WWE has made a habit out of giving SummerSlam a permanent home. From 2009-14, the promotion’s biggest summer pay-per-view took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. That changed in 2015, when WWE moved from coast-to-coast and started setting up shop for SummerSlam and its companion NXT TakeOver event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
However, after four years of TakeOvers and SummerSlams at the Barclays Center, WWE announced on Monday that it’s taking SummerSlam in a new direction and into a new country.WWE SummerSlam is headed to Toronto in 2019, taking place at ScotiaBank Centre in Ontario’s largest city.
BREAKING: As first reported by @ETCanada, @WWE #SummerSlam Week is coming to Toronto NEXT YEAR with #NXTTakeOver, @SummerSlam, #RAW, and #SDLive at @ScotiabankArena! https://t.co/wmYhKnrKj8
— WWE (@WWE) August 27, 2018
“We are thrilled to bring WWE’s Biggest Event of the Summer back to Toronto,” WWE executive vice president of special events said John Saboor in a release. “We look forward to working with our partners at Tourism Toronto and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to build a blueprint that welcomes our global fan base to the great city of Toronto.”
It’s kind of unfortunate to see Brooklyn’s time as the official host of SummerSlam weekend come to an end, as it’s carved out quite the niche as the home for the event over the last few years. Still, it’s a chance for WWE to tap into a huge market in one of the continent’s largest cities. WWE has turned SummerSlam weekend into a gigantic event and Toronto is a huge metropolis with various venues that can give them some flexibility with regards to how things get laid out.
Regardless, it’s unfortunate that Sasha Banks’ comments about where SummerSlam 2019 will take place while riding a boat turned out to be inaccurate. Peace to the Boss, and peace to the crowd in Brooklyn, which brings it every year. If they want to see SummerSlam next year, they’ll need to make sure their passports are up to date.
