Something about WWE’s handling of a recent major event may have exposed a problem the company did not see coming.
AAA Ola de Calor and NXT Heatwave went back-to-back at Bert Ogden Arena on Sunday, creating a unique six-hour wrestling presentation. However, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, the way WWE structured the night may have produced an outcome the company was not prepared for.
Meltzer reported hearing similar accounts from people who attended the event and individuals within WWE. The apparent belief was that NXT would have stronger appeal among the U.S. audience, which resulted in AAA being placed first and NXT following afterward.
But once the AAA portion wrapped up, a significant number of fans reportedly decided they had seen enough. Meltzer claimed the crowd had potentially dropped to around half its original size by the time NXT reached its main event.
The reactions throughout the night reportedly offered another indication of what the audience wanted. Mexican talent connected far more strongly with the crowd than most of the NXT roster. Zilla Fatu was described as the major exception, receiving a particularly strong reaction.
Others, including Kendall Grey, Tony D’Angelo and Myles Borne, reportedly struggled to generate anything close to that level of enthusiasm. Even Natalya, who WWE may have expected to receive a strong response, reportedly did not get the reaction anticipated.
Meltzer’s explanation was fairly straightforward. The audience had largely come to see lucha libre, meaning NXT was competing for attention with a crowd whose primary interest had already been satisfied.
That could give WWE something important to consider if it stages another combined AAA and NXT event. Rather than waiting until the AAA presentation concludes, WWE may be better served by giving NXT the earlier position while the building is still full.
There was also the sheer length of the show to consider. Six hours is a major commitment for any wrestling audience, and asking fans to remain in the arena long after the attraction that brought many of them through the doors had finished was always going to be difficult.
Ultimately, the event may have highlighted a bigger issue involving audience composition, card positioning and expectations.
Do you think WWE made the wrong call by putting NXT after AAA, or was the six-hour runtime ultimately the bigger problem?
