10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE In 2015

5. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn Was A Legitimate Sellout

Brock Lesnar Roman Reigns WrestleMania 34
WWE.com

...NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn which, with absolutely no need for figure-fudging bullsh*t like counting the stewards, drew a legitimate sell-out inside a molten brand new Barclays Center.

History on top of history on top of history, the show became the first TakeOver to go on just a night before the weekend's main show, and the first to leave it in the f*cking dust.

Nothing on a good SummerSlam could touch the emotion extracted from Sasha Banks' and Bayley's epoch-making battle over the NXT Women's Championship, nor the sight of Jushin Thunder Liger plying his magnificent trade in a WWE ring, nor even Blue Pants seconding The Vaudevillains as they became the champions the brand wanted and needed ahead of a platinum period for the doubles division.

15,589 squashed in to the Brooklyn venue for a sellout proudly trumpeted in advance by Triple H on Twitter and - as impressively - confirmed by several wrestling journalists back when half of them weren't just desperate to get BT Sports lanyards.

The legacy of the show lives on beyond the obvious too - the venue became a landmark destination for WWE in New York in the years that followed, fracturing a family business bond with the beloved Madison Square Garden. More than just breaking ground, the show was an earthquake.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett