During the height of the Attitude Era until the late 2000’s, the WWE would hold its pay-per-views in numerous cities, ranging from Louisville to New York City and from Providence to Los Angeles and even London. However since 2012, the WWE tends to hold its pay-per-views in the same markets (five of those markets in particular, the New York City area, Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis and Boston, have hosted a WWE pay-per-view every year since then, perhaps as soon as several months apart from its last WWE pay-per-view). The reason for this is because these markets are considered the top-drawing WWE markets as they have a tendency to sell out WWE events in those cities. As a result, many cities are often neglected when it came to hosting a WWE pay-per-view.
And so without further delay, here are some of those cities that should host a WWE pay-per-view in the very near future:
Seattle and Portland
The WWE rarely visits the Pacific Northwest these days due to its isolated area as well as being in the Pacific Time Zone. In addition, Spokane, Washington, which has hosted several episodes of RAW and SmackDown in the past, is seen as a house show market by WWE Officials. The last time Seattle hosted a PPV was 2011’s Over The Limit while Portland hosted 2008’s No Mercy. But given that the Pacific Northwest area doesn’t draw very well for WWE events (case in point: only 6,500 people attended the 2011 Over The Limit PPV). it seems like a moot point right about now.
Denver
The Mile High City has a decent WWE fanbase, however it has been nearly 13 years since it last hosted a WWE PPV (2003’s Vengeance). Part of the reason is Vince McMahon’s turbulent relationship with Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke, whose team (which was in the 2009 NBA Playoffs) forced McMahon to move RAW at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. In addition, Kroenke is also the primary reason why the WWE hasn’t held a WrestleMania in St. Louis as he also owns NFL’s St. Louis Rams.
Kansas City
Back in the day, it wasn’t unusual for Kansas City and St. Louis to alternate hosting WWE PPVs. However the last time that Kansas City hosted a WWE pay-per-view was the first ever Money In The Bank pay-per-view back in 2010, but only drew 8,000 people. By contrast, St. Louis, which has drawn as many as 18,000 fans, has hosted Elimination Chamber in 2010, Royal Rumble in 2012, Extreme Rules in 2013, Survivor Series in 2014, Battleground in 2015 and is rumored to be hosting Extreme Rules in 2016 (though the location hasn’t been announced at this time), not to mention RAW‘s 1000th episode.
Charlotte
Even though WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is from Charlotte (which is also his daughter’s ring name), the last time that the “Capital of NASCAR” hosted a WWE pay-per-view was 2006’s Vengeance. Even though that PPV drew 16,800 fans, Charlotte is not considered a top market according to WWE standards.
Toronto
Ah, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has the most passionate fans in the WWE as well as being the hometown of Edge, Christian, Trish Stratus and many other celebrities. However, the WWE rarely comes there these days as it last hosted a WWE PPV back in 2006, which is Unforgiven. And aside from a few episodes of RAW and SmackDown here and there, Toronto mainly holds house shows. The reason for this is because of strict border-crossing restrictions as certain people are not allowed to travel to Canada (myself included because of my disability).
London
The capital of Great Britain has one of WWE’s largest fanbases which has even hosted 1992’s SummerSlam event. But the WWE only travels there twice a year and with a several-hour time difference compared to the United States and Canada, it would be very difficult to host a WWE PPV there especially during the internet age.
