Two WWE Shows, One Night: Grand Rapids Lands Holiday Raw and SmackDown

If you’re a WWE fan in Grand Rapids, this may have been one of the most fun nights to be inside Van Andel Arena in recent years.

On Friday, December 19, Van Andel Arena didn’t just host one WWE show. We got the final holiday tapings of both Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown back to back. Two full shows. One crowd. All holiday themed. That’s not something every city gets, and honestly, it felt pretty special to be in the building for it.

The timing couldn’t have been better either. This was the first big stretch of programming after John Cena’s emotional farewell match, where he tapped out to Gunther. And yes, Gunther showed up again, because of course he did. He wasted no time reminding the crowd what he’d done, and Grand Rapids wasted no time letting him hear it with massive boos

Raw had a packed card and a lot of those “wait, this is happening HERE, right now?” moments. I absolutely lost my mind when Asuka and Rhea Ripley squared off.

Then, Becky Lynch hit the ring and didn’t leave the way she planned. She also dared to make fun of the lack of rapids in Grand Rapids, which quickly turned an already sour crowd, to boos.

"Grand Rapids, I haven’t seen a single rapid"

CM Punk and Rey Mysterio got pulled into Gunther’s orbit before things escalated into a main event that felt bigger than a typical holiday episode.

Then the crew flipped the set from red to blue, swapped out the presents, and it was time for SmackDown.

The highlight, without giving too much away, was the opening Miracle on 34th Street Match featuring Joe Hendry and The Miz. It was festive, ridiculous, and included a song about The Miz’s ‘Jingle Balls’.

It also included a surprise appearance from the Easter Bunny, who was unmasked to be R Truth by the end of the fight.

The rest of the night didn’t slow down either, with Drew McIntyre made his return, there was a major United States Championship change, and a heated attack that set the stage for a huge title match in January.

Seeing both shows taped in one night really drove home how lucky Grand Rapids is when it comes to being a Wrestling fan. WWE trusted this crowd with the final holiday episodes of Raw and SmackDown, and the fans showed up loud, invested, and ready for anything.

If this is how WWE is heading into the new year, and if Grand Rapids keeps landing nights like this, it’s a pretty great time to be a wrestling fan here in West Michigan.