WWR NXT premiere tonight live on The CW Network from the Allstate Arena in Chicago.
“WWE NXT” will begin a new era this October, as the brand will move to The CW after five years of airing on USA Network. WWE agreed a deal in late 2023 to have “NXT” air on The CW for the next five years, meaning that “NXT” will be the only WWE brand on broadcast television, as “WWE SmackDown” moves from FOX to USA in September 2024, and “WWE Raw” moves to Netflix in 2025. In order to make “NXT’s” first pair of shows on network TV feel as special as possible, WWE have announced two events that will see “NXT” go back on the road, at least for a few weeks.
In an official press release, WWE confirmed that both the October 1 and October 8 episodes of “NXT” will be arena shows, with the first taking place at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois, while the latter will air live from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. To make the shows feel even bigger, two of WWE’s top main roster stars will be stopping by in their respective hometowns each week, with CM Punk showing up in Chicago, and Randy Orton showing up in St. Louis. Tickets for both events will go on sale Thursday, August 15, with an exclusive pre-sale opportunity taking place on Wednesday, August 14.
These two shows will be part of a very busy period for WWE, as both “Raw” and “SmackDown” will be airing on USA until the end of 2024, while the Bad Blood PLE will be sandwiched between the two “NXT” events on October 5. Coincidentally, the October 8 episode will also be going head-to-head with the “Title Tuesday” edition of “AEW Dynamite” for the third year in a row, as that show will be pre-empted by the MLB playoffs.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Late last year, WWE announced that their development show, “WWE NXT,” would be making the jump from USA Network to The CW Network. As the date of transfer looms over the heads of WWE’s newest stars, PWInsider Elite has offered more information regarding the nature and magnitude of this broadcast home transfer.
Starting October 1 at 8pm Eastern, fans can expect to tune into an episode of “NXT” filmed not within the walls of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, but “on the road in a major arena.” “NXT’s” debut episode on The CW is expected to be a high-profile event, with one internal source comparing it to the hallowed “NXT” Takeovers of the past in terms of significance to the overall brand. The reported spectacle comes from WWE’s desire to impress The CW as the two companies begin working together.
There are several locations being discussed for the location of “NXT’s” new network debut. As of writing, the most significant argument has been made for a Chicago-based show, as the Windy City is home to one of the Nexstar Media Group’s headquarters — Nexstar Media Group is The CW’s current owner, and the group that verified the “NXT” deal. However, it should be noted that the location for the October 1 episode of “NXT” is still in discussion, and may change in the coming months. There is also no announced special theme or premium live event planned in October for the developmental brand as of writing.
The shift in “NXT”‘s broadcasting home comes from an earlier deal to move “WWE SmackDown” off of Fox and onto USA Network. Despite gaining the rights to WWE’s Friday-based show, USA Network and parent company NBCU failed to outbid Netflix, who is slated to assume the broadcasting rights for “WWE Raw,” and The CW.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
As we previously reported, a rumored television deal between the National Wrestling Alliance and The CW Network is apparently in jeopardy following a controversial segment that took place at last month’s NWA Samhain pay-per-view event. Dave Meltzer had an update on the NWA and Billy Corgan situation on today’s episode of Wrestling Observer Radio.
According to an earlier report by Haus of Wrestling, the segment featured James Mitchell partying with several women and snorting a white powdery substance that was hinted to be cocaine.
The controversial segment reportedly upset some CW higher-ups who have since been pushing for NWA programming to air only on The CW app instead of the main network as was initially planned.
NWA CEO and owner Billy Corgan has dismissed the report on the matter.
The NWA and The CW have yet to announce any type of streaming or network TV deal. And it appears the deal may now be off with WWE NXT coming to the CW Network next year.
Source: eWn
With the announcement last month that “WWE SmackDown” would be leaving Fox and heading back to USA in 2024, questions emerged regarding the futures for “WWE Raw” and “WWE NXT” on USA respectively. At least with “NXT,” its future will lie elsewhere, in a move that will also affect another wrestling promotion.
In a press release late Tuesday afternoon, WWE announced they had reached a deal with The CW to broadcast “NXT” starting in September 2024. PWInsider reported earlier in the afternoon that the two sides were in deep negotiations, so much so that an announcement could happen at any time. No financial details were disclosed, though the earlier report suggested that the deal would be “the biggest increase for “WWE NXT” media rights ever.”
The deal will mark NXT’s move from cable to broadcast TV, and will be a reunion between WWE and The CW, which aired “SmackDown” from 2006 to 2008; “SmackDown” also aired on The CW’s predecessor, UPN, from 1999 to 2006. The news comes on the heels of speculation that The CW was entering a relationship with rival promotion NWA, with both a wrestling and reality show set to air. It’s unclear what effect the WWE/CW deal will have on any potential NWA projects, or if a recent NWA angle said to give The CW pause helped contribute to this move.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
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