Backstage Word on the Ticket Buy-Rate for "NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn"

The latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has provided backstage word on the ticket buy-rate for “NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn” as of July 22. The event will take place in the same venue as “SummerSlam” just one night prior on Aug. 22, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

According to the report, WWE is close to selling tickets for all available seats in Barclays Center for “NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.” Originally, the company wanted to minimize the seating in the arena, not thinking that ticket sales would be this high, and have been forced to make changes.

Initially, as previously reported, WWE planned on running a scaled down show on Aug. 22, expecting to only sell around 6,000 tickets. However, due to the overwhelming demand for spots for the show during pre-sales, WWE reportedly began opening up more seating to accommodate the ticket buyers. By Saturday, July 18, which was the day of the general public sale for “NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn,” WWE had to open so many additional seats, that the event will actually look more like a sold-out Pay-Per-View or edition of “Monday Night Raw” than any “NXT” program.

Dave Meltzer claims that as of July 22, 11,000 tickets had been sold, and it is possible that the company could sellout the arena before the opening pyro. Being that it is “SummerSlam” weekend, the event is taking place in a mecca for WWE’s product in New York, and the atmosphere is being looked at as “WrestleMania-esc,” all 13,438 seats could fill-up before opening bell.

Meltzer writes,

“[Jushin “Thunder”] Liger will face Tyler Breeze on a show that got off to a pretty remarkable advance sale, and it is possible could sell out. At press time there were 11,000 tickets out in a building that is currently set up for 13,438. The number is phenomenal for a group that has no actual television, even though it is a WWE property.

Originally when tickets were put on sale they were only scaling the place for about 6,000, and sold that allotment out almost instantly on the pre-sale. WWE had already sold out both SummerSlam the next night, and Raw the following Monday, in running the same arena three straight nights.

The current WWE plan for the show is to run a three-and-a-half hour live event. They would start with dark matches at 7:30 p.m. From 8-9 p.m. would be a taping for an episode of the NXT show that would probably air on 8/26. The live special would air from 9-11 p.m. Eastern time featuring the main advertised matches on the show that will be pushed on the weekly NXT show.

For the Brooklyn show on 8/22 at the Barclays Center, the top matches will be Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens for the NXT title, Sasha Banks vs. Bayley for the NXT women’s title (they did the storyline of Bayley beating all the top contenders, winning over Emma, Charlotte and Becky Lynch at the last tapings to get her title shot), Liger vs. Breeze and Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin.

They’ll add a few more matches, likely a Blake & Murphy tag title match (they are being programmed with the Vaudevillains right now), on the go-home show that will be taped in three weeks. Although nothing has been announced for them, the atmosphere is going to be unbelievable when Enzo & Cass show up.

If WWE sold out three straight nights, NXT, SummerSlam and Raw, all in the same building, which would be a first for the company historically (San Jose was three different buildings that sold out) in the U.S. It also means that it makes sense now for the NXT Takeover shows to be moved from Winter Park, FL, to the night before in the same arena WWE does PPVs. However, the crowd at Full Sail University on 7/16 was very negative about losing “their” big quarterly special, booing all mentions of the show (which will have to be edited) and chanting about how they should have gotten it.

Even though not every market will be like New York, you could clearly sell 4,000 to 7,000 tickets for the Takeover shows as solid ticket prices and run profitable live events in other markets on big PPV weekends as opposed to the 400, much of which isn’t paid because the students and workers at the school get in free, at Full Sail. It also helps the perception of the brand greatly for its regular touring shows which will become more frequent.“

“NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn” will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Aug. 22, and will air live on the WWE Network beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

Editor’s Note:

“SummerSlam” weekend is going to be SICK. Stoked. This Southern boy can’t wait to be in NYC for these events!