WWE NXT Takeover London - 10 Interesting Observations From Attending Live
9. It Was A Very Different Crowd To A Regular WWE Event
Having attended the WWEs house show in Brighton last month (where Bayley got a great reaction), I was interested to see what the make-up of the attendees was like. It was totally different, as you might expect. I would estimate that a good 98% of the crowd were 18-35 year old males with a smattering of females and barely any kids at all. What was also interesting was the merchandise people were wearing. There were a lot of Finn Balor t shirts, and Bayleys Im A Hugger were big sellers with both males and females. But there was very little main roster WWE merchandise being worn (do Kevin Owens t shirts count, as hes a former NXT Champion?). After that, there were a few New Japan shirts, some SPLX merchandise..and tons of tons of Progress Wrestling t shirts. Literally, everywhere you looked, you could see people in Progress t shirts (including Progress owners Jim Smallman, Glen Joseph and Jon Briley). If youre not aware, Progress are a London based independent promotion who use mostly an exclusively British roster and sell out their 700 capacity venue within minutes of putting tickets on sale, before a card is even announced. They are hot property in the capital and beyond, and the crowds are very boisterous. In fact, I commented as we left Wembley Arena, That was like a giant Progress show!
Dean Ayass is a well known name to British wrestling fans. A commentator, manager, booker and ring announcer who has been involved in the business since 1993, Dean's insight into the business is second to none.
