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If you ever wondered “how much impact do entrance themes and music have on a live wrestling show?”, then let the NXT Live event in Johnson City on 10/22/17 answer that question:
IT. IMPACTS. EVERYTHING.
Sometime before the show started, it seems the house speakers at Freedom Hall blew out, leaving them static-rilled, unable to produce bass, and only operable at low volume.
So when the opening bars of No Way Jose’s theme song fired up to kick off the night, it was at such a low volume that it could barely be heard and thus; his usually energetic entrance was quiet, awkward, and painful to watch. He tried dancing around the arena floor to liven up the crowd, but they were was absolutely quiet from the lack of pop and energy a theme song can produce.
Speaking of the crowd, there is no other way to say it, it was an embarrassment. I live in East Tennessee, am a hardcore fan, and was so ashamed to be sitting amongst such a dead and lifeless audience. The crowd on the floor had sprinkles of hardcore NXT fans, but the remaining ones and pretty much all of the 100 or so sitting in the upper levels sat on their hands throughout the night. I’ve been to lively, frenetic NXT Live shows in Nashville and Atlanta, so my expectations for a fun, festive night were crushed by this crowd that frankly appeared to be waiting for Cena or Roman Reigns to walk through the curtain. This was not an NXT crowd and the aforementioned music/sound issues only threw fire on those flames.
On a positive note, I wanna give credit to the wrestlers and production people of NXT. Despite the crowd’s apathetic nature, every superstar brought their A-game to the ring and put on solid, quality matches that would’ve popped most any other audience. Both tag team matches earned the loudest pops (I use that term loosely) of the night. The of the night was Drew McIntyre - his brutal style in the ring was matched equally by his speed, charisma, and crowd interactions. It’s clear he is having the time of his life and even cut a promo after his match thanking the NXT crowd from his heart.
And as for the production folks, during the Sanity/Undisputed Era match, they wheeled out standalone speakers and worked feverishly to hook them up so that the theme music could be at least somewhat audible. Props to all of them indeed.
All in all, me and my friend had a blast watching the talent in the ring but I can’t ever see NXT returning to Johnson City. This crowd clearly didn’t get what it takes to be a true NXT crowd and the venue’s technical issues only made matter worse.
Event Card:
Singles Match
No Way Jose d. Dan Matha via PIN
Women’s Singles Match
Lacey Evans d. Sage Beckett via SUBMISSION
Singles Match
Velveteen Dream d. Johnny Gargano via PIN
Six-Man Tag Match
The Undisputed Era d. Sanity via PIN
INTERMISSION
Singles Match
Kassius Ohno d. Fabian Aichner via PIN
Women’s Singles Match
Nikki Cross d. Sonya Deville via PIN
Main Event - Tag Team Match
Drew McIntyre/Roderick Strong d. Andrede Cien Almas/Hideo Itami via PIN
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