I have a lot to say about my experience at the very first NXT live show in Pittsburgh, PA back on June 10th.
Actually, correction. I have a lot of high-pitched squealing noises to make and a ton of “Oh my God!”’s to repeat about a million times. The show was beyond amazing. It was an intimate setting – maybe 500 people tops. It had a stacked card from the opening bout featuring Enzo Amore, Big Cass and Carmella against Team BAMF, to the main event pitting Tyler Breeze against Finn Balor against Kevin Owens against Samoa Joe in his NXT show debut.
It was also a heartfelt show: this was the very day we received word that Dusty Rhodes, The American Dream, had passed away. His impact on the business, and especially on NXT, was fully felt that night.
So with that summary, you might be wondering what else I could possibly have to say about the show. I clearly had an amazing time.
Well, yes. Except…
…look, everybody sit down, we need to have a very serious talk about NXT, women’s wrestling, how things are changing and how supposed supporters are sabotaging everything.
Let me put the positive things first: NXT is changing the mainstream perception of women’s wrestling. And it isn’t by accident. According to an interview with NXT’s “Four Horsewomen,” before their first road show in Columbus Triple H stood before the entire roster and said, “we’re gonna show everyone why we’re revolutionizing women’s wrestling.”
Compared to what is seen on the so-called “main roster,” where women’s matches have only recently been allowed to run more than three minutes, this is groundbreaking. In NXT you are seeing multiple matches in one night featuring women who all have their own style, their own character, their own story. You are seeing stories told in the ring, callbacks to previous encounters, growth and progression. You are seeing athletes who you can get behind and root for.
I cannot stress how important this is for wrestling audiences. Especially for young girls.
