On the heels of a historic, two-night SummerSlam, WWE capped off a takeover of the Tri-State Area with a jam-packed weekend. Along with the company’s biggest event of the summer at MetLife Stadium, fans took to Prudential Center in Newark and Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Friday Night SmackDown and Monday Night Raw, respectively.
It was an action-packed weekend in the ring. John Cena turned babyface and delivered an iconic match with Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract after CM Punk captured the World Heavyweight Championship from Gunther, and Brock Lesnar made his return after two years away from the company. However, the true winners were the fans who converged on the Tri-State Area to showcase their passion.
Across the weekend, SummerSlam drew over 113,000 fans to MetLife. SmackDown drew over 10,000 people to the Prudential Center, and Raw in Brooklyn hosted 11,000 people, and fans traveled from all over the country and world to take in the festivities.
“These are the most passionate fans in the world,” said Anthony Pecone, a local fan. “It’s the best city in the world. You always are going to get a good crowd, it’s always the rowdiest crowd.”
The weekend’s proceedings were not the first time WWE ran a marquee show in the Meadowlands, as MetLife previously hosted WrestleMania twice in 2013 and 2019, but this time around, the takeover expanded beyond the venue. The American Dream mall hosted a Superstore for merchandise, giveaways, and meet-and-greets. In the parking lot, WWE’s pre- and post-show panels set up their stage, with fans able to watch all the action.
“The atmosphere is great,” said Malcom from Georgia. “We made a lot of new friends and new wrestling fans while we were here.”
One way the fans showcased their fandom was by cosplaying as some of their favorite wrestlers. Fans came to the show portraying Triple H, Hulk Hogan, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and The Iron Sheik.
“He was my childhood growing up,” said a fan dressed in Hogan attire from Milwaukee, WI. “Loved watching wrestling, and I continue to watch wrestling now.”
Raw emanated from Brooklyn to cap off the weekend, which featured a Bodega event hosted by Netflix. WWE Superstars Jey Uso, Natalya, The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, and Akira Tozawa were in attendance, alongside several celebrities. The likes of Method Man, Joe Budden, Dave East, and more were in attendance for the show, along with the cast of Netflix original series “WEDNESDAY.”
While it’s always about putting on a good show, for this historic weekend, it was about putting eyes on the company and their product. WWE struck a 10-year, $5 billion deal with Netflix to broadcast their flagship show, and more content has begun making its way to the platform following the debut of WWE: Unreal on July 29.
Activations such as the Bodega put WWE, its talent, and its fans among key pieces of both local pop culture and Netflix’s platform. This, in turn, can further the deal’s outreach, as new eyes will be upon the product as WWE continues to draw following their historic agreement.
The company will have a chance to replicate this process in 2026, as WWE reached an agreement with ESPN to become home to their Premium Live Events starting next year. As WWE continues to build viewership through Netflix, the ESPN deal provides a similar opportunity to get more fans watching and engaging with the product.
As WWE now moves towards Clash in Paris at the end of the month, a historic SummerSlam weekend is in the books. This year marked the first time WWE used a two-night format for their biggest show of the summer, making it a jam-packed showcase for the company and its fans.
