One Last Time: WWE House Show Closes Out Joe Louis Arena


By Jim Kennedy


Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI, July 29th, 2017


It was the end of an era, not just for WWE fans, but for Detroiters period. Joe Louis Arena, the home of the Detroit Red Wings, countless concerts, and memorable WWE events, held it’s final event ever. WWE brought superstars from Smackdown Live to the Joe for the Summerslam Heatwave Tour to the delight of the thousands of WWE fans that filled the arena. Among those in attendance were myself, BTTR host Josh and his girlfriend, Katie, who attended her first ever WWE show.

After taking the crowded people mover to Joe Louis and getting my ticket at the box office, I waited in line for a shirt that would only be on sale for that night. Seeing that I missed out on the last Raw shirt back in March, there was no way I would miss this. After getting my shirt, I grabbed my food and drink and sat in my seat for the last show at the Joe.

The show kicked off with a United States Championship match between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens. The former “New Face of America” taunted his opponent and even grabbed a mic to shout to the fans “AJ Who?” After the crowd responded with “AJ Styles”, K.O. shook his head and screamed “KEVIN! OWENSSSSSS!”. Styles response was a Phenominal Foreaerm and the pin to retain his title.

The next match was a tag team match between Tye Dillinger and Sin Cara, and Aiden English and Erick Rowan. The match was a fast one with Dillinger and Cara victorious. After the match, Rowan challenged his former Wyatt Family-brother Luke Harper, who accepted the challenge and quickly pinned Rowan for the victory. After a quick Baron Corbin-Sami Zayn match (which saw Corbin get the victory over the Underdog from the Underground), the Smackdown Tag Team Championships were on the line in a triple threat match between New Day, Breezango, and the Usos. The match had more of a comedic feel to it, with the funny highlights being Tyler Breeze rolling out of the way of Big E on the top rope (and the fans chanting “Just keep rolling”), Kofi Kingston twerking to the tune of Woods’ trombone, and a dance off between Fandango and Big E. The match ended with a Kofi frog splash on an Uso (it’s hard to tell which one is which without commentary) for the power of positivity to retain their title.

The final match before the intermission was the Universal Championship up for grabs between Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe. The only moves that happened during the match were six German suplexes, about two Coquina Clutches from Joe, and an F-5 from the Beast to retain his title. Even though it didn’t feel like it, it was quite the match to behold.

After the intermission, there were tag matches galore. First off was a 6-women tag match between Tamina, Natalya, and Carmella and Becky Lynch, Charlotte, and Naomi. The match was quick and saw the team face victorious. The second to last match was Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura taking on Jinder Mahal and Dolph Ziggler. Orton had his eyes set on taking on Mahal, but the team of the Viper and the Artist had no issues getting the win over the WWE champ and the show off.

The final match of the night was a Detroit Street Fight between John Cena and Rusev. If you had a foreign weapons checklist, you can cross off tables (twice used), steel steps, chairs, and a security gate. All mentioned were used in some way in the match, although I would’ve loved to have seen an octopus thrown at Rusev just because. After an Attitude Adjustment through the table secured the victory for Cena, he grabbed the mic and gave a heartfelt speech to the WWE Universe in attendance:



As the show ended, and the fans left the Joe one last time, I decided to walk around the stadium. As I walked, I thought of the memorable events that WWE has offered to those who has in the red seats. Who could’ve forgotten the Undertaker winning the WWF Championship against Hulk Hogan at Survivor Series 1991, or Randy Orton winning the 2009 Royal Rumble to get us on the road to Wrestlemania 25? How about recently, with Daniel Bryan winning the WWE Championship at the 2013 edition of Night of Champions, Shane McMahon coming back in 2016, and Mick Foley giving Triple H a fistful of Mr. Socko to close out the last Raw at the Joe? Now obviously there are many more events that I could’ve listed off, but that would’ve probably bored you out of this article.
Even though it was announced that Hell In A Cell was going to be the first WWE event held at the new Little Caesars Arena, I wasn’t thinking about that as I exited Joe Louis Arena for the last time. For what will become of it, I cannot answer you. All I know is that I was able to be a part of history and close down the Joe, and although it still brings a tear to my eye once in a while, I am thankful for the memories that the Joe has etched within its hallowed halls. Championships won and lost on the stadium floor, greats of the past and present returning to an incredible pop given from the WWE Universe, and moments that will be talked about among those who were there to witness it.

Thank you WWE for closing out the Joe. And thank you, Joe Louis Arena, for allowing us to be witness to history every time we walked inside one last time.

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