Toyota Center - Houston, TX

Downtown Houston’s Toyota Center was host to No Mercy in 2005, when Batista defeated Eddie Guerrero to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. The indoor arena, which opened in 2003, is home to the National Basketball Association’s Rockets, the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Comets and the American Hockey League’s Aeros.

The Toyota Center is also known as a concert and entertainment venue, and has hosted U2, Shakira, Marc Anthony, Mariah Carey, Nickelback, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Fleetwood Mac, Blue Man Group and the Dixie Chicks. The 2006 NBA All-Star Game was held at the Toyota Center.

Houston is the United States’ fourth largest city and has a population of more than 2 million. The city’s port is No. 1 for international commerce in the United States, and it’s the world’s sixth largest. Houston is best known for its energy (oil), aeronautical, research and healthcare industries and institutions, and is second to New York City in Fortune 500 companies. Houston has the country’s third-tallest skyline.

Houston is known as “Space City,” thanks to NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, where Mission Control Center is located. The city has a vibrant visual and performing arts scene, and busy Theater and Museum Districts. The city has 337 parks and more than 200 green spaces, including the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. Texas’ largest shopping mall, the Galleria, is in Houston’s Uptown District.

Houston hosted Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game in 2004 and the World Series in 2005 at Minute Maid Park, home of the Astros. Super Bowl XXXVIII was played at Houston’s Reliant Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Texans.

The University of Houston System, the largest urban state system of Gulf Coast higher education, has more than 56,000 students. The city also has several private universities, including Rice University and South Texas College of Law.

WrestleMania X-Seven was held at Houston’s Astrodome on April 1, 2001, and SmackDown’s King Booker and Queen Sharmell hail from the city.