WWE makes history with recent live event - Reports
History was made on December 26, 2023, in Baltimore, Maryland, as WWE SmackDown Superstars participated in a live event as part of the ongoing Holiday Tour. It was one of the two house shows the company presented following Christmas. A recent report has indicated that the company set a significant record with the show in Maryland.
The event kicked off with AJ Styles locking horns with Austin Theory, which ended in a disqualification after Grayson Waller's interference. Theory and Waller tried to outnumber Styles, but Randy Orton came to the latter's rescue. The two tandems locked horns in a tag team bout, where The Phenomenal One and The Viper emerged victorious.
While Bobby Lashley bested Butch, The O.C. defeated Pretty Deadly. The All Mighty's teammates, The Street Profits, also reigned supreme in a tag team match against Latino World Order. Bianca Belair and Shotzi teamed up to defeat IYO SKY and Bayley. Kevin Owens continued his winning momentum as he was victorious against long-time adversary Solo Sikoa.
According to Fighful Select, the non-televised live event set a new record, becoming Baltimore's highest-grossing show of its kind.
Sikoa wasn't the only Bloodline member to suffer defeat in Baltimore, as LA Knight bested Jimmy Uso in a stellar Street Fight. It will be interesting to see how the faction plans to bounce back.
What happened at the WWE Holiday Tour house show in New York?
While the SmackDown roster was busy delivering a memorable show in Baltimore, RAW Superstars entertained fans at Madison Square Garden in New York on December 26.
The Holiday Tour house show featured CM Punk's first-ever match in the Stamford-based promotion in nearly ten years. Punk defeated Dominik Mysterio in a one-on-one bout. In a thrilling main event, Seth Rollins retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Drew McIntyre.
Katana Chane and Kayden Carter successfully defended their Women's Tag Team Championship against Piper Niven and Chelsea Green. The Judgment Day's Rhea Ripley retained her title against Ivy Nile and Shayna Baszler in a triple threat match, and Becky Lynch pinned Zoey Stark.
R-Truth returned to the live event circuit after a brief absence but lost to Omos. Kofi Kingston won against Ludwig Kaiser, and Ricochet outshined Bronson Reed in singles competition.
Cody Rhodes emerged victorious in a Bull rope match against Shinsuke Nakamura. Meanwhile, Jey Uso and Sami Zayn came close to capturing the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship from The Judgment Day's Damian Priest and Finn Balor but ultimately fell short.
The two events indeed made the holiday season all the more special for the WWE Universe.
What did you think of WWE making history in Baltimore? Sound off in the comments section below.