NXT took over the UFC APEX and I was there

On Sunday, June 9, the UFC APEX played host to the first-ever WWE event when NXT: Battleground took place. I was invited to attend the event due to being a regualr at the UFC APEX and knew immediately I didn't want to miss it. I'm not a pro wrestling fan, at all, and the only experience I have with the events is watching the movie Fighting with My Family, so I went in blindly. Here's how the event went for me, a first timer.

I pulled into the UFC APEX parking lot about 30 minutes before the doors were set to open in hopes of sneaking in (with permission of course) to take some set-up photos and there was already a massive ling forming with fans. The people I saw had belts and t-shirts and homemade signs and it was totally different from the UFC fans I'm used to seeing on fight nights.

Once inside the first thing I noticed was how many seats they'd crammed into the UFC APEX. I have seen different set ups for Contender Series, Fight Nights and Power Slap, but this was a whole new set up and I liked it. There was at least double the amount of seats for fans. I wondered why they hadn't been doing these seats for UFC fights, and I'll be sure to ask Dana White next time I see him.

My thoughts on NXT Battleground

I sat next to a really nice man from the Wrestling Observer who I asked several questions to like "How long is the show" and "what the hell am I watching?" I learned the show would last about 3.5 hours which is QUICK compared to a UFC event where I'm locked into work mode for AT MINIMUM eight hours. There were six matches of varrying lengths and types as well.

Sexxy Red came out and was announced as the "host" of the night but then I never saw her again, so that was weird.

The first match was a ladder match (please correct me if I am using the wrong terminology) and it was, by far, my favorite match of the evening. At first it was a bit too much going on at once and I didn't know where to look but after a few minutes I got into the groove and picked someone to root for. The stunts were awesome, the costumes were fun and I couldn't help but smile and clap throughout. The only problem with such a great opener was that the "regualr" matches after that were harder to get excited about.

I did really enjoy the tag team match and was drawn to Nathan Frazer as he was performing, and it probbaly had a lot to do with his long hair. It was harder for me to connect with his tag team partner due to the mask probably. I wanted to connect to people, I guess. There was a 2 vs. 1 match and this absolutely massive man who I hear is only 24 years old and I couldn't believe it. He was terrifying, but in a good way. There was also an "underground" match between Lola Vice and Shayna Bazler, two former MMA fighters and boy was it terrible. It was easy to see the difference between that match and the others in terms of skill level.

Overall, I'd go again. I don't think I'd be into it as much on TV, the thrill of it was being right there. Excited to see if the UFC takes any of the NXT ideas and applies them to their next fight night.