It seems fans of the WWE Smackdown didn't have to wait long for the popular wrestling event to return to Vancouver.
It has only been a couple of years since the last edition came to Vancouver on Valentine's Day 2020 (one of the last major events to come through before the COVID-19 pandemic closed those sorts of things down). Before that, it had been more than a decade since a televised WWE event was held in Vancouver.
This time there will be three matches on Friday, Jan. 5. According to Rogers Arena's Instagram a triple match between Randy Orton, LA Knight, and AJ Styles will take place to see who goes on to fight Roman Reigns in a future match, while Michin takes on IYO SKY and Kevin Owens fights Santos Escobar.
The WWE has tweeted that YouTuber and wrestler Logan Paul will also be "in the house."
Fans will want to arrive early for the event. Doors open at 3:15 p.m. and the show gets going at 4:45 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets are still available for the event, with seats available from the upper bowl down to nearly ringside. However, it appears there are only a couple of hundred, which isn't many given the arena holds around 20,000 for events like this.
However, for those who want to be down on the floor there are only resale tickets available with prices ranging up to $1,500 (though a couple of pairs are going for about $420 each).
The cheapest tickets, in the upper bowl or upper levels of the lower bowl, are going for under $120, but there aren't many left.
Those going need to remember screenshots of the tickets won't be allowed; they need to have mobile tickets with the moving barcode.
Transportation
It could be busy in downtown Vancouver on Friday night. Along with the WWE Smackdown, Jerry Seinfeld is playing not one but two sold-out shows at the nearby Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
While the two shows won't have much overlap (the first Seinfeld show starts at 7 p.m.) parking may be difficult to find during the wrestling matches early start and things could be busy as Seinfeld fans arrive and wrestling fans leave the area.
TransLink has no extra service nor service outages planned for SkyTrain or the SeaBus on Friday.
Hullo will have a late departure on Jan. 5 (and Jan 6) for those coming over from Nanaimo to the Mainland for the WWE event (and Seinfeld). Anyone trying to get back to Vancouver Island can catch the ferry (which leaves at 11 p.m.) at the sea plane docks near the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Restrictions
A few things aren't allowed in Rogers Arena for the show. Notably, some bags won't be permitted; all bags need to be under 35.5 cm by 35.5 cm by 15.2 cm. For reference, 35.5 cm is just a bit over 13 inches.
Rogers Arena is also a smoke-free zone, as far as cigarettes and cannabis are concerned. The band may have smoke machines.
Other common sense items are to be left at home as well, like skateboards, selfie sticks, and outside food and drinks.
Signs are allowed, as long as they don't have politically motivated, religious, or obscene messages, according to arena policy.
Cashless Venue
Rogers Arena has gone cashless.
"Concession, retail stands, & hospitality will exclusively accept contactless forms of payment," states the venue's website.
Fan Service
Rogers Arena has a fan service number to text if there are any issues during the show: 604-765-3267.
Concertgoers can text their issue and their location (seat number and row along with the section) and get help.
