Source
r/SquaredCircle•
rowsandrows861

NXT Takeover Portland selling slowly

Tickets moving very slowly thus far for Takeover Portland. Granted, it is still in the presale phase, I was expecting to see far more tickets sold. The building holds roughly 19,000 for basketball, this setup only includes around 4,500 tickets available or already sold.

I saw this show as a test for potentially taking the Wednesday show out of Full Sail. We always see pictures of AEW shows with the hard cam side empty, this show will likely be similar.

Over the summer a Smackdown taping drew 2,500 here..

https://preview.redd.it/l3sd49rqvn541.jpg?width=1233&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=39b60f8cfc4cb86816be458eef5eed383d73d1cb

Posted Dec 19, 2019, 9:59 PM UTC

029
scionoflogic•

Just because an arena can hold 19,000 doesn't mean that's the break even point for profitability.

Selling out isn't the goal, making a profit is.

The reality is, wrestling shows are crap to watch from the second balcony and in many venues they don't even open up those ticket sales unless the lower bowl sells out.

14
rowsandrows861OP•

True, most newer arenas are equipped to host smaller events (use of curtains to block off portions of seats) in addition to larger events.

-2
[deleted]•

Well it's on pre-sale not sale to the public as well. I didn't even know it was on pre-sale until this post. About to pick up 4 more.

12
rowsandrows861OP•

I already got my 3 tickets, should be a great time.

1
regionalfireE drones get the wall•

At this point only WWE's big 4 pay perviews can sell out arenas, for any wrestling show in America

10
daprofessional88•

This. I wish more people realized this.

4
Nastynate7500•

Roh and NJPW sold out MSG

0†
rowsandrows861OP•

NJPW and The Elite sold out MSG

9
daprofessional88•

Correction: Matt Taven sold out MSG. Get it right.

3
VMP8899•

I wonder if WM had anything to do with this selling out? Looking at how NJPW drew for their Dallas show, less than 6,000 people, makes me wonder. Even at the Cow Palace they didn't sellout and drew less than 7,000 people.

1
Nastynate7500•

No, it had NJPW and the Elite and that was before the Elite basically told them we are starting AEW. The WM weekend helped a bit but I'm sure if AEW books MSG for a massive show they could sell out

0
Nastynate7500•

NJPW plus the elite is on another level. NjPW alone would draw 3k average

0
SaintevilSA•

Considering that the tickets shouldn't be on sale until tomorrow it makes sense.

5
rowsandrows861OP•

Very true. I was expecting sales to be stronger even in the presale, I will update tomorrow but I don't expect there will be a large difference.

2
rowsandrows861OP•

A lot depends on the area. Other presales going on today are differing greatly, AEW in Atlanta is doing about the same as this while AEW Revolution has sold ~80% so far including the hard cam side.

2
Bsantoro10•

This supposed to be a Main Roster PPV. But apparently there’s gonna be a Saudi show in February so NXT took this spot

3
90660bro•

Granted, it is still in the presale phase, I was expecting to see far more tickets sold.

I'm sure WWE is grateful that someone that doesn't own the company is concerned. I can see Vince now "Ok boys, what are we going to do to get our sales up in POrtland so "rowsandrows861 on reddit is pleased?"

3
VMP8899•

It makes little sense using an arena that can seat 17,500-18,000 for wrestling as a test for moving the show out of Full Sail. They would be better off doing it in an arena that seats in the 4-6,000 range. WWE and AEW couldn't sellout this arena, unless it were a big WWE PPV (RR, Summerslam, Survivor Series).

2
chickenboneneckJim Cornette's Favorite Username•

Some of the smaller arenas are probably harder to get WWE production retrofit for and the difference in rent is probably not enough to justify it.

3
rowsandrows861OP•

I believe they initially had Elimination Chamber scheduled to be at the building on this date.

-1†
SundayNightRaw•

Don’t know why anyone downvoted this. That’s exactly what happened.

1
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1
GazpachoManRandy•

Let's be real. I've recently seen pictures from SmackDown on here with The hard camera side empty. NXT will draw, and you're right it'l look like an AEW show. That's not a bad thing. They are doing fine on the road. I'd be curious to see what NXT could do outside of full sail without piggybacking on a main roster show.

1
rowsandrows861OP•

I would say that they would draw a similar number to what AEW is regularly doing on the road. As long as they're breaking even on the building it shouldn't be a problem.

1
GazpachoManRandy•

I think they have to start small, and build. This is the first time I've heard of them touring in 2020. Colleges and smaller arenas. Just like AEW have been doing. But yeah it'll be good. And it won't have that WWE vibe on it. Please don't take that the wrong way. I look at NXT as something completely different. I think they'll draw a more enlightened crowd I guess. I don't know what other word to use. Haha.

2
rowsandrows861OP•

I agree, NXT definitely draws more of the "hardcore" fans that are knowledgeable of independent wrestling with the family types mixed in.

I would like to see NXT in small arenas and even theaters, it could make for a very cool look on TV. Definitely better than empty seats or curtains.

1
GazpachoManRandy•

I like a lot of promotions just not the biggest one lately. I think that NXT are on an island of their own and the further they get from the main roster the better. I would love to see them establish themselves even more as a brand. Boston loves wrestling. They would kill it here.

2
BebopCrothersAH! AHH! AHHH! SHUT THE FUCK UP!•

Honestly I'm surprised they're selling that much. Portland never struck me as a big wrestling market.

1
rowsandrows861OP•

There was a time when it was, the last few years haven't been very good for WWE there.

1
ratedaverage•

The marketing didn't seem as smooth as usual with Raw and Smackdown.

They didn't do any direct email promotions until an hour after the pre-sale started. (I live in Portland and have been to the last few RAW/Smackdown events here)

On Ticketmaster, they didn't even have the event graphic — some random-looking in-ring still for some reason instead — and it wasn't showing up in the usual WWE upcoming events section even though NXT Live events were. I had to search for the event specifically for some reason in the system, and that is how I found out there was even a pre-sale going to happen.

The only news of this show I saw was from Triple H and the WWE channels on Twitter, and none (that I saw) mentioned a pre-sale.

Hopefully, the rest of Portland and beyond come through so we can have more Takeovers!

1