WWE could move Summerslam to Canada and to a bigger stadium

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I know this might sound crazy, but how come WWE doesn't hold PPVs outside the US? More specifically in Canada where there's no time difference between the States and Canada.

Wrestlemania usually holds between 70,000-80,000 people every year depending the stadium.

However, Summerslam gets around 15,000 people every year. I think Summerslam has the potential to move to a larger stadium. More specifically, the Skydome in Canada.

Why am I saying this? Well, right now WWE has a lot of talent, maybe one of the most talented rosters in years. Plus there are the big attractions like Cena, Orton, Lesnar, Jericho, Undertaker and Triple H.

These are 6 very special names and the reason they are special isn't because they are mainstream, but the also appear on special occasions.

Plus, just look at how WWE was able to get 80,000 people for Wrestlemania 32 (they say they were, but some say they were around 80,000). The card wasn't anything special. You had Ambrose vs Lesnar, but that wasn't such a big draw, a predictable main event and a Hell In A Cell match, between Undertaker and Shane freaking McMahon. Cena and Orton weren't even there. And Y2J vs Styles was the 4th time it was happening. Only Rock was announced for Wrestlemania and he wasn't even supposed to wrestle. But yet again, they filled that stadium.

Look at the past two Summerslam cards, very solid cards, due to the talent that was involved. And the talent will only get bigger and better from here on.

So I was thinking, instead of having 75,000 people at WM and 15,000 at Summerslam, they could have 75,000 people at WM and 50,000 at Summerslam. That's 35,000 tickets more.

Just from the top of my head I was able to get two strong cards out:

Wrestlemania 33
American Alpha vs Ziggler & Benjamin for the SD Tag Team Championship
6-Man Ladder match for the US Championship
Ambrose vs Reigns
Club vs Enzo & Cass vs New Day for the RAW Tag Team Championship
Balor vs Orton
Wyatt vs Triple H
Undertaker vs Cena
Rock appearance
Shaq vs Big Show
Lesnar vs Owens for the Universal Championship
Four Horsewomen Fatal 4 Way match
Rollins vs Styles for the World Championship

Summerslam 2017
Enzo & Cass vs New Day for the RAW Tag Team Championship
Bayley vs Charlotte for the RAW Women's Championship
Banks vs Lynch for the SD Women's Championship
Nakamura vs Y2J in a Ladder match for the IC Championship
Samoa Joe vs Randy Orton
Finn Balor vs Styles
Brock Lesnar vs Bray Wyatt
Rollins vs Triple H for the WWE Championship
Owens vs Cena for the Universal Championship

plus there's the possibility of Undertaker also wrestling but I didn't put him because he doesn't appear often at Summerslam. Maybe an one-time return of Goldberg or Kurt Angle.

Also I'm sure the company would do a better job than me with those cards.

PS.: I'm not asking to say to me if those cards are good or not, but what are the chances of Summerslam moving to a bigger stadium. Canada in particular, because WWE doesn't hold shows often there, so it would be special for the Canadians to attend the event every year.
More seats, more money for the company, maybe.

 

[Greek_God666]

Well if it helps Survivor Series 2016 is going to be in Toronto already

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I agree 100%. Canada needs one of the big two PPVs. Canada knows how to react to things going on in the ring. Picture Hogan vs The Rock without that insane Canadian crowd. It wouldn't have been half as exciting to watch.

Canadian fans are the best.

So are Canadians in general.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I don't know but if I were to speculate I would say that WWE has stuck with New York and LA for the national US and global press that makes their home in those areas.

Granted they could probably use MetLife Stadium or The Rose Bowl as venues as well, but they don't. Not to mention the other large cities with large stadiums across the globe. You may be overreaching in your speculation on the size of the gate SummerSlam can pull.

Im sure regardless that Vince has thought about this as a possibility and has reasons for shooting it down.

 

[Soulblazed]

I don't know but if I were to speculate I would say that WWE has stuck with New York and LA for the national US and global press that makes their home in those areas.

Granted they could probably use MetLife Stadium or The Rose Bowl as venues as well, but they don't. Not to mention the other large cities with large stadiums across the globe. You may be overreaching in your speculation on the size of the gate SummerSlam can pull.

Im sure regardless that Vince has thought about this as a possibility and has reasons for shooting it down.

You forgot that Summerslam 1992 in Wembley drew a good 80,000 fans in England. That being stated, a Summerslam in Toronto would be a great idea...The more PPVs WWE shows in other countries, the better it is for fans in said countries. Owens winning the WWE Championship in Toronto would be a helluva moment. Especially if he's allowed to use the Package Piledriver to pull off the victory.

WWE always talks about being a "global entity". That's a great way for them to show it, by putting Summerslam in Canada. Hell, Summerslam could also goto Mexico City in 2018 after being in Toronto in 2017..

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

You forgot that Summerslam 1992 in Wembley drew a good 80,000 fans in England. That being stated, a Summerslam in Toronto would be a great idea...The more PPVs WWE shows in other countries, the better it is for fans in said countries. Owens winning the WWE Championship in Toronto would be a helluva moment. Especially if he's allowed to use the Package Piledriver to pull off the victory.

WWE always talks about being a "global entity". That's a great way for them to show it, by putting Summerslam in Canada. Hell, Summerslam could also goto Mexico City in 2018 after being in Toronto in 2017..

Exactly, Summerslam is WWE's second biggest event after Wrestlemania. I think 15,000 fans are not enough for it. It needs more exposure.

Wrestlemania 32 showed that WWE can sell 100,000 without any big attraction on the card easily, so I think 50,000 won't be that hard.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

You forgot that Summerslam 1992 in Wembley drew a good 80,000 fans in England.

I didn't forget this at all. But it was 20+ years ago.

Exactly, Summerslam is WWE's second biggest event after Wrestlemania. I think 15,000 fans are not enough for it. It needs more exposure.

This is my guess to your question, even if you are not packing a huge gate, exposure is never bigger than when you are in NY and LA.

Wrestlemania 32 showed that WWE can sell 100,000 without any big attraction on the card easily, so I think 50,000 won't be that hard.

Wrestlemania draws on the event itself. It only needs a few names to sell it. SummerSlam must not have that luxury. Why else would Vince not go for the big gate if it is as easy as you make it sound? He is not adverse to making more money or change.

This is a good question, especially now that we live in an age where everything is $9.99 and can be watches on demand. I have nothing against SS taking place elsewhere but the fact of the matter is that it continues to happen in a couple select venues. Maybe WWE is getting a great deal at Barclay' s. Maybe other venues can't accommodate the way and amount of time WWE needs the space.

I don't know. Someone must have asked Vince/HHH/Steph this question at some point.

 

[WorstWrestlingExcrement]

I know this might sound crazy, but how come WWE doesn't hold PPVs outside the US? More specifically in Canada where there's no time difference between the States and Canada.

Wrestlemania usually holds between 70,000-80,000 people every year depending the stadium.

However, Summerslam gets around 15,000 people every year. I think Summerslam has the potential to move to a larger stadium. More specifically, the Skydome in Canada.

Why am I saying this? Well, right now WWE has a lot of talent, maybe one of the most talented rosters in years. Plus there are the big attractions like Cena, Orton, Lesnar, Jericho, Undertaker and Triple H.

These are 6 very special names and the reason they are special isn't because they are mainstream, but the also appear on special occasions.

Plus, just look at how WWE was able to get 80,000 people for Wrestlemania 32 (they say they were, but some say they were around 80,000). The card wasn't anything special. You had Ambrose vs Lesnar, but that wasn't such a big draw, a predictable main event and a Hell In A Cell match, between Undertaker and Shane freaking McMahon. Cena and Orton weren't even there. And Y2J vs Styles was the 4th time it was happening. Only Rock was announced for Wrestlemania and he wasn't even supposed to wrestle. But yet again, they filled that stadium.

Look at the past two Summerslam cards, very solid cards, due to the talent that was involved. And the talent will only get bigger and better from here on.

So I was thinking, instead of having 75,000 people at WM and 15,000 at Summerslam, they could have 75,000 people at WM and 50,000 at Summerslam. That's 35,000 tickets more.

Just from the top of my head I was able to get two strong cards out:

Wrestlemania 33
American Alpha vs Ziggler & Benjamin for the SD Tag Team Championship
6-Man Ladder match for the US Championship
Ambrose vs Reigns
Club vs Enzo & Cass vs New Day for the RAW Tag Team Championship
Balor vs Orton
Wyatt vs Triple H
Undertaker vs Cena
Rock appearance
Shaq vs Big Show
Lesnar vs Owens for the Universal Championship
Four Horsewomen Fatal 4 Way match
Rollins vs Styles for the World Championship

Summerslam 2017
Enzo & Cass vs New Day for the RAW Tag Team Championship
Bayley vs Charlotte for the RAW Women's Championship
Banks vs Lynch for the SD Women's Championship
Nakamura vs Y2J in a Ladder match for the IC Championship
Samoa Joe vs Randy Orton
Finn Balor vs Styles
Brock Lesnar vs Bray Wyatt
Rollins vs Triple H for the WWE Championship
Owens vs Cena for the Universal Championship

plus there's the possibility of Undertaker also wrestling but I didn't put him because he doesn't appear often at Summerslam. Maybe an one-time return of Goldberg or Kurt Angle.

Also I'm sure the company would do a better job than me with those cards.

PS.: I'm not asking to say to me if those cards are good or not, but what are the chances of Summerslam moving to a bigger stadium. Canada in particular, because WWE doesn't hold shows often there, so it would be special for the Canadians to attend the event every year.
More seats, more money for the company, maybe.

Hey kpgreece I agree with you half way that wwe should hold more ppv's in Canada such as SS and WM from Toronto to Vancouver even Montreal where they have this useless olympic stadium which its seating capacity is 66,000.
You are forgetting wwe had their summerslam August 15, 2004, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario which the attendance record was 17,640. You are also forgetting WMX8 was also in Toronto March 17, 2002, at the SkyDome in Toronto, the second WrestleMania ( 68,237 )at that venue after WM6 (67,678)

I don't really care about wwe going to Toronto for Survivor Series as that ppv is not so great most of the time unless there is a meet and greet as they did in 2004 Toronto SS with the wrestlers and I think they need to go to Montreal for once as well. I notice wwe is always concentrating on New York and LA but never go across the border to their Northern Neightbors.

 

[Soulblazed]

I didn't forget this at all. But it was 20+ years ago.

Despite it being a good 24 years ago it's still pertinent. Reason being-International fans will come in droves to see a big time WWE PPV held outside the US, whether it's in England, Canada or most any other country with a big enough venue for it. That being stated, I definitely think Summerslam could draw 50,000 people in Toronto. Besides having Roode, Nattie, Owens and Zayn as some of their known Canadian wrestlers, with the right matches/booking Summerslam could do great in Toronto.

I understand your point on LA & NYC having Summerslam..That makes plenty of sense with all the media coverage and media HQs in both cities...Nonetheless it's long overdue WWE brings their big PPVs out of the US on a more constant basis. I mentioned earlier how WWE calls itself a "global entity" and what better way to prove that statement than holding more PPVs in Canada? People can still bring up the time zone difference excuse(which in my opinion no longer holds water no matter which continent is in question) but WWE's always had a huge Canadian fanbase which is dying to see more PPVs in their country.

WWE shouldn't cling to the US for their major PPVs without branching out more...It makes more sense for the WWE to expand outward, rather than simply staying in the US and forcing fans from other countries to continue to make plane trips to see PPVs, whether it's in LA, NYC, Chicago, etc

Besides, it's better to have a balance where WWE holds more PPVs outside the US....Every time the WWE holds a PPV outside the US their fan base will grow. Partly because of how few times they choose to hold PPVs outside of the US in general and partly because it's simply long overdue as I've already stated for the WWE to get more comfortable holding big PPVs in Canada(along with other countries) on a more constant basis.

 

[Navi]

I've always been a huge advocate of having more RAW's and PPV's here in Canada. It's only pure luck that we're getting Survivor Series in November though. For some reason it's something to do with the prices that the Canadian arena's charge or the taxes and the WWE doesn't want to pay it. I might be wrong on that, please someone correct me if I am.

I really don't think though that you'd get over 60 thousand into Skydome for Summerslam. True we are just two hours north of Buffalo, 4 hours east of Detroit and 6 hours west of Montreal, but I'm wondering if fans would want to come here to see the show. You'd also have to contend with the Blue Jays schedule as they have first dips on the dates. The Pan American Games were held here last year, so I'm sure though one day can be worked out, as that was a two week event.

Toronto is not known as a cheap city to visit. The hotel rates can be fairly stiff, and you'd have to stay downtown where they are the most expensive. Once here though there is a lot to see and do, so might be worth the money. Also the Dome can be retracted and there is nothing more beautiful on a summer night than sitting there with the Dome open and the CN Tower right next door putting on a laser show.

I would attend if it came, but wondering if the WWE thinks it would be worth risking putting all that money, time and effort if they can't make it back.

 

[HORRORHOLIC]

I could see Summerslam taking place at BMO Field at the Exhibition in Toronto. The CNE would be taking place at the time so it would be great for the atmosphere and also a lot of people would buy tickets that day if they weren't selling.

 

[Dave]

Canada and the UK ought to be higher up on the list of priorities for Vince and the WWE if you ask me. Someone has already pointed out that the WWE considers itself to be a global brand but most of the work it does outside of the US gets absolutely zero exposure. We all know that Asia is a huge market for the WWE and they are trying their utmost to get over out there. But when you are chasing new customers {and that's what we are to the WWE) then you can't forget about all of the people who have put you in that luxurious position. The Canadian and British fans that have been loyal to the WWE deserve more and at this time, Vince seems totally unwilling to give it to them. Who knows what the reason for that is at this point in time and I don't want to speculate. I think that the WWE would rather stick with the same formula that has worked for them for past 10+ years and doesn't really do any bug PPV events outside of the US.

It has already been pointed out that there are stadiums and arenas around the world that could house the WWE and London seems absolutely ideal to me. It's a huge capital in Europe and a business, marketing and journalistic hub. The amount of exposure the WWE would get from having SummerSlam or WrestleMania at Wembley or The Emirates would be absolutely unreal. Not to mention that it would the dream of a lot of British wrestling fans, to go to a big WWE PPV, a reality. I believe it to be a promising situation but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

to answer your question, it's quite simple really, it's all about the money. First of all, they would have to hired some local crew member because we have a law in canada that force any promoter that want to put on a show to hired a seperate canadian crew, which mean that it's more people that they would have to paid. Secondly, the value of the canadian dollar. Again that i big concern for any big time promoters when it comes to having big shows in canada, the fact is with the value of the canadian dollars, they would have to charge double what they are charging in the u.s to get the same profit and even then, trying to convince international fans to come to canada for a summerslam or wrestlemania will be tougher mostly because of the money aspect of the trip.

The only way i think that a wrestlemania or summerslam would come to canada is if somebody build a new stadium or arena that can hold as much peoples as any american stadium or arena. Like if somehow, montreal would get a new stadium to try to get a baseball team back in montreal tehn i wouldn't be surprise that WWE would consider bringing wrestlemania or summerslam to montreal.