I was fortunate to attend the WWE Elimination Chamber event in Toronto this past weekend. I grew up watching WWE and the main reason why I went is because one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, John Cena, announced that his last match in Canada will be at this event. Therefore, I had to go and witness this. Although I knew the night would be special, I didn’t realize that it would be historic. I talk more about that and the exclusive merchandise they had leading up to the event as well as how I got my tickets and more in this blog post. Before you read below, make sure to follow on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook for more Toronto and sports content! For a preview of what to expect, watch the video below!
About
WWE is the World Wrestling Entertainment that has bridged sports and entertainment for years while gaining a massive global fanbase that intersects many generations and all kinds of people. It’s something my dad and I actually connected with as he was familiar with the 80s and 90s wrestlers while I grew up with the 00s and 10s! We did have favourites that intersect both such as Undertaker and Bret Hart (who I was fortunate to meet at Toronto ComicCon). I was fortunate to attend the 2019 SummerSlam event a few years back since it’s a staple event for WWE. It was fun and I got to see some notable wrestlers and it allows me to compare with this event. The Elimination Chamber is The Elimination Chamber event is not as big as SummerSlam but still daunting since it’s a match that was introduced in 2022 featuring a massive, circular steel structure weighing over 10 tons and standing 16 feet high where wrestlers are usually competing for world championships or No. 1 contender spots. This event featured two Elimination Chamber matches, one for women’s and one for men’s!
John Cena Farewell Tour
Similar to the Elimination Chamber, John Cena also made his WWE debut in 2002 which makes this event even more sentimental. Over his 23-year career, John Cena has established himself as one of the most influential and beloved wrestlers in the history of the business. John Cena has earned 16 World Championships and is on a quest to gain his 17th to surpass Ric Flair’s current title of 16 championships.
On July 6, 2024, he announced he would be officially retiring but committed to the WWE full-time to give his fans from all around the world (like myself), to see him one last time. He is set to appear in 35 to 40 events and has done a lot. I will talk more about this later on but it was covered widely that WWE made shockwaves when John Cena (the beloved hero) became a heel (bad guy) at the Elimination Chamber event I attended. I have mixed feelings because I just wanted it to be a celebratory night for him but this was something he wanted to do at least once in his career and also aligns with the storyline of chasing the 17th championship. Nonetheless, John Cena has made such a significant impact outside of the ring from doing a phenomenal job as DC Comics‘ Peacemaker to holding the record for the most wishes granted through the Make-A-Wish Foundation with over 650 wishes granted to children facing critical illnesses. John Cena means so much to me because as a kid I thought he was so funny and cool in the ring but I can tell how hard he worked and how positive he is with children and fans. He embodies so much positivity which is why his “Never Give Up” and “Rise Above Hate” slogans are more than just words but have a significant impact on so many people’s lives around the world. Fun fact: he’s also a huge fan of BTS (army), like myself!
Venue and Tickets
The event took place at the Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays and where I have attended concerts, such as The Weeknd. The venue is massive and located at 1 Blue Jays Way, Toronto, which is highly accessible via public transit and car. The venue is known for big events and has hosted major events before such as Wrestlemania, which ironically, also was in 2002! The tickets unfortunately were pricey and I had an opportunity to get some tickets for 30% off but even then the selection I wasn’t sure about because of the Elimination Chamber, I wasn’t sure if floor seats were worth $500+ each unless they were close up. I still wanted close enough seats with a good overall view and thankfully I saw that similar to the Usher concert I attended last year, I saw new tickets were released the day of and were cheaper than some of the tickets higher up. I ended up sitting at section 229, row 4 for $220 each which had a decent view of the ring and screens and can be zoomed in to see entrances as well. You can see from the picture above the seat from my view how it looks and although it looks really far, it really wasn’t that bad. I don’t remember exactly how far up I was for SummerSlam which was at Scotiabank Arena but I felt this view was closer, and the event itself was more lively. Tip: give yourself enough time before the show starts to eat ahead because the poutine I bought was $14 which was seriously overpriced and I overheard that a whole pizza box was $79. They even had Chung Chun which was almost doubled what I paid last time.
Merchandise
Of course, I had to talk about the merchandise that they had. I actually posted about this before on my social media so people were aware and don’t miss out. I have attached the videos below so you get a better look and more details. Similar to SummerSlam in 2019 they had their own WWE Superstore that carried exclusive WWE merchandise but I found this store was open longer than SummerSlam and was actually at the Rogers Centre instead of Metro Convention Centre. They had a bunch of Elimination Chamber-themed merch but the products I was eying were the John Cena farewell items that were exclusive to Toronto since it was in retro Blue Jays colours. However, when I got there I saw they had some CM Punk items as well and I love the straight-edge fists logo so I wanted the cap I was a bit disappointed there was no side patch so I got the exclusive Elimination Chamber gold pin that features the logo, the date and “I was there” to put it on the side. However, what I didn’t expect to get was the John Cena Elimination Chamber Canada exclusive hockey jersey that featured different farewell tribute logos on each shoulder, Cena and 25 at the back, the Elimination Chamber logo at the back with a special WWE logo in Canadian maple leaf right below the neck which had the text “the last time is now”. Everything was pricey and added up because the socks were $25, the pin was $20, the hats were $40, the t-shirts were $50, and the jersey was $150! I ended up wearing the Cena jersey and socks with the CM punk hat and Elimination Chamber pin. Oh, and on Friday for Smackdown, Real Sports Apparel was selling an exclusive, one-day-only, in-store-only, Jey Uso x Toronto Raptors t-shirt which is similar to what they did for Edge and the Toronto Maple Leafs! I saw they had similar merch at the venue as well but the best option is the superstore but I wish they did more collaborative stuff like they did with Footlocker back in 2019.
Event Recap
Now back to the event! I got there right in the beginning and I would say the event started around 7 and ended at around 10:30! It was long but it didn’t really feel like it because the first match was the Women’s Elimination Chamber where Bianca Belair defeated Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Liv Morgan, Naomi, and Roxanne Perez with of course a special appearance from Jade Cargill at the beginning. The women wrestlers displayed great athleticism and although I am not too familiar with WWE anymore I am aware of Bianca and Liv because of YouTube sneaker content! The next matchup was a tag team between hometown legend Trish Stratus and Tiffany Stratton who defeated Nia Jax and Candice LeRae. What I enjoyed about this match was seeing Trish Stratus dominate and who I think is the greatest women’s wrestler of all time!
Speaking of Canada, the next match was an unsanctioned, no-holds-barred match between two notable Canadian wrestlers, Kevin Owens and Sammy Zayn. This match was phenomenal and I think might have been the best one of the night because of how extreme yet coordinated it was as well as how immersive it was (fighting in the crowds) and the special surprise visit from the legendary Randy Orton. I grew up watching Randy Orton so seeing him again and having the whole arena sing his entrance song prior to delivering incredible RKOs was awesome. Nonetheless, what Sammy and Kevin were able to do within their time was so fun and engaging, they not only represented Canada well but they treated the home crowd to an incredible match! Last but not least, the main event, is the men’s elimination chamber. Another person I grew up idolizing is CM Punk, especially because he is the one who introduced me to the straight-edge lifestyle and the first person I saw who made it look cool. Therefore, when I saw he was competing at this event I was so thrilled that I was finally able to see him live. It was also sweeter that his cell in the chamber was beside John Cena’s so I had a great view of both of them and loved it came down to both of them. I was expecting either of those two to win but someone who surprised me the most was Logan Paul and his insane athleticism. When John Cena came out as seen in the video below, the whole crowd erupted and you can maybe hear me singing so profusely and transforming into the little kid seeing my childhood hero come out. Speaking of childhood heroes, I was in the same disbelief as R-Truth who’s childhood hero, John Cena (IYKYK) turned heel! I have mixed feelings about it and after sleeping on it I can appreciate this historic move and dramatic ending to the event but it did feel off at first especially because I felt like The Rock coming out with Travis Scott (who I ironically got a graduation cap from).
Overall
All in all, I had a great time at the event and fulfilled my childhood dream of seeing two out of my top three wrestlers (John Cena, CM Punk, and Bret Hart) perform live! I think the event ran well and it was full of excitement from start to finish but I am biased towards the amazing Canadian representation from Trish, Kevin, and Sammy as well as seeing Randy Orton and The Rock appear. However, nothing beats Cena, and Punk both share the ring in front of my eyes. I thought the merch was cool but I wish there were more WWE collaborative brand activations across the city or at least near the venue to celebrate the event and I hope next time they fix the prices so more people can enjoy and secure their tickets earlier. I also wish there was a way fans in attendance could listen to the commentary as well. These are just my recommendations but let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below or on the social media posts by following me on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook as I post more Toronto and sports content!