WWE Bid Farewell to Iconic Detroit Venue Last Night
WWE held its final show at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit last night, as the iconic venue opened [...]
WWE held its final show at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit last night, as the iconic venue opened its doors to thousands of wrestling fans for one last time. The city-owned land is scheduled to be demolished on September 17, according to public documents.
From John Cena's pay-per-view debut to The Undertaker winning his first world championship against Hulk Hogan in 1991, The Joe plays a significant role in the history of WWE. Yesterday, WWE released a short farewell video dedicated to the arena, highlighting some of the countless memorable moments that have taken place there.
Other memorable WWE moments from The Joe shown in the video include Stone Cold famously driving a zamboni to the ring on a 1998 episode of Monday Night Raw, and Shane McMahon's surprise return to the WWE last year.
Many WWE stars paid their own tributes, bidding farewell to the historic arena over social media, including those at last night's event and WWE CEO Vince McMahon
So many great memories at Joe Louis Arena. @WWE says goodbye tonight. https://t.co/BiOrZ9v80X
— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) July 29, 2017
Though last night's live event was technically a SmackDown Live house show, WWE pulled out all the stops to deliver a proper farewell to the venue by featuring some of the biggest names from both brands, including John Cena, AJ Styles, and RAW superstars Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe in a rematch for the Universal Championship Title.
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Lesnar successfully defended his title against Joe, narrowly escaping the Samoan submission specialist's coquina clutch before taking the Detroit crowd to "Suplex City" one last time and finishing off his opponent with an F5.
This inclusion of RAW main event talent might have even led some to think we were in for something along the lines of AJ Styles shocking win over Kevin Owens for the US Title at a Madison Square Garden house show earlier this month. But unlike that match this wasn't a total surprise, as Lesnar was previously confirmed and rumored for several more upcoming SmackDown live events.
Speaking of Style and Owens, the show kicked off with a blockbuster clash between the two for the United States Championship. But this wasn't a repeat of the MSG upset, as the belt had already changed hands twice in the past week (over the Battleground PPV and SmackDown Live). Though KO taunted and mocked his opponent throughout the match, Styles landed a Phenomenal Forearm on Owens from the top rope to retain his United States Championship.
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Folloing the match, AJ had some words for the fans after his victory and spoke glowingly about the iconic arena.
John Cena defeated Rusev with a AA through a table in a "Detroit Street Fight" to close out the event. Afterwards Cena gave a moving farewell tribute to the venue where he made his PPV debut 15 years ago, putting over the building's history and thanking the fans for so many great memories at the Joe.
The WWE has not confirmed when it will return to Detroit following Saturday's event, but its been rumored for weeks that the company will host a show – possibly even a PPV – at the soon-to-open Little Caesars Arena this fall.