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The Montgomery Fairgrounds Coliseum, which housed many years of professional wrestling in Dayton, Ohio, will hold its final sporting event, a boxing card this weekend, before being torn down. The current fairgrounds will be razed and replaced with a newer design that will feature eight buildings.
Over the course of its lifetime, the venue was home to Les Thatcher's HWA when it was a WWE developmental territory and hosted a number of Ring of Honor events, including, what was at the time, the most important match in ROH history to that point.
In 2004, with a great amount of turmoil due to the Rob Feinstein situation having the company in quite the maelstrom, CM Punk challenged Samoa Joe for the ROH championship in the venue. The two went on to have an amazing 60-minute draw, something that no one expected. It was not only a great wrestling match, but served as a statement that the company wasn't going to die and focus back on what was happening in the ring. The pair went on to have a great feud in ROH, including a second 60 minute draw, with Joe eventually winning the feud and retaining his championship. Historically, one of the most important moments in ROH history took place in that venue.
The Coliseum is most famous, locally at least, for being the home of the University of Dayton mens' basketball team from 1923 to 1950.
To read more about the venue closing, you can read The Dayton Daily News' coverage by clicking here.
A big thank you to Brian Reiss.
As you know, the Coliseum has hosted numerous independent wrestling events over the years, most notably from Ring of Honor. Perhaps most importantly, the first match in the classic Samoa Joe and CM Punk feud in 2004. The coliseum also housed several Heartland Wrestling Association events in the early 00s as well, back when it was run by Les Thatcher.
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