WWE in Canada
Created byVince McMahon
PromotionsWWE
BrandsRaw
SmackDown
NXT

WWE (formerly World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment), an American professional wrestling promotion based in Stamford, Connecticut in the United States owned by the McMahon family, has been promoting events in Canada since its founding in 1980.

History

On January 24, 1963, Toots Mondt of the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) got into a dispute with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) over "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers losing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Lou Thesz in a one-fall match in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This disagree led to Mondt, McMahon, and the CWC leaving the NWA in protest, creating the World Wide Wrestling Federation (the predecessor to the WWE) in the process.[1][2]

In 1984 Vince McMahon purchased Stampede Wrestling, before selling it back the following year.[3] Also in 1984, WWF acquired Maple Leaf Wrestling, and continued to run it for a couple of years. In 1986 Maple Leaf Wrestling was shut down, and the name was used for the Canadian broadcasts of WWF Superstars of Wrestling.

In 1985 WWF created the WWF Canadian Championship, which was given to Dino Bravo. Bravo was the Canadian International Heavyweight Championship for many years for Lutte Internationale. Due to his previous success, Bravo was billed as the WWF Canadian Champion in some Canadian cities until January 1986, when the title was abandoned.[4]

In 1986 WWF hosted The Big Event in Toronto which drew over 74,000 fans.[5] Ten years later, the WWF held an anniversary show of The Big Event, WWF Xperience, which drew over 21,000 fans.[6]

In 1997 Survivor Series was broadcast from Montreal and is infamous for the Montreal Screwjob.[7]

WrestleMania X8 in 2002 set the attendance record for an indoor event in Canada, at the Rogers Centre 68,236 people.[8]

In 2019, Montreal hosted the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up.[9]

Broadcast

In its early days, WWF/E programming was shown on TSN for Monday Night Raw and The Score for SmackDown! broadcasts. The programs were also aired on CHCH Hamilton, CJNT Montreal, CKMI Quebec and CKVR Barrie. ECW and NXT were seen on Global Television Network until 2010.

Beginning in 2014, WWE content is distributed exclusively via Rogers Media.[10] As part of this agreement, Rogers distributes WWE's weekly television shows, Raw, SmackDown, NXT, Main Event, and This Week in WWE on Sportsnet 360.[10] This deal excludes reality series, such as Total Divas (which is produced for E! and shown on its Canadian counterpart owned by Bell Media).

As part of this deal, the WWE Network's live stream was offered as a traditional TV channel for subscribers to cable providers, instead of a standalone service.[11][12][13]

On September 7, 2017, WWE and TVA Sports announced a multi-year agreement to air a weekly recap of Raw in French.[14]

Pay-per-view/WWE Network events

Date Event Venue Location Final match Ref
August 28, 1986 The Big Event Exhibition Stadium Toronto, Ontario Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Paul Orndorff for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
January 24, 1988 Royal Rumble Copps Coliseum Hamilton, Ontario The Islanders (Haku & Tama) vs. The Young Stallions (Paul Roma & Jim Powers) in a two-out-of-three falls match
April 1, 1990 WrestleMania VI SkyDome Toronto, Ontario Hulk Hogan (2) (World-c) vs. The Ultimate Warrior (IC-c) in a Winner Takes All match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and WWF Intercontinental Championship [15]
October 22, 1995 In Your House 4 Winnipeg Arena Winnipeg, Manitoba Diesel (c) vs. The British Bulldog for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship [16]
July 21, 1996 In Your House 9: International Incident General Motors Place Vancouver, British Columbia Shawn Michaels, Sycho Sid, and Ahmed Johnson vs. Camp Cornette (Vader, The British Bulldog (2), and Owen Hart) in a six-man tag team match [17]
July 6, 1997 In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede Canadian Airlines Saddledome Calgary, Alberta Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and The Legion Of Doom (Hawk and Animal) vs. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Owen Hart (2), The British Bulldog (3), Jim Neidhart, and Brian Pillman) in a ten-man tag team match [18]
November 9, 1997 Survivor Series Molson Centre Montreal, Quebec Bret Hart (2) (c) vs. Shawn Michaels (2) for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship [19]
September 27, 1998 Breakdown: In Your House Copps Coliseum Hamilton, Ontario Stone Cold Steve Austin (2) (c) vs. The Undertaker vs. Kane in a triple threat match for the WWF Championship [20][21]
December 13, 1998 Rock Bottom: In Your House General Motors Place Vancouver, British Columbia Stone Cold Steve Austin (3) vs. The Undertaker (2) in a Buried Alive match [22]
March 17, 2002 WrestleMania X8 SkyDome Toronto, Ontario Chris Jericho (c) vs. Triple H for the Undisputed WWF Championship [23]
February 23, 2003 No Way Out Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec Hulk Hogan (3) vs. The Rock [24]
April 18, 2004 Backlash Rexall Place Edmonton, Alberta Chris Benoit (c) vs. Shawn Michaels (3) vs. Triple H (2) in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship [25][26]
August 15, 2004 SummerSlam Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario Chris Benoit (2) (c) vs. Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship [27]
September 17, 2006 Unforgiven Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario Edge (c) vs. John Cena in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the WWE Championship [28]
September 13, 2009 Breaking Point Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec CM Punk (c) vs. The Undertaker (3) in a submission match for the World Heavyweight Championship [29]
March 12, 2016 Roadblock Ricoh Coliseum Toronto, Ontario Triple H (3) (c) vs. Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship [30]
November 19, 2016 NXT TakeOver: Toronto Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship [31]
November 20, 2016 Survivor Series Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar [32]
August 10, 2019 NXT TakeOver: Toronto Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario Adam Cole (c) vs. Johnny Gargano in a Three Stages of Hell match (singles match, street fight, and barbed wire steel cage match) for the NXT Championship [33][34]
August 11, 2019 SummerSlam Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario Brock Lesnar (2) (c) vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship [33]
February 18, 2023 Elimination Chamber Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec Roman Reigns (c) vs. Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
July 6, 2024 Money in the Bank Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario
July 7, 2024 NXT Heatwave Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario

Weekly Television shows

1995-2000

Date Name Brand Venue City Notes
October 23, 1995 Raw Brandon, Manitoba
October 23, 1995
Aired October 30, 1995 		Raw Brandon, Manitoba
October 23, 1995
Aired November 6, 1995 		Raw Brandon, Manitoba
October 23, 1995
Aired November 13, 1995 		Raw Brandon, Manitoba
January 31, 1997
Aired February 3, 1997 		Raw SkyDome Toronto, Ontario This was the first 2-hour Raw
July 7, 1997 Raw Northlands Coliseum Edmonton, Alberta
July 21, 1997 Raw Halifax Metro Centre Halifax, Nova Scotia
November 10, 1997 Raw Corel Centre Ottawa, Ontario
November 11, 1997
Aired November 17, 1997 		Raw Cornwall Civic Complex Cornwall, Ontario
February 8, 1999
Aired February 13, 1999 		Raw SkyDome Toronto, Ontario
May 29, 2000 Raw General Motors Place Vancouver, British Columbia

2001-2010

Date Name Brand Venue City Notes
May 28, 2001 Raw Pengrowth Saddledome Calgary, Alberta
May 29, 2001
Aired May 31, 2001 		SmackDown! Skyreach Centre Edmonton, Alberta
September 3, 2001 Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
September 4, 2001 SmackDown! Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario Special Tuesday live broadcast
October 15, 2001 Raw Corel Centre Ottawa, Ontario
October 16, 2001
Aired October 18, 2001 		SmackDown! Molson Centre Montreal, Quebec
March 18, 2002 Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
March 19, 2002
Aired March 21, 2002 		SmackDown! Corel Centre Ottawa, Ontario
May 13, 2002 Raw Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
May 14, 2002
Aired May 16, 2002 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
May 27, 2002 Raw Raw Skyreach Centre Edmonton, Alberta
May 28, 2002
Aired May 30, 2002 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Pengrowth Saddledome Calgary, Alberta
October 14, 2002 Raw Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
October 15, 2002
Aired October 17, 2002 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
February 24, 2003 Raw Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
February 25, 2003
Aired February 27, 2003 		SmackDown! SmackDown! John Labatt Centre London, Ontario
May 5, 2003 Raw Raw Halifax Metro Centre Halifax, Nova Scotia
May 6, 2003
Aired May 8, 2003 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Halifax Metro Centre Halifax, Nova Scotia
July 7, 2003 Raw Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
July 8, 2003
Aired July 10, 2003 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
August 4, 2003 Raw Raw PNE Coliseum Vancouver, British Columbia
August 5, 2003
Aired August 7, 2003 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Prospera Place Kelowna, British Columbia
April 19, 2004 Raw Raw Pengrowth Saddledome Calgary, Alberta
April 20, 2004
Aired April 22, 2004 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Prospera Place Kelowna, British Columbia
May 31, 2004 Raw Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
June 1, 2004
Aired June 3, 2004 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
July 5, 2004 Raw Raw Winnipeg Arena Winnipeg, Manitoba
July 6, 2004
Aired July 8, 2004 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Winnipeg Arena Winnipeg, Manitoba
August 16, 2004 Raw Raw John Labatt Centre London, Ontario
August 17, 2004
Aired August 19, 2004 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Copps Coliseum Hamilton, Ontario
January 17, 2005 Raw Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
January 18, 2005
Aired January 20, 2005 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
May 30, 2005 Raw Raw Pengrowth Saddledome Calgary, Alberta
May 31, 2005
Aired June 2, 2005 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Rexall Place Edmonton, Alberta
August 15, 2005 Raw Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
August 16, 2005
Aired August 18, 2005 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
September 18, 2006 Raw Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
September 18, 2006
Aired September 22, 2006 		SmackDown! SmackDown! Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec First episode to air on The CW
May 28, 2007 Raw Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
May 29, 2007 ECW ECW John Labatt Centre London, Ontario
May 29, 2007
Aired June 1, 2007 		SmackDown! SmackDown! John Labatt Centre London, Ontario
May 5, 2008 Raw Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
May 6, 2008 ECW ECW John Labatt Centre London, Ontario
May 6, 2008
Aired May 9, 2008 		SmackDown SmackDown John Labatt Centre London, Ontario
December 22, 2008 Raw Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
December 22, 2008
Aired December 26, 2008 		SmackDown SmackDown Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
August 10, 2009 Raw Raw Pengrowth Saddledome Calgary, Alberta
August 11, 2009 ECW ECW Rexall Place Edmonton, Alberta
August 11, 2009
Aired August 14, 2009 		SmackDown SmackDown Rexall Place Edmonton, Alberta
September 14, 2009 Raw Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
September 15, 2009 ECW ECW Copps Coliseum Hamilton, Ontario
September 15, 2009
Aired September 18, 2009 		SmackDown SmackDown Copps Coliseum Hamilton, Ontario
May 17, 2010 Raw Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
May 18, 2010
Aired May 21, 2010 		SmackDown SmackDown Scotiabank Place Ottawa, Ontario
October 18, 2010 Raw Raw Scotiabank Saddledome Calgary, Alberta
October 19, 2010
Aired October 22, 2010 		SmackDown SmackDown Rexall Place Edmonton, Alberta

2011-present

Date Name Brand Venue City Notes
August 22, 2011 Raw Raw Rexall Place Edmonton, Alberta
August 23, 2011
Aired August 26, 2011 		SmackDown SmackDown Scotiabank Saddledome Calgary, Alberta
September 12, 2011 Raw Scotiabank Place Ottawa, Ontario
September 13, 2011
Aired September 16, 2011 		SmackDown Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
September 10, 2012 Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
September 11, 2012
Aired September 14, 2012 		SmackDown Scotiabank Place Ottawa, Ontario
May 27, 2013 Raw Scotiabank Saddledome Calgary, Alberta Bret Hart appreciation night
May 28, 2013
Aired May 31, 2013 		SmackDown Rexall Place Edmonton, Alberta
September 9, 2013 Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
September 10, 2013
Aired September 13, 2013 		SmackDown Canadian Tire Centre Ottawa, Ontario
July 7, 2014 Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
July 8, 2014
Aired July 11, 2014 		SmackDown Canadian Tire Centre Ottawa, Ontario
May 4, 2015 Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
May 5, 2015
Aired May 7, 2015 		SmackDown Canadian Tire Centre Ottawa, Ontario
November 21, 2016 Raw Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
November 22, 2016 SmackDown SmackDown Canadian Tire Centre Ottawa, Ontario
August 7, 2017 Raw Raw Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
August 8, 2017 SmackDown SmackDown Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario
April 30, 2018 Raw Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
May 1, 2018 SmackDown SmackDown Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
August 27, 2018 Raw Raw Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario
August 28, 2018 SmackDown SmackDown Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario
April 15, 2019[35] Raw Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up
April 16, 2019[36] SmackDown SmackDown Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up
August 12, 2019[37] Raw Raw Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario
August 13, 2019[38] SmackDown SmackDown Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario
February 14, 2020[39] SmackDown SmackDown Rogers Arena Vancouver, British Columbia First time back since May 2000 after a reported ban[40]
February 24, 2020[41] Raw Raw Bell MTS Place Winnipeg, Manitoba First time ever hosting at this arena
August 19, 2022 SmackDown SmackDown Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
August 22, 2022 Raw Raw Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario
September 26, 2022 Raw Raw Rogers Place Edmonton, Alberta First time back in Edmonton or Alberta since 2013
September 30, 2022 SmackDown SmackDown Canada Life Centre Winnipeg, Manitoba
February 17, 2023 SmackDown SmackDown Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
February 20, 2023 Raw Raw Canadian Tire Centre Ottawa, Ontario
August 11, 2023 SmackDown SmackDown Scotiabank Saddledome Calgary, Alberta First time back in Calgary since 2013
August 14, 2023 Raw Raw Canada Life Centre Winnipeg, Manitoba
August 18, 2023 SmackDown SmackDown Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario
August 21, 2023 Raw Raw Centre Vidéotron Quebec City, Quebec
January 5, 2024 SmackDown: New Year's Revolution SmackDown Rogers Arena Vancouver, British Columbia
April 15, 2024 Raw Raw Bell Centre Montreal, Quebec
July 5, 2024 SmackDown SmackDown Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario
July 8, 2024 Raw Raw Canadian Tire Centre Ottawa, Ontario

References

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  4. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  5. ^ Canoe – Slam! Wrestling – the Big Event 21 years later
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  27. ^ Clevett, Jason (August 15, 2004). "Orton-Benoit, Guerrero-Angle save SummerSlam". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
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