Tag: NXT

WWE NXT Preview 12/2/20

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will be the go-home show for Sunday’s “Takeover: WarGames 2020” event.

WWE has announced just one match for tonight’s show. Shotzi Blackheart will face Raquel Gonzalez in a Ladder Match to determine which team gets the WarGames advantage in the women’s match.

Tonight’s show will also see the reveal of the final member of Team Shotzi Blackheart. The team currently features Shotzi, Ember Moon and Rhea Ripley. Candice LeRae is teaming with Gonzalez, Dakota Kai and Toni Storm.

WWE NXT Preview 11/25/20

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode will feature more build for the upcoming “Takeover: WarGames 2020” event.

* Kevin Owens does guest commentary to fill in for Wade Barrett

* The storyline between Boa and Xia Li will continue

* Ember Moon vs. Candice LeRae

* Who will be picked for Team Candice LeRae vs. Team Shotzi Blackheart in WarGames?

* Ladder Match: A member of The Undisputed Era vs. a member of The Kings of NXT to determine who gets the advantage in WarGames

Rhea Ripley Possibly Moving To Main Roster Soon

Former NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley is most likely done with NXT and moving to the main roster soon, according to Dave Meltzer on the recent Wrestling Observer Radio.

Meltzer noted that he had recently “heard talk of Ripley moving to the main roster” and Ripley losing clean to Io Shirai this week was another sign of the young Australian star moving on from NXT.

After their main event match for the NXT Women’s Championship, Ripley and Shirai embraced for a hug and it seemed to indicate that they were “finishing up their story,” added Meltzer.

Ripley faced Charlotte Flair earlier this year at WrestleMania 36 and has already been introduced to the main roster audience.

https://twitter.com/RheaRipley_WWE/status/1329431839858102278

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 11/18/20

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will be headlined by two title matches.

New NXT North American Champion Leon Ruff will grant Johnny Gargano his rematch after last week’s title change. Also, Io Shirai will defend the NXT Women’s Title against Rhea Ripley.

Tonight’s NXT will also feature an appearance by NXT Champion Finn Balor. Balor will give an update on his status and the title, his first since undergoing jaw surgery several weeks back.

WWE NXT Preview 11/11/20

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network airing from the Capitol Wrestling Center will feature NXT Tag Team Championship and NXT North American Championship matches.

* Johnny Gargano will defend his NXT North American Championship

* NXT Tag Team Championship: Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch (c) vs. Breezango

WWE NXT Preview 11/4/20

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will feature fallout from last week’s Halloween Havoc episode.

There will be an appearance by new NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano tonight, following last week’s win over Damian Priest. Pat McAfee and NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch will also appear to continue their feud with The Undisputed Era.

Backstage News On WWE NXT Being Kept Off Survivor Series

There will be no WWE NXT involvement in the 2020 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The news was first reported by Ringside News.

There had been speculation on NXT being involved this year, like they were last year, but the NXT brand will instead start building to the next Takeover special on Sunday, December 6 instead.

Regarding the speculation on NXT and the Survivor Series, a logo for the pay-per-view was shown during WWE Hell In a Cell, and that logo still featured the red, yellow and blue colors for all three brands. However, new Survivor Series promotional material was revealed on the WWE website and social media accounts this week, and the yellow color has been removed.

It’s interesting that WWE is keeping NXT off this year’s Survivor Series event because the involvement made the show last year, and led to an increase in ratings on RAW, SmackDown and NXT TV for the month of November with the build-up.

The Observer notes that there are two explanations for WWE keeping NXT off the event this year. WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon wants to keep the brands separate as much as possible to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19. The second reason is that there is simply a mentality to not portray NXT as a major brand that is on the same level as RAW and SmackDown. This is the same reason why there were no NXT Superstars in the 2020 WWE Draft.

The 2020 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view will air live on November 22 from The ThunderDome at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Halloween Havoc Preview 10/28/20

The special Halloween Havoc edition of WWE NXT will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, FL. The show will air until 10:08pm with an 8 minute overrun.

Tonight’s show will be hosted by Shotzi Blackheart, and will be headlined by the return of the “Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal” gimmick in two title matches.

Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal: NXT North American Title Match
Johnny Gargano vs. Damian Priest (c)

Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal: NXT Women’s Title Match
Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai (c)

Haunted House of Terror Match
Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis

Non-Title Match
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar vs. Jake Atlas

Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez

* Pat McAfee appears with NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch

* Halloween costume contest between announcers Wade Barrett and Vic Joseph

Host: Shotzi Blackheart

WWE Performance Center Experiences Another COVID-19 Outbreak

There was reportedly another COVID-19 outbreak recently at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

According to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, the outbreak happened on Friday and people who were at the facility, whether they tested positive or negative, were asked to quarantine for two weeks due to contact tracing

Meltzer’s report did not name any specific talents or personnel who were placed under quarantine. However, he reported that the outbreak included people scheduled for this Wednesday’s special episode of NXT Halloween Havoc. As a result, “aspects of the show are going to have to be changed,” he added.

The report also noted that none of the regular fixtures on NXT television have tested positive.

WWE has yet to respond to reports of the latest outbreak.

As of this writing, a total of 100 fans were scheduled to attend the tapings at the Capitol Wrestling Center. They were scheduled to be tested for COVID-19 in Winter Park, FL, Tuesday night and were to be allowed to attend the tapings only if they cleared the test. This has been the weekly procedure since NXT allowed fans back on the shows recently.

The special Halloween Havoc edition of WWE NXT is scheduled to have an eight minute overrun on the USA Network.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 10/21/20

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will feature the final build for next week’s Halloween Havoc special.

* Kushida vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. The Velveteen Dream

* Breezango defends the NXT Tag Team Titles against Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish

* Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza, Joaquin Wilde, NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar) vs. Jake Atlas, Isiah “Swerve” Scott and Ashante “Thee” Adonis

* The final build for the Halloween Havoc edition of NXT next week