WWE ended 2023 on a high by hosting a record-breaking Holiday Tour, as touted by Head of Talent & Creative Triple H.
The eight-night tour kicked off on December 26 with WWE’s annual event from Madison Square Garden in New York City. That same night, WWE would host an event in Baltimore, Maryland. WWE would also host events in Boston, Montreal, State College, Detroit, Houston, Toronto, and Las Vegas before ending the tour at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
Taking to Twitter, Triple H shared more impressive news about the recent Holiday Tour. The 14-time WWE World Champion revealed that the eight-show tour had four sell-out events. Eight of the total ten events on the tour proved to be record-breaking gates for wrestling shows in their respective arenas.
In addition to #WWEMSG becoming the highest-grossing domestic non-televised WWE live event of all time, @WWE’s Holiday Tour broke records in markets across North America.
With this highly successful tour in the history books, WWE’s attention turns to what will be a stacked week of programming. Tonight’s Raw will be a ‘Day 1’ special edition of the red brand, followed by NXT New Year’s Evil the following night. On Friday, WWE will host their ‘New Year’s Revolution’ edition of SmackDown. From there, WWE will host the Royal Rumble on January 27. The promotion will head to Perth, Australia for their Elimination Chamber event in February, before WrestleMania 40 in April.
What resolutions do the WWE Superstars have for the New Year? Click here to find out.
With the show taking place just one day after Christmas, the staff inside the World’s Most Famous Arena had a special gift for CM Punk. In a backstage video, Punk can be seen receiving a plaque commemorating his first WWE match in close to a decade. The plaque also highlights this year’s event being a sold-out show, and Punk was moved by the gesture. Punk joked that he was hoping for the key to a ‘secret bathroom’ in the Garden, but the plaque is even better.
CM Punk will compete in the Men’s Royal Rumble match on January 27. The former WWE & AEW World Champion is already considered a favorite to win the match, as is this year’s winner Cody Rhodes. Punk’s next appearances have already been confirmed by WWE, as he will appear twice on Raw ahead of next month’s Premium Live Event.
CM Punk recreated a spot from his AEW in-ring debut during the WWE MSG event. Click here to find out more.
In the main event of the show, Rollins retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Drew McIntyre in a No-DQ, No Count Outs match. Adressing the fans after the match, Rollins reflected on the death of Brodie Lee, who died on Boxing Day in 2020. Rollins also spoke about Rotunda, who died in August of this year.
“On the 26th of December, a few years back, my good friend, our good friend Brodie Lee passed away. I miss him [fans chant Brodie]. And just a few months ago we lost Windham Rotunda as well. But earlier tonight when the lights were down, that’s right, I saw some fireflies out there in the Garden.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah man. So look, here’s the deal. They’re kicking me out of here. We’ve got a curfew but I’m not leaving this building until you guys light this place up with those fireflies and you sing my damn song so loud Brodie and Windham can hear you! Let’s go New York! [fans sing Rollins’ theme song] I love you forever, get home safe.
WWE will be heading back to Madison Square Garden on December 26th. MSG is one of WWE’s home bases for Holiday shows and this Boxing Day event will continue the trend. In terms of ‘house show’ events Madison Square Garden is one of WWE’s best buildings to draw in and traditionally Christmas week is extremely lucrative for live events.
It has been confirmed that WWE will taking the Smackdown Live crew to run the event. Several matches have already been announced including AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship in a Steel Cage. Daniel Bryan vs The Miz and Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair.
It is interesting that WWE has chosen to use Smackdown for this booking. Smackdown is generally regarded as the ‘lesser’ crew when it comes to live events. On previous occasions where WWE has run an MSG house show they add some RAW talent to help boost the draw of the event and generate more revenue.
MSG will also be the home for ROH/NJPW’s upcoming event on WrestleMania weekend 2019. There were several reports of WWE attempting to block the event from happening but now the show has sold out. The G1 Supercard is set to be New Japan’s biggest event outside of Japan and potentially their most important as they look to expand globally.
This past weekend (Sat. July 7, 2018) WWE held a massive live event from Madison Square Garden that featured several top names in the company.
In a Six-Man Tag Team match the team of The Undertaker, Braun Strowman & Roman Reigns defeated Kevin Owens, Elias and Baron Corbin. Ronda Rousey also returned to competition as she defeated Nia Jax while both Alexa Bliss and Mickie James served as Special Guest Referees.
A photo has leaked out online (via Reddit) showing several WWE Superstars inside the ring rehearsing for their matches before the show. Ronda Rousey, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax and others can be seen in the photo; along with other WWE officials and camera men.
Check out the photo here below:
The full results from WWE’s live event at MSG can be found here below:
Bobby Lashley def. Jinder Mahal (w/Sunil Singh)
Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Cedric Alexander def. Buddy Murphy
RAW Tag Team Titles: (C) Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt def. Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews (w/Dana Brooke) and Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas
Bayley, Ember Moon and Natalya def. Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan and Alicia Fox
Mojo Rawley def. Bobby Roode
Intercontinental Title: (C) Dolph Ziggler (w/Drew McIntyre) def. Seth Rollins and Finn Balor
Kalisto, Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado def. Drew Gulak, Jack Gallagher and Brian Kendrick
Ronda Rousey def. Nia Jax (Alexa Bliss was the Special Guest Referee)
Undertaker, Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns def. Kevin Owens, Elias and Baron Corbin
WWE returns to Madison Square Garden tonight for a Supershow featuring Superstars from both RAW and SmackDown. The show marks the MSG in-ring debuts of Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bayley and Cedric Alexander. It’s also Matt and Jeff Hardy’s first match in the World’s Most Famous Arena in 8 years.
The following matches are advertised for the show:
Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dolph Ziggler
US Champion Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles
Intercontinental champion The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose
Finn Balor vs. Karl Anderson (with Luke Gallows)
RAW Tag Team champions Cesaro & Sheamus vs. The Hardy Boyz
Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax & Alicia Fox vs. Bayley, Sasha Banks & Mickie James
Goldust vs. R-Truth.
Cruiserweight champion Neville vs. Cedric Alexader
Here are some tweets from some of tonight’s competitors:
Hello @TheGarden my name is Joe, it's been overdue, but tonight I wreck shop on your hallowed ground. Please forgive the mess #WWENewYork
WWE’s Madison Square Garden house show that takes place in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania is usually up there with the biggest WWE live events of the year, along with the Christmas week Garden show. WWE usually loads up that particular MSG show, and this year’s is no different, as they’ve announced that it’s going to be Daniel Bryan Appreciation night, much like they’ve done similar events for Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan at MSG.
The lineup as advertised right now is Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus (with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H), the Madison Square Garden debut of AJ Styles, Kevin Owens (c) vs. Dean Ambrose in a 30 Minute Iron Man Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, Big Show vs. Bray Wyatt, Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio for the WWE United States championship, and “also appearing” are Ric Flair, WWE Tag Team champions The New Day, The Dudley Boyz, The Usos, Rusev, The Miz, The Wyatt Family, and Ryback. It wouldn’t necessarily surprise me if Triple H’s role changed at all, because in the past, he’s used this show to get his timing back before WrestleMania, but that’s just baseless speculation.
– WWE NXT talent Bryan Saxton handled the ring announcing for the company’s live event on Thursday in Chicago, Illinois.
– As previously reported, WWE will be returning to Madison Square Garden for a live event on March 9th with Batista advertised to appear. The pre-sale for tickets to that show is ongoing with the password of WWEMSG.
WWE Hall Of Famer Bruno Sammartino and current WWE executive Triple H will be featured in part two of “The Garden Transformed: Year Three,” a five-part series airing on MSG. The episode featuring Sammartino and HHH is scheduled to air on Saturday at 10:30pm E.T.
“Even around the world, this is how they know me,” said Sammartino. “In Argentina, in Brazil, I remember going to Australia, all the trips I did in Japan, you know how they’d advertise me? ‘From Madison Square Garden, Bruno Sammartino.’”
As noted, WrestleMania 31 will be in Santa Clara in 2014. As a result, the annual WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, which is generally hosted in Los Angeles at the Staples Center, could see a venue and location change to the east coast.
With WrestleMania 31 on the west coast, SummerSlam, which is viewed within WWE as the second largest annual event, is now rumored for Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2014.
Additionally, the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view in 2015 is rumored to be held in either the Staples Center in Los Angeles or the Honda Center in Anaheim.
– WWE has changed their scheduled lineup for their post-Christmas event in Madison Square Garden. The new main event will feature John Cena vs. Randy Orton in what is being billed as a “title unification match.” Also added to the show is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match featuring Goldust & Cody Rhodes vs. The Usos vs. The Real Americans.
– Jim Cornette has announced a tour of the United Kingdom in February of 2014. The dates and venues are as follows:
2/18 in Manchester at the Comedy Store
2/19 in Birmingham at the Glee Club
2/22 in Nottingham for a fans dinner at Restaurant 88
2/23 in Dagenham for a booking and managing seminar
2/23 in London at the Leicester Square Theater
2/25 in Cardiff, Wales at the Glee Club
-WWE Superstar John Cena, who will be returning to challenge Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday morning. Cena promoted the WWE involvement with the Susan G. Komen campaign, noting that the company has raised over $1 million for the charity last year. Cena also showed off the scar on his elbow from his recent surgery and promoted his return at the upcoming pay-per-view on October 27th. You can check out Cena’s appearance on the show online at GMA.Yahoo.com.
-WWE returns to Madison Square Garden in New York on December 26th. The pre-sale password for tickets to the event is PREWWE.
The following are highlights from a recent interview with WWE Hall Of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase:
On being the first wrestler to work with Hulk Hogan at Madison Square Garden: “At that time Hulk was just coming into the business and I had been in the business longer than him. At that particular time Hulk Hogan wasn’t the babyface he was the heel managed by Fred Blassie and I was the babyface. I was having my last match in the WWF at the time and they wanted me as his first opponent. I was very grateful to Vince for his faith in me, when I went to him and asked him what he wanted to do he told me to do anything because he knew I would do it right. I put Hogan over as a heel in his first match at the Garden and he never forgot that.”
On Vince McMahon as a boss: “I got along fine with Vince (laughs). It was kind of like a love hate relationship at times, and Vince said this to me a long time ago and I think he says it to everybody, ‘we can agree to disagree’, he doesn’t expect people to be yes men, if you don’t agree with him it’s not going to piss him off and he’s not going to fire you, but he added, ‘because we’re spending my money whether you like it or not we’re going to do what I want to do.’ I haven’t always agreed with what Vince did, I was not a big fan of the Attitude Era, but for the most part we wouldn’t be having this conversation if it wasn’t for what Vince McMahon did for me and did for wrestling.”
Check out the complete interview online at Wrestling101.com.
-Former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho appeared on the Opie & Anthony radio show on Friday morning. Jericho talked about the usual topics, including his recent program in WWE with Fandango, his band Fozzy, etc. The show will be replayed at 3pm and 8pm on SIRIUS/XM satelitte radio.
-Triple H and Bruno Sammartino will be going to Madison Square Garden in New York today for a show about the history of MSG. Triple H commented about the appearance on his official Twitter account, writing:
“NYC this am with @SammartinoBruno ,going to @TheGarden for a show on the history of the worlds most famous arena.”
-WWE Superstars Edge and Christian reunited on the latest edition of the JBL & Cole show. You can check that out below:
Here are some more live notes from last night’s WWE RAW Holiday live event from Madison Square Garden in New York City:
* Guests in attendance included Betty Skaaland, singer Phil Collins, DMC of Run DMC fame, The Big O and Zack Ryder’s dad. Paul Heyman’s family was also there.
* Michael Hayes and John Laurinaitis ran the show backstage.
* Before the show began, a crazed female fan tried jumping on the roof of Ryback’s car as he arrived at the arena.
* After the show concluded, the box office was open for an hour for the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony ticket pre-sale. There were huge lines at the box office for the tickets.
– Kaitlyn tweeted this about her match with Eve Torres on the show:
Did I just have a title match at MSG?? Quick someone slap me! Oh…Wait @EveMarieTorres already did. Yep, it's real. #WWEMSG
