9 Things SummerSlam Must Do To Eclipse NXT Brooklyn
Just a few measures that may help SummerSlam meet the high standard set by NXT...
Last night, NXT graced the Barclays Center for the third annual Takeover: Brooklyn show. We saw three separate title bouts, including Sanity vs. the Authors of Pain, Asuka vs. Ember Moon and Booby Roode vs. Drew McIntyre, as well as two grudge bouts pitting Andrade Cien Almas against Johnny Gargano and Hideo Itami versus Aleistar Black.
And all in all, it wasn’t half good.
NXT has come in for some criticism as of late, with fans claiming it isn’t what it used to be. Though that’s likely more of a reflection of how brilliant the show once was, rather than the current product being particularly bad.
Still, NXT emphatically put paid to that criticism when they once again delivered an awesome Takeover special on Saturday night in Brooklyn. With SummerSlam following that up on Sunday evening, the main roster is going to have a difficult job living up to a loftily-set standard.
It means there’s plenty to be done on Sunday’s show to avoid it going down as anticlimax, and here we outline just a few measures that may help to ensure SummerSlam has a chance of matching and eclipsing NXT Brooklyn.
9. Cut Some Matches
One of the best things about NXT is that its Takeover specials, much like its weekly TV show, are far shorter than anything we see on the main roster.
That means that rather than seeing a three-plus-hour event, peppered with moments of filler, we get a jam-packed evening lasting closer to the two-and-a-half-hour mark, which is massively more digestible and enjoyable to sit through.
And in the case of an event like SummerSlam, we’re likely going to be given a four-hour main show, as well as a two-hour pre-show to take in beforehand. Irrespective of how stacked the card is, that’s an awful lot of action to sit through.
If the company wants to deliver a show as exciting and watchable as NXT Brooklyn, they might want to think about consolidating its length. The easiest way to do that, though it’s far from ideal, would be to cut down on the bordering-on-ridiculous 13 matches that are currently slated for the evening.
Besides, there's not necesarily any great rush to see the Hardys and Jason Jordan face the Miz and his entourage...