Craig H Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 As spawned by the wrestling catch-all thread, I thought it would be cool to discuss the places you've been to watch wrestling. What was the best? The worst? Show us what you got! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 If I were to rank a couple of mine, off the top of my head... 1) Rosemont Horizon/Allstate Arena: This is by far my favorite, which probably isn't surprising to some of you. I really love Chicago, and by extension, Rosemont, I guess. The arena itself is awesome. I have sat in so many different areas here. I was near where Shane O Mac and Steve Blackman leaped off the tron and crashed into that airbox. That may have been the same PPV where right behind us, these guys had a bed sheet hanging from the rail for the upper level that had "DIE X-PAC" spray painted on it. I went to the last post-Chicago WM there, which was a blast. Umaga debuted there. That was also the show where when the show went off the air, Cena got back on the mic and was like, "What do I have to do for you people," which just made people boo him even more. I think a part of the reason why Chicago hates Cena so much was how whiny he was after the show ended. And obviously, Jericho's debut was very memorable. I wish I could have been there for the Rock's return and for Money in the Bank 2011. 2) Ford Field: Somehow I missed both WMs in Chicago and yet I went to the WMs in Detroit (and Pontiac, I guess). Ford Field was really, really awesome as far as a stadium show goes. We parked in the parking garage at Ford Field and went to lunch in Greektown. We come back and there's this INSANE line to get into Ford Field down on the street. We figure we'll look in the parking garage to see if there's another entrance in there and sure enough there is one with less than 100 people waiting at. So when Ford Field opens up, we're some of the first people in, which was cool because we went for a walk around the stadium. Super clean place. Our seats were also a little ways back, but with how low you are, it still felt like we were close to the ring. If there was another WM there, I would for sure go. 3) Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis: This is where the Pacers play, but I think it's a pretty good one for wrestling. Again, it feels like it sprawls out instead of up and the atmosphere for the shows I went to was pretty good. I did have a weird experience there also. So in the post-Invasion dark days, I went to a show there where attendance was really down. It may have been a SmackDown, but they had black curtains up almost all the way around and we were moved down to a lower section. Again, that was a really odd time to be a wrestling fan attending a live event. After going to that show, it really felt like WWE was doomed, and that still sticks out in my mind even today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 I've been to a great deal of live wrestling but in very few buildings: Baltimore Arena over multiple name changes. It's amazing it's been there since 1962. The old Capitol Center for whatever 90s Survivor Series was there Verizon Center (Starrcade 97) Philadelphia National Guard Armory for the ROH show with the Kobashi Joe Ki Homicide tag. Basketball City in NY for whatever ROH show had Danielson & Joe vs KENTA & Marufuji The minor league baseball stadium in Frederick, MD, whose name escapes me. WWE used to go there every Summer until it rained one year 2-3 matches in and they had to cancel the show and come back in September to make good. A few tiny places somewhere in the Baltimore area, probably converted grocery stores, for some local sleazy indies back in the day. I did get to see King Kahlua vs Tom Brandi! Yay. The Clarence Du Burns "arena" where ROH did a bunch of tapings when they first got on Sinclair. I guess I'd say the Baltimore Arena was the best purely for nostalgia reasons. You name any legend from the late 70s and on and I probably saw him there live. I was there for everything from the Bunkhouse Stampede shows to Attitude-era Raws. I even saw Bruno's last match there, teaming with Hogan against Gang & Bundy. The minor league stadium was also awesome due to the cool atmosphere of seeing big name wrestling outdoors at a small venue like that. The main of one of the shows was Benoit defending the title against HHH and we had seats on the field itself. The Du Burns arena was fun because I knew an employee who got me in free and also because the bathrooms were in the same hallway as the locker room, so you'd always run into wrestlers when going to take a leak. Worst would probably be the Verizon Center. We were a few rows from the very top of the arena and it was just awful. Definitely one of those "vertical" arenas where everything above lower concourse just sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Playa Shunna Ver 3.0 Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 MSG ECW Arena Meadowlands/Izod Center Nassau Colosseum Hammerstein Ballroom Manhattan Center Countless VFW halls, Churches, Parking lots I can't remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raziel Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Oh let's see.... Philadelphia Spectrum Corestates/Wachovia/Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) ECW Arena Murphy Rec Center (Philly RoH) Philadephla National Guard Armory Trenton CYO Sovereign Bank/Santander/Sun Bank Arena (Trenton NJ) Rex Plex (Elizabeth NJ) Rahway Rec Center (Rahway NJ) The Supper Club (NYC, RoH) The Manhattan Center/Hammerstein Ballroom (same building, different rooms) Terminal 5 MetLife Stadium Brendan Byrne/Continental Airlines/Meadowlands/Izod Arena Madison Square Garden Illusions (Yardville NJ, NWA Jersey) Mennen Sports Arena (Morristown NJ) Inman Sports Club (Edison NJ) SMG Sports Plex (Metchuen NJ) And there are probably more Armories that I can't remember watching things at Favorate is probably a tossup between the Hammerstein and the Mennen Arena (great building, too big for RoH though, and too out of the way for anyone bigger). I'm also a big fan of the Philly Armory for Indies, as it has a great built in setup and traffic in/out isn't horrible. I have a real Love/Hate with the ECW/1700 Arena. The SMG Sports Plex for the PWS Wrestlemania Weekend show had a terrible setup and probably ranks the worst for the size of the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Web Conn Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 I've seen most of my live wrestling shows at the Key Arena in Seattle. Not a bad venue at all there isnt a bad seat in the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Ford Field for WM23 Joe Louis Arena for several RAWs Norfolk Scope for WCW Clash of Champions XXIII VCU Siegel Center for ROH Richmond Coliseum for various WCW / WWE events Colonial Heights High School Gym (my first NWA card at age 11) Many fine school gyms and National Guard armories in the Carolinas for various indies (NWA-MACW, NWA Charlotte, PWF, OMEGA) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisM Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Ft. Wayne Memorial Coliseum, including a poorly attended TNA show, a few years back, WWF's first ever Ft. Wayne show in 1985, and a Pro Wrestling USA show, also in 85. Toledo Sports Arena (WWF) Dayton Hara Arena (WWF, ECW) Huntington Center in Toledo, for lots of WWE house shows. Riverfront Coliseum/US Bank Arena, Cincinnati (WWF/E, WCW) Allen County (Ohio) Fairgrounds in 2002, for a really good HWA show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyLaw Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Not a lot of places: The old Charlotte Coliseum (currently Bojangles Coliseum) for Slamboree '97 and some Nitro/Thunders RBC Arena in Raleigh for Summerslam 2000 and various Raws Greensboro Coliseum for Survivor Series 2001 (would have been an even better venue if it had been a true WCW-WWE match) The Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center (i.e. the Dean Dome) in Chapel Hill for a few Nitros I was at Club la Vela the week before the last Nitro ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatling Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Market Square Arena for at least one Nitro, maybe two Conseco Fieldhouse/Banker's Life Fieldhouse for at least one Nitro, every time Raw was in Indianapolis from 1998 to 2004, at least one Smackdown, plus the Raw in 2010 setting up Michaels/Undertaker II at Wrestlemania XXVI. The things I remember most from that last time was the little kid(couldn't have been older than 5) dressed head to toe in John Cena gear asking his dad why Batista hit Cena in the nuts and my wife's reactions to everything as she'd never been to a live wrestling event. Ft. Wayne Memorial Coliseum for a Thunder in 1998. I loved a lot of the mid and lower card acts like the LWO, Jericho, etc., but one of my favorites was mentally unstable Chavo Guerrero and Pepe, he cracked me up. I had gone out earlier that day to Toys R Us and bought a matching hobby horse to Pepe and brought it, hoping to get a reaction from Chavo since my buddy and I were sitting front row. The camera caught Pepe Jr. and I during Chavo's entrance and then when Alex Wright's entrance started, Chavo saw us and gave me a thumbs up. Sadly, that dancing German monster broke Pepe after the match. If you have the stomach for such blatant animal cruelty, the match is on Youtube. RIP Pepe. The other things I remember were Virgil talking shit to some kid during Scott Hall's match, David Penzer being a dick to a couple of fans, and former IU and at the time Fort Wayne Fury star Damon Bailey sitting a row behind us. Good times. I got so emotional thinking about Pepe I forgot to list the only PPV I went to, Judgement Day 2000 at Freedom Hall in Louisville. A friend of mine owned a video store/Karma Records that had a Ticketmaster outlet, so he rigged the lottery drawing for people waiting outside at 9am on a Saturday morning waiting to get tickets to some concert so that I would be first(of course, when I went to work there a couple of years later I realized that it was rigged so they could pull good seats for the concert first to sell to a ticket broker, then run my tickets, then the rest of the line). Rock-HHH Iron Man match w/Shawn as the ref plus the return of Taker as the big bad biker. There were two guys dressed like Bubba Ray and Devon sitting behind us that lost their shit when the Dudleys lost to X-Pac and Road Dogg, shouting that "someone must die God, someone must die". We made sure to watch for those two in the parking lot when we left, they were all sorts of wrong in the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 Ft. Wayne Memorial Coliseum, including a poorly attended TNA show, a few years back, WWF's first ever Ft. Wayne show in 1985, and a Pro Wrestling USA show, also in 85. Toledo Sports Arena (WWF) Dayton Hara Arena (WWF, ECW) Huntington Center in Toledo, for lots of WWE house shows. Riverfront Coliseum/US Bank Arena, Cincinnati (WWF/E, WCW) Allen County (Ohio) Fairgrounds in 2002, for a really good HWA show. I can't figure out why WWE still runs the Ft. Wayne Coliseum. I went to a Raw there a couple years ago. Then again, I don't like Ft. Wayne in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Off the top of my head... WWE MSG (many, many times) Continental Arena (SummerSlam 1997) Peoria Civic Center/Carver Arena United Center (SummerSlam 1994) New Haven Coliseum WCW/NWA MSG Felt Forum (or whatever they called it) UIC Pavilion Verizon Center (Starrcade 1997) Baltimore Arena (the night after Starrcade) ECW ECW Arena Hammerstein Ballroom/Manhattan Center Lost Battalion Hall Elk's Lodge The Flagstaff (Jim Thorpe, PA, the infamous "Internet Fuckheads" show) Orange County Fairgrounds (Middletown, NY) ROH/TNA/Indies ECW/2300 Arena (scads of shows) Philadelphia NG Armory Elk's Lodge MCU Park Rexplex (Elizabeth, NJ) Hammerstein Ballroom/Manhattan Center Meadowlands Expo Center Charity Hall (Bayonne, NJ) Rahway Rec Center Rahway Center Circle UWA Arena (Union City, NJ) Ludus Center (Brooklyn) MCW Arena (Dundalk, MD) Plus all manner of schools, gyms, parish halls etc. My favorite buildings are the ones where you're right on top of the action... Elk's Lodge comes to mind immediately, especially on those summer nights where it had to be at least 100 degrees in the building. Special shout out to the Maximos, whose gym apparently doubles as a liquor distributor's garage. Nice and snug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Technico Support, definitely loving the places you went to. Can definitely tell you're in Maryland. -Baltimore/First Mariner/Royal Farms arena (it's still Baltimore Arena to me, damnit!) First time there was Superbrawl '95 with my dad. That might have been the show with Booker's famous Hogan quote but I was too young to pick up on it. Seen a good amount of Raws there and a few PPVs. Favorite PPV was No Mercy '03 where Cena had his biggest reaction at that point. So happy to be there for that. Favorite Raw was old school one with Jake Roberts coming out and me flipping out with no shame. Good times. -North Point Bingo hall, a YMCA in northern MD, and Joppa Flea Market for MCW. It's been interesting at times. Can't go wrong with a place where you can meet guys like DDP and Bret Hart while seeing some good wrestling (when they care) -Only went to one VFW for shitty wrestling. Worth it to channel your inner Statler and Waldorf with friends. -Du Burns Arena and William J. Myers Pavillion for ROH in MD-Definitely prefer Du Burns as it looked a lot nicer and was right by my home. Sadly didn't move to Baltimore until they left that place as I could have just walked up there. The Pavillion looks like crap by comparison, but after a couple times there got fairly used to it. Still a couple miles from me so can't complain. -VFW in Philly, place in Asbury Park, NJ-First ROH show was in NJ, and it was a fun time seeing Danielson vs. Spanky. That had some tournament and featured Kendo Ka Shin ad Dragon Soldier B. He was heeling it up but sucked at it so he was roundly jeered for that shit. Julius Smokes was a sight to see live. Wish I could do more Philly shows, but the one I went to was awesome. Fun matches capped off with Necro Butcher killing himself for our amusement. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Is it weird I find joints like the Mare Island sports complex I saw APW shows at in 2000 more memorable than places like the San Jose Arena? (not bothering to look up what tech company sponsor it's named after now) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Schneider Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 I have been to a ton but here are a couple of my favorites -I saw lucha in Playa del Carma on a hoops court with garbage bags covering the fence so people couldn't just watch on the outside without paying. -I used to love the original JAPW home in NJ, tight room with great atmosphere and a wall that the Da Hit Squad could through a little guy into -One of the North Carolina indies that OMEGA ran it, they put out couches to sit on, although Venom powerbombed a guy on our couch cracking the wood -Arena Mexico is really cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Putting aside various fire halls, VFW buildings and the like baltimore civic center The Vet (bash 86) Hoosierdome (WM VIII) The Arena (once for ECW, many times for Chikara) The auditorio in Tijuana for 2 shows Mci/verizon center for a SD taping Norfolk Scope for either Raw or SD Cincinnati gardens for pillman memorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 I haven't been to many major arenas but mostly been to armories cause they are a lot of them in the Orlando area. Orlando Arena/TD Waterhouse center( This used to be the big arena in town where the Magic played. Went to a few Raws/Smackdowns there, I also had my high school graduation there which was cool. I miss that building sometimes) Amway Center(this replaced the Orlando Arena. Been to a few Raws and the Rumble is going to be there this year so I'll probably go to that) Full Sail Studios( Basically a tv studio with bleachers for NXT tv.) Orlando Armory( Been to about 50 FCW/NXT shows along with a Evolve show. It's a National guard armory so it has no heat/AC. It gets ungodly hot during the summer with about 500 people watching wrestling. Frank Goodman also runs his USA pro shows there but I've never been to one) Downtown Rec center( This is right next to where the Arena used to be. Been to a few Vintage wrestling/Evolve/Chikara shows. It's my favorite of the rec centers in town but not many promotions run there. It's got AC and is huge) Barnett Park center( This is Gabe's new building for Evolve that is by the local fairground. It's way in the back so you can't really see it from the major highway in town. Very small as the building is split in two with a small gym and a bigger one. Gabe runs the small one and can fit about 200 people. Trinity Prep school gym( Gabe ran Evolve once in this building. I liked it cause it's right by my house and is a bigger building. Seeing prep girls go nuts for Timothy Thatcher and Biff Busick was the highlights) Citrus Bowl( Wrestlemania 24. This was before the renovated the building so it had holes in the seats where you could see under you and bunch of leaks.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Ape Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 -Wells Fargo/Wachovia/First Union/CoreStates Center: The current home arena of the Flyers and Sixers. Mostly RAW and PPV with the occasional Smackdown and house show thrown in, including Mind Games in 1996, Survivor Series 2006, and seeing a young Brock Lesnar make his way up the house show ranks in September of 2001. -Wells Fargo/Wachovia/First Union/CoreStates Spectrum: Mostly Nitros and WWF house shows, including my first live event on Super Bowl Sunday 1996. -New Alhambra/2300 Arena: CHIKARA shows, highlight being all three days of King of Trios 2008. -Norristown PAL: National Pro Wrestling Day. -Sovereign Bank Arena (now the Sun National Bank Center): Trenton, NJ. One Smackdown/ECW taping. -PA National Guard Armory: Northeast Philadelphia, on Roosevelt Boulevard and Southampton Road, about a ten minute drive from my house. Exclusively ROH shows, with highlights being Final Battle 2003, and the Cage of Death show with CZW guys where Chris Hero damn near drove the crowd to riot before Homicide rolled in. Also, Takeshi Morishima winning the ROH World Title. -Liacouras Center: On Temple University's campus, where the men's basketball team plays. TNA Lockdown 2009. -Life Community Church, Newark, DE: Right Coast Pro, which seems to have replaced ECWA as the big indie company in the state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyMax46 Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 The Flagstaff (Jim Thorpe, PA, the infamous "Internet Fuckheads" show) Someone needs to explain this to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianChris Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 The Flagstaff (Jim Thorpe, PA, the infamous "Internet Fuckheads" show)Someone needs to explain this to me... Best Google came up with was an RSPW convention, and that <deleted> said it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2Sleep Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Kemper Arena (Nitro, several Raw/SD, New Years Revolution 07, I was not at OTE 99) - Definitely nostalgic since some of my earliest wrestling memories were there, but once the Sprint Center came along, it really highlighted how dumpy Kemper was. Sprint Center (several Raw/SD, MITB 2010) - I love the Sprint Center. Easy to get in and out, comfortable seats and great views. Wish they did more big shows there. Savvis/Scottrade Center (Raw, Judgment Day 2007, Royal Rumble 2012, Extreme Rules 2013, Survivor Series 2014, Battleground 2015) - WWE loves St. Louis a lot for some reason, but it's an easy drive and the shows are usually solid. There are some bad seats, so you have to be selective when buying tickets and it took a while to find the best spot to park, but now it's like my second wrestling home. Best memory is being completely surprised by Sting's debut. The Raw I saw there was terrible, though (fake Rosie vs fake Donald). Family Arena (Lockdown 07) - Smaller arena in the suburbs of St. Louis. I'll never forget the horrible electrified cage sound effects for 3D/LAX. TD Banknorth Garden (Summer Slam 2006) - Seemed nice enough, but I think anything would when WWE comps you front row seats, hotel, and airfare at age 19. Bring back WWE Fantasy! Silver Super Dome (Wrestlemania 30) - Solid venue, but I'm glad I forked over the extra cash for good seats. There were some that looked REALLY far away. Easily the best overall show I've ever attended, the Byran win and streak ending memories will last a lifetime Smoothie King Center (Raw) - Just another arena. Above average food, though. My first post-Mania Raw experience. Levis Stadium (Wrestlemania 31) - Really nice stadium, but that sun was blinding the first 2/3 of the show. SAP Center (Raw) - Seemed like an older arena, but the seats were comfortable. San Jose State arena (NXT) - Once they turned the stage lights pointing right at my face down, it was a nice view. Great show too. I've been to a variety of warehouses and convention centers that I can't remember the names of for indies too. I liked the visual side of the place ROH did their New Orleans show (which was a very good one), but the acoustics were shit. Had some good experiences in Bumfuck Missouri (aka Eldon and Sedalia) with Harley Race's promotion WLW. I got to see them when they were working with NOAH, so I got to meet KENTA, Marufuji, Sasaki, Nakajima, and Morishima. The place WWN and Shimmer ran at Mania weekend this year was kinda cramped, but Johnny Gargano and Drew Galloway brawled right next to us. TNA also did a shitty show up in St. Joe one time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzil Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Here in Australia, Etihad Stadium for Global Warning 2002 (Rock vs HHH vs Lesnar) Rod Laver Arena for a couple of WWE house shows I have no memory of. Margeret Court Arena in 2005 for a show ran by Jarrett that featured AJ vs Chris Daniels which was amazing to my super indy mark teenage self. Also featured the Dudleyz, Rhyno, Jarrett, Test and Samoa Joe. Joe was supposed to face Super Dragon which was pretty much my wet dream at the time but Dragon no showed and we got Joe vs Test instead. I was not pleased. Also at that same arena was one of those Hogan vs Flair shows which I guess was around 2009 or 10. Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Center for a show that had Danielson vs McGuiness and...other stuff, I guess. In America I've been to Gerogia Dome and Philips Arena (WM27 and Raw) Sun Life Stadium and American Airlines Arena (WM28 and Raw) Staples Center and Honda Center (Summerslam 2013 and Raw) Superdome and whatever the arena next door is called (WM30 and Raw) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyMax46 Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 I went to the Tokyo Dome when I was like 14. Do I win? I remember nothing of the show other than Liger/Kanemoto...I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Saw a bunch of WWF/E shows at the Hersheypark Arena (both the old barn and the new arena). The old arena might actually be my favorite venue. ECW at: Lebanon Expo Center Hamburg Field House Farm Show Arena (Harrisburg, PA) The one and only ECW show in HBG. Quite the unruly crowd that night. CHIKARA - Goodfellas (Pottsville, PA) Not a good venue for pro wrestling. Probably why they haven't been back. Really narrow building left little room for the crowd on three sides of the ring. I also caught a show in the middle of a mall once. Don't remember too much about it. It was an Indy show before that meant anything. Always been curious if it had TWA guys that I wouldn't have been familiar with for a few more years after... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ka-to Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 My favorite wrestling venues I've been to. Korakuen Hall, stay out of the south side if you are large. The balcony is great for photography. ECW Arena if bleachers are up or if it's a Sunday morning TV taping with 100 fans. Tokyo Kinema Club balcony Nippon Budoukan MSG before the recent renovation and without ramps/stages, old time like Bruno coming out of the Willis Reed entrance in the dark. Philadelphia Civic Center 1st Ring Shin Kiba Asbury Park Convention Hall Sumo Hall in Tokyo for the history and comfy chairs on the upper levels. The neighborhood is all about sumo. Square or round places are better than hockey/basketball arenas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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