday into Tuesday night as another system approaches, then drier conditions return Wednesday as that system pulls away. Temperatures run in the 70s Saturday, slip back into the 60s Sunday through Tuesday, then edge a little milder again by midweek. Confidence is best in the quiet Sunday night through Monday stretch, while the exact timing of Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night rain could still wobble a bit.
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