WWE legends and superstars rocked the Javits Center on Saturday during Fanatics Fest, the mega-gathering of sports and pop culture icons.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE chief content officer, kicked things off Saturday with a special SummerSlam press conference, hyping up the two-night extravaganza on Aug. 2 and Aug. 3 at nearby MetLife Stadium.
“Fanatics Fest is incredible. It’s an opportunity for all of us to come together, for all of us to share our Fandom of something. When I come here, I’m amazed that the WWE superstars come here and they see stars from other sports,” Triple-H said.
“For me to be here helping in some way to create and continue to create what you all love is an honor that I can never tell you about. So keep in mind, New York City, New Jersey, we’re coming home. We will be here for you. We will see you then,” he added.
Fans erupted when the likes of Randy Orton, Nikki Bella, Tiffany Stratton, and John Cena made appearances. Cena made headlines earlier this year when he turned heel after more than two decades as a good guy.
He continued his dastardly ways in New York when he refused to answer why he turned bad, instead telling fans to watch the show.
“What I’m hearing is, right now, we have a riveting and exciting television program, and you’re asking me for spoilers, and I’m not gonna give a single one out. You’re gonna have to watch a show and figure out how that turns out,” Cena said.
Cena’s opponent this weekend and fan-favorite CM Punk also took to the stage, where, for the second straight year, he held a baby that was dressed in his merchandise. CM Punk also addressed his current rivalry with Cena and his long-time foe’s version of his own pipebomb on Friday.
“Just because people come out on television and lie about me doesn’t make it true. John said one true, real thing last night, that he’s jealous of me. It doesn’t seem to make any sense because he’s the greatest of all time, right? Seventeen-time world champion. I don’t know if anybody in this room is going to live long enough to see anybody else accomplish that,” Punk said.
Fans jumped out of their seats when Rhea Ripley took to the stage. Ripley has served as a trailblazer in the women’s division and spoke about the upcoming, all-women live event Evolution, and says this is just the beginning for the women.
“We’re just getting started, but going out at Evolution one and facing Dakota Kai, and it being the NXT UK Women’s Championship, it was one of the highlights of my career. It’s funny, actually, the date of Evolution one was the exact same date that I started my wrestling journey in Australia,” Ripley said. ”It’s wild how history writes itself.”
