SummerSlam, WWE.com
WWE took to Barclays Center this weekend for SummerSlam with a massive streaming viewership, but there’s nothing like seeing it live.
There’s nothing quite like seeing a WWE show live. Pay-per-views, with their heightened stakes and sense of spectacle, are especially fun. Some of us here at Daily DDT were able to see SummerSlam and NXT TakeOver live, including myself and fellow contributor Joshua Raibick, and we wanted to share some of the things you may not have seen on the broadcast.
What were some of the most interesting things seen around the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY? Let’s take a look:
RAW. Photo by WWE.com
7. Bullet Club Shirts, Bullet Club Shirts Everywhere
It’s no secret that NXT appeals to a certain kind of wrestling fan. They tend to like indie wrestling and prefer stiffer work to the corny “WWE style”. They aren’t afraid to chant curses or for unsigned indie talent. It’s a significantly different feeling Saturday to Sunday. There are fewer kids, fewer signs, and oh yeah, way more Bullet Club shirts. In fact, there were more Bullet Club shirts than any other current WWE wrestler from where I was sitting, even of the original leader, Finn Balor.
Part of this phenomenon was probably the sheer number of Bullet Club variants. Most of what we saw was the classic, Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks (probably the most popular of them all), or Cody Rhodes. Because there’s so much variety, there’s a sense of personality to it just like my (very difficult) decision to wear Kevin Owens or Seth Rollins. But that aside, can we acknowledge for a moment how incredible it is that the most over act at a WWE show is not a WWE act? I was expecting a certain level of too-cool fandom, and TakeOver did not disappoint.
6. Baron Corbin on the NXT TakeOver Pre-Show Panel
You probably saw that Saturday Night, former Mr. Money in the Bank, Baron Corbin joined Charly Caruso and the rest of the Pre-Show Panel. You probably also heard on Sunday night a rather short-lived chant of “where’s your briefcase?” I found myself wishing it hadn’t made it onto camera, because there was something great about that initial moment Saturday. Corbin was heavily booed as he made his way up to the pre-show desk. Even though he was just hanging out, the crowd got riled up to see a heel we hate that much.
That’s all he was doing when the chants started. The camera didn’t seem to be on, whoever started it wasn’t acting up for TV. It was a genuine moment of someone shouting something clever and catching on like wildfire. The chant of “where’s your briefcase?” lasted for several minutes. All the while, Corbin just sat there, looking down and preparing for the segment he was about to have. He’s not a stranger to the crowd being rude to him, less we forget “dumpster fire” chants. It was a rare moment and almost out of character for Corbin to just sit there and take it.
5. Pre-Show Pop
Prior to NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, they filmed an episode of NXT. That episode, the one you saw Wednesday night, contains only two true matches and a beatdown. But what two matches they were. Specifically, the main event left everyone buzzing and ready for an amazing night of wrestling.
It started with Tyler Bate’s entrance and the announcement that this would be a tag team match. Obviously, Trent Seven joined his good friend. Wolfgang came out to the other corner and that’s when the murmurings started. It couldn’t possibly be Pete Dunne, we all said. Rumor had it he had injured himself at a local Progress show and would be out for months. There was absolutely no way. We were very, very wrong. Dunne’s music hit to a massive pop.
Again, this was a crowd that knows it’s indie stuff and loves those guys. The cheers for Dunne were louder than anyone could’ve anticipated and showed how beloved he is. The best moments from the weekend were the ones that we weren’t necessarily expecting, and this was a big one. It seems the injury reports are overstated or flat out incorrect, as Dunne worked no injury angle. I hope you all can tell on the NXT episode that aired Wednesday, but if you can’t see it, know that crowd was on their feet for Dunne. It was by far the best moment of the pre-show.
Credit: Ring of Honor
4. Anticipating Adam Cole’s Arrival
Did I mention this crowd loved their indie acts? Of course, everyone was fully expecting Adam Cole (bay bay) to show up in the front row at TakeOver. Here’s a bonus, when they get the shots of superstars at ringside, they obviously haven’t been there the whole time. You never catch a glimpse of Joe in the background of another match. What they do is have security escort the superstar to their designated spot during the prior commercial. At which point, everyone stands up and tries to get a picture. That’s what we expected to see at some point. But the main event one came and went with Kevin Owens and Joe at ringside instead.
Of course, we know that Cole was not watching on his TV at home. Instead, he came in and attacked Drew McIntyre. The moment was particularly special in person. Plus, we had the chance to see it coming. Those closer to the ring were able to see security get in position for the run in. Several sections were abuzz with the anticipation of Cole running in through that route. There was an excited energy throughout the whole match because we knew what was likely to be coming next. Once ReDragon started to sneak into the ring, we knew exactly what was happening. We could easily see Cole charging the ring before he was on camera and get a few extra moments with the next star of NXT.
3. Empty Pre-Show
It seems to be pretty apparent on the broadcast that the arena was all but empty during the first pre-show match. The Miz even brought it up on Monday night that he, the Intercontinental Champion, wrestled in front of an empty arena in the first match of the entire night. That’s happened on more than one occasion in the WWE and it always struck me as weird. Who shows up late to something like this? Well, no judgment if you do plan to get in closer to the main card bell, but that was just not what happened in Brooklyn last weekend. At 4:45, we were watching the crowd of people outside of the Barclays Center waiting to get in. They seemed to open the doors around 5:00, the exact moment the pre-show went on air, and then continued to only let a certain number of people in at a time.
By the time we got in, the majority of the Miztorage vs. Jason Jordan and the Hardyz was over. Entire sections were empty. It made it difficult to get into the Cruiserweight Championship and SmackDown Live Tag Team Championship matches because there just wasn’t anyone to share it. The energy of the crowd definitely affects how you respond to it, even at home, so you may have felt that same thing. It was incredibly disappointing because both of those matches deserved better.
Credit: WWE.com
2. Brooklyn Gets Worked by KFC
You know those KFC commercials where the Miz, dressed as a chicken, fights Cornel Sanders, played by Dolph Ziggler? You know how the real, live crowd that this was filmed in front of looked super confused the whole time? KFC didn’t want to take the chance this time. So they hired The Heart Break Kid, Shawn Michaels to be the new Cornel Sanders.
They showed us the same incredibly bizarre commercial they showed you, the one where they’re holding auditions for the role of Cornel Sanders. Except when they flashed “WHO’S NEXT?” on the Titantron, they followed it with Michaels’ music. The place erupted.
As you probably saw when they ran the footage as a part of that KFC commercial, everyone was on their feet as Michaels came out and did his entire entrance dressed as Cornel Sanders. He then proceeded exit stage left. We never saw him again on the whole show. Needless to say, we were confused. A while later, they showed that commercial again and this time it included our ridiculous reaction to HBK. Everyone lost their minds and KFC made a commercial for chicken out of it. Touché, KFC.
1. Brock’s Win is Fine
SummerSlam was pretty good about getting everything onto the broadcast, there wasn’t a whole lot that fit this list. You all saw Cesaro rip up the beach ball, though I think it was way better in person, and John Cena horsing around before his match. But I don’t know if TV could possibly get across the feeling of walking out of the arena Sunday night. I’m sure you saw how much the main event, the Fatal Fourway between the toughest guys on the roster, had Brooklyn on our feet. Bruan Strowman was especially over, using every single thing at his disposal to take down Brock Lesnar. Five minutes in, he had convinced us that he deserved to win and we were fully behind him.
Then Lesnar got stretchered away and we all sort of knew what was coming. Of course, Lesnar returned and took the fight to Strowman, Samoa Joe, and lastly Roman Reigns, pinning him after an F5. Were they expecting a chorus of boos or massive cheers? Instead, we all said “Right, okay,” and we trickled out of the arena. It was such a stark comparison to the night before, where you couldn’t go two minutes without someone shouting “ADAM COLE BAYBAY.”
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That joy is part of what makes wrestling so special and while I’m certainly not suggesting they make booking decisions based on crowd reaction, it was an underwhelming note to end on. It deflated the crowd, not because we were necessarily unhappy but because we weren’t particularly happy either. If Reigns had won, the place would’ve turned into a battlefield of “Let’s go Roman” and ”Roman sucks.” If Joe had snuck in and stole the victory from Strowman, or if Strowman had pulled it off, we would’ve gone insane. But Lesnar yet again retaining, we all just shrugged our shoulders. It was fine.