Two Different Worlds: WWE and NXT

Dom Bouchard recalls his experience from NXT Toronto and Survivor Series. 

Last weekend I had the chance to travel to Toronto to see NXT TakeOver and Survivor Series. It was an absolute blast and me and my kids had the time of our lives, but this is besides the point I wanted to talk about.

When we got to the Air Canada Centre at 5:30 on Saturday, we had to wait outside for about an hour and already we could feel the adrenaline, the energy, and the enthusiasm of the crowd. The crowd was mostly guys in their mid- twenties up to their mid-forties. Not a lot of women, and mostly not a lot of kids. Mine were the only two besides a little girl from Saskatchewan in front of us. It was mostly a crowd of wrestling fans who talked with insider terms. I talked to everyone I could and most people were hardcore WWE fans who knew a lot about the Indies too.

We had chants of NXT and Nakamura outside the building. The energy was palpable and it was an experience by itself. Once we got inside the shirts and merchandise were selling out in record time. A lot of Nakamura shirts and Glorious too. The 12,000 plus crowd was electric and the opening match was absolutely amazing and so we're both the entrances of Bobby Roode and Tye Dillinger. The 10 chant is gonna be over big time now thanks to Toronto! The Revival and DIY put on a fantastic "Match of the Year" candidate. What a performance by Dash and Dawson! These two teams are the best in the world. The crowd was more than appreciative and "Match of the Year" chants echoed through the arena. The main event was amazing. Nakamura's entrance is the best in the business and his charisma is totally off the charts. What a wonderful card filled with action. Here I said it ACTION Wrestling.

This was a tremendously entertaining evening. Both my ten year old and fourteen year old appreciated it too and loved Nakamura, DIY, and Bobby Roode. The walk back to the hotel downtown was awesome. We talked to fans and everybody seemed happy about their evening.

Sunday we woke up early and we visited beautiful downtown Toronto and the CN tower. Later we ate at Boston Pizza getting ready for the big show.Inside the restaurant is had seven different people telling me they loved my King of strong style Nakamura shirt.And then I noticed again a lot of hardcore WWE fans.Then we walked to the arena 30 minutes before the doors opened at 6.And then it hit me.Like a train.Holy shit.This is a different world.Now I can tell you my kids were not the only kids in the crowd.There were as many kids and moms and dads that there were hardcore fans.Totally different vibe.Again  I talked to a lot of people and many were seeing WWE filer the first time.A lot of people were excited to see Goldberg and Brock.Many hoped to see Taker o Edge.Once inside the arena the crowd was excited and it didn't show in the opening match.The crowd came alive later especially in the 5 on 5 Raw vs Smackdown match.Everyone was cheering the bad guys and booing Roman and Seth.The only faces who got great crowd responses were Shane and Enzo and Cass.Goldberg was over big time.But there is a particular moment that I will forever remember.During the raw vs Smackdown match as fans were booing Roman,me and my kids were screaming let's go Roman everytime and two men and a little boy next to me asked me why are they booing him? He said i haven't watched WWE I'm a while but last time I did Roman was very popular and he is a great athlete so why are the booing him?I took a good 20 seconds an then I said.You know why,like Bray Wyatt says a lot of people are followers and if someone boo they will boo not even knowing why or even caring why.So if we want to change it chant let's go Roman with me and you will see what I mean.He said you bet. Then we started chanting let's go Roman and a few econds later our whole section was chanting with us.It was a wonderful learning moment for me and my kids.The  WWE and NXT are two totally worlds.Both are as amazing as the other but so different.At the end of Survivor Series the crowd was stunned speechless and even when they opened the lights most people stayed in shock.Both nights were memorable and totally different experiences.I can't wait to go back