| WWE Superstar Spectacle | |
| Promotions: | WWE |
| Brands: | Raw (2021, 2023) SmackDown (2021) NXT (2021) |
| Firstevent: | 2021 |
WWE Superstar Spectacle is a series of professional wrestling events produced by the American company WWE. The events have primarily targeted the promotion's Indian market, and have showcased talent of Indian heritage.
The event was first held in 2021 as WWE's first television special produced specifically for India as part of its broadcasting agreement with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI); it featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions. It premiered on January 26, 2021—India's Republic Day—on SPNI channels, and was broadcast internationally as a streaming special on the WWE Network. As with all other WWE programming at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the special was taped behind closed doors in the United States with a virtual audience. In 2023, WWE held a second edition of Superstar Spectacle, this time as a Raw house show in Hyderabad, India.
Coming out of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE's third-quarter financial call on October 29, 2020, WWE's president and Chief Financial Officer, Nick Khan, announced that they were working with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) on producing an event specially targeted to the company's Indian market. Khan also revealed that the event would air in 2021 as a television special on India's Republic Day (January 26) and would mainly feature the promotion's developing Indian wrestlers.[1] [2] [3]
On January 13, 2021, the title for the event was announced as Superstar Spectacle,[4] and WWE revealed that wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions, including WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, Rey Mysterio, Charlotte Flair, AJ Styles, Bayley, The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods), Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Natalya, Ricochet, WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, and many more would be in attendance at the event.[5] [6] Jinder Mahal, the first WWE Champion of Indian descent,[7] The Bollywood Boyz (Samir Singh and Sunil Singh), Indus Sher (Rinku and Saurav), Jeet Rama, Kavita Devi, Giant Zanjeer, Dilsher Shanky, and Guru Raaj, were all further confirmed to appear.[8] [9] [4]
As with all other WWE programming at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Superstar Spectacle was filmed at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida with no in-person spectators using WWE's "ThunderDome" bubble. Reports prior to the taping suggested the special would be filmed at the WWE Performance Center's "Capitol Wrestling Center" studio,[10] the home of NXT, but this was not the case. The event itself was taped on January 22 and then aired on tape delay on January 26. The event premiered on Sony Max, Sony Ten 1, and Sony Ten 3, with commentary available in English and Hindi. Outside of India, the special was streamed on the WWE Network.
On August 1, 2023, WWE announced that a second Superstar Spectacle would be held on September 8, 2023, at the G. M. C. Balayogi Indoor Stadium in the Hyderabad suburb of Gachibowli, India. This was WWE's first live event to be held in India since 2017 and the first held in Hyderabad. Various wrestlers from the Raw brand were announced to be featured at the event due to SmackDown being held that same night in Boston, Massachusetts.[11] WWE had planned to again hold the event in January, but SPNI requested that it be held off until the company completed its merger with Zee Entertainment Enterprises.[12] [13] Unlike the 2021 event, the 2023 event was a non-televised house show.[14] On August 21, it was confirmed that John Cena would appear at the event, with Cena himself stating that it would be his first time wrestling in India.[15]
| Event | Date | City | Venue | Final match | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 | January 22, 2021 | St. Petersburg, Florida, United States | WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field | Drew McIntyre and Indus Sher (Rinku and Saurav) vs. Jinder Mahal and The Bollywood Boyz (Samir Singh and Sunil Singh) | |||
| 2 | 2023 | September 8, 2023 | Gachibowli, Hyderabad, Telangana, India | G. M. C. Balayogi Indoor Stadium | John Cena and Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Imperium (Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser) | |||
| 2021 Superstar Spectacle | |
| Tagline: | Indian Dhamaal A Republic Day Blockbuster |
| Promotion: | WWE |
| Brand: | Raw SmackDown NXT |
| Date: | January 22, 2021[16] |
| Date Aired: | January 26, 2021 |
| City: | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| Venue: | WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field |
| Attendance: | 0 (behind closed doors) |
| Wwenlast: | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs |
| Wwennext: | Royal Rumble |
| Event: | Superstar Spectacle |
| Lastevent2: | First |
| Nextevent2: | 2023 |
The 2021 Superstar Spectacle was the inaugural Superstar Spectacle professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It featured wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions. The event was taped on January 22, 2021, and aired on January 26 for India's Republic Day. In India, it aired as a television special, while outside of India, it was streamed on the WWE Network. The event incorporated elements of traditional and contemporary Indian culture. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that year, the event emanated from the WWE ThunderDome, hosted at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.[6]
Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Drew McIntyre and The Indus Sher (Rinku and Saurav) defeated The Bollywood Boyz (Samir Singh and Sunil Singh) and the returning Jinder Mahal. The event also featured the participation of 10 Indian wrestlers from WWE's developmental system.[17] The company later announced that 20 million people had watched the event live.
| 2023 Superstar Spectacle | |
| Promotion: | WWE |
| Brand: | Raw |
| Date: | September 8, 2023 |
| City: | Gachibowli, Hyderabad, Telangana, India |
| Venue: | G. M. C. Balayogi Indoor Stadium |
| Attendance: | 5,000 (sold out) |
| Event: | Superstar Spectacle |
| Lastevent2: | 2021 |
The 2023 Superstar Spectacle was the second Superstar Spectacle professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It primarily featured wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on September 8, 2023, at G. M. C. Balayogi Indoor Stadium in the Hyderabad suburb of Gachibowli, India. This was also WWE's first live event held in India since December 2017 and the first held in the city of Hyderabad. Unlike the 2021 event, the 2023 event was instead held as a house show.[18] [19]
Seven matches took place at the event. In the main event, John Cena and Seth "Freakin" Rollins defeated Imperium (Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser). The event also featured a special appearance by WWE Hall of Famer The Great Khali, who was WWE's first Indian-born world champion with the previous World Heavyweight Championship. Becky Lynch was originally scheduled to face Zoey Stark at the event, however, due to an issue with her passport, she was unable to attend; Natalya took her place and defeated Stark.[20] Both of Natalya's matches were unappreciated at the event as fans chanted for CM Punk during her matches due to fan's displeasure with the absence of Becky Lynch and Natalya taking her spot.[21] It later aired as Namaste India on Sony Sports Network on October 2, 2023.[22]
Ian Hamilton of 411Mania gave the 2021 Superstar Spectacle a 7.2 out of 10, remarking of the Indian performers (including those making their television debut) that "for a group of guys effectively trained from scratch, this wasn't half bad", and believing that the show was a potential step towards a future "NXT India" (following the example of NXT UK).[23]
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, WWE claimed that 20 million people watched the 2021 event live.[24]