WWE gears up for SummerSlam.
For the first time in WWE history, SummerSlam will expand to two nights as it takes over East Rutherford, New Jersey, this weekend. During an interview with WFAN, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque explained the reasoning behind this move, citing proven success from the two-night extravaganza of WWE WrestleMania events.
“I think people plan their year, their vacation around it, a lot of folks do,” Triple H said. “Whether they’re coming in on the Thursday, they’re going to WWE World, they’re seeing all the memorabilia, getting autographs, coming to SmackDown on Friday night, the Saturday, Sunday events, NXT in the afternoon, sometimes on the Saturdays, all the way through to the Monday night. This time we’ll be at Barclay Center.
“It creates a destination event,” he continued. “So if you are a WWE fan, if you’re a sports entertainment fan, it’s the ultimate. You come in, you’re there for that whole weekend and everything you do, everything you see, when we say we come in and we take over, that New York, New Jersey area will just be WWE central. If you’re a fan, there’s nothing like it. It’s going to Disney for pro wrestling. It’s worked for us at WrestleMania, it’ll work for us at SummerSlam. Going incredibly well. The business is there, so let’s take it.”
WWE SummerSlam action will begin on Saturday, August 2 and follow up with more on August 3 from MetLife Stadium. The second night will be headlined by an Undisputed WWE Championship match between John Cena and The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes, with the former defending the title. Elsewhere on night one, CM Punk will challenge Gunther for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
