WWE announced yesterday that a special taping of "NXT" will take place on Tuesday, August 19, at The Met Philadelphia (AKA The Metropolitan Opera House). That news contrasts with previous rumors that the promotion was looking to book the show for the city's 2300 Arena, the former home of ECW, just a week beforeAEW begins a planned residence there.
Speaking on "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer maintained that WWE did indeed want to run 2300 Arena before AEW, but found themselves unable to book the venue. Meltzer wasn't fully confident on the reason why, but he speculated that AEW's agreement with the arena could have disallowed WWE from booking it around the same time.
"I think the idea of running that building was to affect AEW ticket sales," Meltzer said. "They're running seven shows in that building between August 27 and September 11, which is obviously too many. Can they do 800 people seven times? Maybe. That's asking a lot."
While he thinks WWE's intent was to book "NXT" in Philadelphia to hurt AEW's attendance in the following weeks, he believes the fact that "WWE Raw" takes place in the city on August 18 is going to be the bigger factor. The main roster stars have the ability to draw in more fans, who might not have the time or budget to attend the smaller AEW events that follow.
"Raw" is set for the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 18, followed by "NXT" at The Met the night after. AEW's residency at the 2300 Arena will consist of three tapings each of "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Collision," as well as ROH Death Before Dishonor on September 5.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
