WWE News: WWE NXT To Emanate From Original ECW Arena?
With the popularity of WWE NXT rising every week, the company may be looking to take the brand to the extreme. According to PWInsider, the company is looking to book NXT at the original ECW arena in Philadelphia for both Friday 5/15 and Saturday 5/16.
If this happens, it would be the first time in eight years that the WWE would host a show from the legendary venue. With the recent success that NXT has experienced taking their live events on the road, a potential two-day extravaganza at the former house of extreme could do record numbers for NXT.
But at the moment, those two dates aren’t necessarily guaranteed to be held in Philadelphia. F4Wonline is reporting that the company had discussions with the venue about bringing NXT to the city of brotherly love but the two aforementioned dates remain open (via LordsofPain).
One of the biggest steps during this NXT era occurred just last week when NXT went on the road, stopping by Ohio at the Arnold Classic. The event sold out quickly and with little promotion to boot.
Triple H also helped to welcome the NXT faithful on the day of the event:
Triple H mentioned in a conference call that the event sold out with the only promotion coming via social media. With that type of success, further credence is established to the idea that the CEO of WWE has where NXT becomes a “touring brand.”
With the emergence of talent such as Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Hideo Itami, Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville, many fans believe that the NXT product is in many ways superior to the main roster. With that type of foundation and fan base, NXT is in some senses becoming a modern day incarnation of ECW.
Let’s get one thing straight, while NXT doesn’t promote the same content that ECW once did, the smaller scaled, hard working and passionate atmosphere that made ECW so special can definitely relate. Therefore, hosting an event in front of a rowdy Philadelphia audience at one of pro wrestling’s most famous arena makes for great television.
The ECW arena still runs a litany of wrestling events, including the House of Hardcore which is run by ECW legend Tommy Dreamer. Last week, Rey Mysterio made his HOH debut in that legendary setting as he made his first post WWE in-ring appearance. It’s those kinds of moments that make a “bingo hall’ as prestigious as any venue in pro wrestling.
If WWE does eventually book the arena for those dates, the ECW arena will be a haven for wrestling that particular week. As the PWInsider article mentioned earlier noted, WWE would be running shows on the same week that Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling are running co-branded events on May 12-13.
[Image via Wrestlezone]
