NXT has had twelve Takeover specials so far. Every single one has had critical acclaim. Takeovers have gone beyond the shores of the United States, and these takeover specials have been vital in building the NXT brand, which has become one of the hottest products in professional wrestling today.
What makes NXT special is that despite being under the WWE umbrella, it is completely different from the main roster product, and has garnered acclaim for it’s simple and long-term storytelling, great character development, and great matches, among other things such as production value.
Last year at Summerslam, WWE decided to make a weekend out of it and held NXT Takeover: Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, just one night before Summerslam. To everyone’s surprise, including Triple H himself, the venue sold out in a matter minutes. That is clearly when they knew that they had something there. Takeover: Brooklyn went on to be a resounding success, garnering universal acclaim. It was even considered to be far superior to Summerslam the next night.
WWE then decided to make the most of it and hold a Takeover at Dallas the following Wrestlemania, which also took place in Dallas. Since about a hundred thousand people were expected to show up, it would naturally have been easy to sell out ten thousand tickets. And it was done within fifteen minutes.
NXT had the second edition of Takeover: Brooklyn II at Summerslam this year, and it was just as much of a success. It was announced not long after that a Takeover would be held in Toronto the night before Survivor Series, in the same venue – Air Canada Centre, a venue that can hold at least 18,000 people. If NXT is able to sell this venue out, it will be a record attendance for them.
If you are a fan of Pay-Per-View weekends, then it is your time to rejoice, as WWE is now doubling down on Takeovers, and will be holding them a day before major PPVs. This would be the four major PPVs – Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summerslam and Survivor Series.
Royal Rumble next year is going to be taking place in Los Angeles, so it is very likely that the NXT special will be called NXT Takeover: LA. This would be a great tradition to follow up on, as it will draw traveling fans to make a weekend of the trip, attending 3 shows in 3 nights – Takeover, the PPV, and Raw
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
