WWE in Houston: Every Major WWE Event in the City, From Royal Rumble 1989 to Survivor Series 2026
When Survivor Series: WarGames comes to Daikin Park on November 28, it will be the 14th main roster WWE pay-per-view or premium live event held in Houston. The city has hosted two WrestleManias, two Royal Rumbles, two Survivor Series and some of the most important moments in WWE history, including the night Stone Cold Steve Austin shook hands with Vince McMahon.
Here is every major WWE event in Houston, what happened at each one, and the nights we think stand out.
Every WWE pay-per-view and premium live event in Houston
| Date | Event | Venue | Main event or key result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 15, 1989 | Royal Rumble | The Summit | Big John Studd won the Royal Rumble match |
| Feb 15, 1998 | No Way Out of Texas: In Your House | Compaq Center | Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie won the eight-man main event |
| Apr 1, 2001 | WrestleMania X-Seven | Reliant Astrodome | Steve Austin beat The Rock for the WWF Championship |
| Jun 15, 2003 | Bad Blood | Compaq Center | Triple H beat Kevin Nash in Hell in a Cell |
| Oct 9, 2005 | No Mercy | Toyota Center | Batista beat Eddie Guerrero to keep the World Heavyweight Championship |
| Jun 24, 2007 | Vengeance: Night of Champions | Toyota Center | John Cena kept the WWE Championship in a five-man match |
| Apr 5, 2009 | WrestleMania 25 | Reliant Stadium | Triple H beat Randy Orton to keep the WWE Championship |
| Dec 19, 2010 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Toyota Center | John Cena beat Wade Barrett in a chairs match |
| Dec 15, 2013 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Toyota Center | Randy Orton beat John Cena to unify the WWE and World Heavyweight titles |
| Sep 20, 2015 | Night of Champions | Toyota Center | Seth Rollins beat Sting to keep the WWE World Heavyweight Championship |
| Nov 19, 2017 | Survivor Series | Toyota Center | Team Raw won the men's elimination match |
| Feb 17, 2019 | Elimination Chamber | Toyota Center | Daniel Bryan kept the WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber |
| Jan 26, 2020 | Royal Rumble | Minute Maid Park | Drew McIntyre and Charlotte Flair won the Royal Rumble matches |
| Nov 28, 2026 | Survivor Series: WarGames | Daikin Park | Upcoming |
NXT has also held two events in Houston: TakeOver: WarGames on November 18, 2017, the night before Survivor Series, and Worlds Collide on January 25, 2020, the night before the Royal Rumble. Both were at the Toyota Center.
The big nights
WrestleMania X-Seven (2001): the turn
The first WrestleMania in Texas drew 67,925 fans to the Astrodome, and it is still regularly ranked near the top of WrestleMania lists. Edge and Christian won the second Tables, Ladders and Chairs match for the tag titles, The Undertaker beat Triple H, and Shane McMahon beat his father Vince in a street fight with Mick Foley as the referee.
The main event changed the company. Austin, the top babyface in the company, beat The Rock for the WWF Championship in his home state with help from Vince McMahon, his long-time enemy, and the two shook hands after the match. It was a heel turn nobody saw coming. Fans in Texas booed the result of a match they had come to cheer.
Our take: it is Houston's best night. Almost every match delivered, and the ending is still debated 25 years later. The turn itself is still debated, because fans never really wanted to boo Austin, and by the end of the year he was a fan favourite again. We looked at what that means for today in Should Cody Rhodes turn heel?
WrestleMania 25 (2009): The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
WWE's 25th WrestleMania drew 72,744 fans to Reliant Stadium, now NRG Stadium. Triple H beat Randy Orton in the main event, John Cena won the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge and Big Show, Rey Mysterio took the Intercontinental Championship from JBL in about 21 seconds, and CM Punk won Money in the Bank.
Our take: the main event was flat, but nobody remembers it, because of The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. Their match is regularly named as one of the best in WrestleMania history, and it is the one match from Houston we would show anyone who has never watched wrestling. If X-Seven is Houston's best night, this is Houston's best match.
Royal Rumble 2020: McIntyre's night
The second Royal Rumble in Houston, in front of 42,715 fans at Minute Maid Park, now called Daikin Park, the same stadium that hosts Survivor Series this year. Drew McIntyre eliminated Brock Lesnar and won the men's Royal Rumble, and Charlotte Flair won the women's. McIntyre went on to win the WWE Championship from Lesnar at WrestleMania 36.
Our take: one of the better Royal Rumbles of the last decade, with a winner who had been building toward the moment for years. It also showed how loud a Houston stadium crowd can be, which is a good sign for November 28. See every winner in our Royal Rumble winners list.
No Mercy 2005: Eddie Guerrero's last pay-per-view
Batista beat Eddie Guerrero to keep the World Heavyweight Championship on October 9, 2005, which was Guerrero's 38th birthday. It was his final pay-per-view match. He died a month later.
Our take: it was not the best match of either man's career, but it is the night in Houston that carries the most weight now. Guerrero remains deeply loved by fans, and the city that saw his last pay-per-view match is part of his story.
Night of Champions 2015: Sting's last WWE match
Seth Rollins beat Sting in the main event to keep the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, after losing the United States Championship to John Cena earlier in the night. Sting was hurt during the match, and it turned out to be his last match in WWE. The same night, Kevin Owens won the Intercontinental Championship and Charlotte Flair won the Divas Championship.
TLC 2013: one world champion again
Randy Orton beat John Cena in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match to unify the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship. For the first time since 2002, WWE had one world champion. Cody Rhodes and Goldust also kept the tag team titles on the same show.
The rest
Royal Rumble 1989: the first Royal Rumble on pay-per-view, won by Big John Studd, who last eliminated Ted DiBiase. No Way Out of Texas (1998): Shawn Michaels was meant to be in the main event but was injured, so Savio Vega took his place, a month before Michaels' first retirement. Bad Blood 2003: Triple H beat Kevin Nash in Hell in a Cell with Mick Foley as referee, and Ric Flair beat Shawn Michaels. Vengeance: Night of Champions 2007: every WWE title was defended. TLC 2010: Edge won the World Heavyweight Championship in a four-way TLC match. Survivor Series 2017: Brock Lesnar beat AJ Styles and The Shield beat The New Day; read our Survivor Series 2017 retro review. Elimination Chamber 2019: Sasha Banks and Bayley became the first WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, and Finn Bálor won the Intercontinental Championship.
NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2017
The night before Survivor Series 2017, NXT brought WarGames back for the first time in WWE. The Undisputed Era won the three-team match, Andrade "Cien" Almas beat Drew McIntyre for the NXT Championship, and Ember Moon won the vacant NXT Women's Championship. We ranked that WarGames match against every men's WarGames since in Every men's WarGames match in WWE, ranked.
Our take: what Houston means for Survivor Series
Houston has a habit of getting big shows on big nights. Two of its four biggest events were WrestleManias, and both drew close to or more than 70,000 fans. This year's show is the 40th Survivor Series and the second in Houston, after 2017.
The city's history also gives this year's show something to live up to. Houston crowds have seen a heel turn that shocked the business, the end of Sting's WWE career, the unification of the world titles and a match still held up as a WrestleMania classic. A WarGames match between The Bloodline and The 946 in a baseball stadium is exactly the kind of show that fits that list. Get the card, start time and how to watch in our Survivor Series: WarGames 2026 guide, and if you are going, see the Survivor Series weekend guide for Houston.
Event dates, venues, attendance and results from WWE's records of each event.
