10 Live Observations From Attending WWE NXT At Madison Square Garden
NXT's Manhattan debut!
On Wednesday evening, the NXT brand made its Manhattan debut at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, a smaller venue housed inside the world's most famous arena. Even though the event was a simple house show, the fact that it was taking place in WWE's home base - plus the fact that TakeOver: Toronto was a mere three days away - gave it an extra bit of gravitas.
Overall, the show was a mixed bag. Like so many other WWE shows, it would have benefited from being structured differently. The later matches on the card - including everything after the intermission - were all great, but there were several disappointing bouts earlier in the show that nearly ground things to a halt. By and large, the wrestlers who were expected to deliver did just that, but if some of the good matches were moved down the card, the entire event would have had a better flow.
Apart from that, though, there was still a lot to take away from the event - like which superstars need more work, and which are main roster ready. Hopefully, WWE officials learn similar lessons from the show.
Here are 10 live observations from attending NXT at Madison Square Garden:
10. The Show Wasn't Sold Out
NXT has often been described as the hottest brand in sports entertainment, and while that may be true in terms of online buzz, the developmental territory still has a ways to go before it can claim to be on an even standing with WWE.
NXT's two largest shows thus far have both come in New York, with 2015's TakeOver: Brooklyn and and this summer's TakeOver: Brooklyn II each selling out Barclays Center, which holds in the neighborhood of 15,000 fans for wrestling events. Unfortunately, that popularity didn't translate into a sold-out crowd at the Theater at MSG, which holds far fewer people - between 2,000 and 5,500, depending on configuration, though probably at the higher end for wrestling.
Granted, the Theater was still pretty crowded, and once ticketholders were moved to more populated areas, only a couple of sections needed to be roped off. Still, it was a bit of a reality check for those who thought that the letters "NXT" were enough to sell out a show - even in a smaller venue in a wrestling hotbed.