NXT (WWE brand)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

NXT
Logo for the brand and the NXT television program as of September 13, 2022
Product typeProfessional wrestling
Sports entertainment
OwnerWWE
Produced byPaul "Triple H" Levesque
Shawn Michaels
CountryUnited States
IntroducedFebruary 23, 2010[1]
Related brandsRaw
SmackDown
ECW
205 Live
NXT UK
Tagline8 NXT Rookies. 8 WWE Pros. 1 Dream.
(2010–2012)[2]
We Are NXT.
(2015–present)[3]
Other names
NXT 2.0
(2021–2022)

NXT is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was introduced on February 23, 2010. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to NXT primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, NXT. It serves as a developmental brand for Raw and SmackDown, which are WWE's primary brands considered as the main roster. Due to its developmental status, NXT operates regardless if there is a brand extension in effect or not.

In its original incarnation, NXT was a reality-based television show in which rookies competed to become a star in WWE. In 2012, NXT was relaunched as a separate brand and replaced the now-defunct Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) as WWE's developmental territory. Primarily holding its events in the Orlando, Florida area since its relaunch, the brand would be expanded upon over time, having embarked on national and international tours. Wrestling critics and fans came to view NXT as its own distinct entity during this period, with the brand's shows being praised for their high-quality matches[4][5] and storylines. It is also praised for its increased focus on women's wrestling as its women's division is presented as legitimate wrestlers and not as eye candy in the past, eventually giving way to the WWE Women's Evolution.[6][7]

In September 2019, NXT's weekly television series was expanded to a two-hour format and moved to USA Network. The brand faced direct Nielsen ratings competition from All Elite Wrestling's flagship show, Dynamite, during this period as part of the "Wednesday Night Wars". In April 2021, NXT's television series moved to Tuesday nights, and the brand would relaunch under the "NXT 2.0" banner later that September, reinstituting its original function as a developmental brand. A year later, the brand would revert to its original "NXT" name.[8]

In addition to NXT's main television program, the brand's wrestlers also appear on the supplementary show, Level Up; some NXT wrestlers also occasionally appear on Raw's supplementary program, Main Event, typically when they are in consideration to being promoted to the main roster. From 2014 to 2021, the brand held its major events under the NXT TakeOver series, but this event series was discontinued with the rebranding to NXT 2.0. WWE also operated a subsidiary brand under NXT called NXT UK, which was based in and produced for wrestlers in the United Kingdom; the brand is currently on hiatus and will relaunch at a later time as NXT Europe to become a Pan-European brand. Another subsidiary brand, 205 Live, existed under NXT from 2019 until 2022 when 205 Live was dissolved.

History

Launch

NXT formed in 2010, following the dissolution of the ECW brand. Initially, a dispute occurred over the "NXT" trademark between WWE and Scotland's Scottish Wrestling Alliance (SWA), whose developmental division was called "NXT".[9] WWE worked with SWA to secure the NXT trademark for their new series, and SWA renamed its developmental branch to "SWA: Source".[10] In February 2010, WWE debuted the NXT television program - it featured rookies from WWE's Tampa, Florida-based developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) competing to become members of WWE's main roster.

Early history as a developmental territory

In June 2012, WWE ceased operating FCW, and instead started running all of its developmental events and operations at Full Sail University under the NXT banner.[11] The television show would also be revamped the same month to focus exclusively on developmental talent.

WWE chairman Vince McMahon (left) with son-in-law and NXT founder Paul "Triple H" Levesque

On February 27, 2014, NXT held a live, two-hour event, NXT Arrival, serving as the first live wrestling event for the newly launched WWE Network service.[12][13] After the second live event in May 2014, NXT TakeOver, the "TakeOver" name would be used for future live NXT events airing on WWE Network. In March 2015, NXT promoted its first live event outside of Florida with an event in Columbus, Ohio.[14] On August 22, 2015, NXT held its first TakeOver event outside of Full Sail University, with NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn at New York City's Barclays Center—acting as a support event for SummerSlam. In December of the same year, NXT held its first TakeOver event outside of the United States with NXT TakeOver: London. By 2016, NXT was running approximately 200 shows per year between the United States and overseas.[15]

Bill DeMott controversy

In late February and March 2015, several former NXT trainees previously working within WWE developmental system alleged misconduct by head trainer Bill DeMott, with Judas Devlin and Brandon Traven publicizing complaints which they claimed they had submitted to WWE management about DeMott back in March 2013 when they were still employed with WWE.[16][17] Meanwhile, other ex trainees like Briley Pierce, Derrick Bateman and independent wrestler Terra Calaway also made allegations in 2015,[16][17][18][19] while previous allegations made in 2013 by Chad Baxter and Chase Donovan were also noted.[20] They accused DeMott of making trainees perform dangerous drills,[16] physically assaulting and bullying trainees,[16][17] using homophobic and racial slurs amongst other derogatory terms[17][20] and condoning sexual harassment.[18] WWE released statements regarding some of the claims that came to light in 2013 and 2015, saying that investigations were done and no wrongdoing was found.[16][20] On March 6, 2015, DeMott denied the allegations, but resigned from WWE.[18]

The Wednesday Night Wars

On August 20, 2019, it was announced that the NXT television series would move to USA Network—the current broadcaster of WWE's flagship Monday Night Raw—and expand into a two-hour, live broadcast on Wednesday nights beginning September 18, 2019. The timing of the premiere coincided with SmackDown's move to FOX in October. As a result of the move, the show would compete with All Elite Wrestling (AEW)'s weekly show, Dynamite, on TNT; marking the beginning of the "Wednesday Night Wars".[21]

On October 18, 2019, it was announced by Drake Maverick that NXT and the 205 Live brand and NXT would began a talent exchange.[22][23] In an interview with VultureHound Magazine on September 12, executive producer Paul "Triple H" Levesque would confirm that both the 205 Live and NXT UK brands would essentially be subsidiaries to NXT, with their respective talents and personnel falling under the NXT banner.[24]

On October 31, 2019, it was announced that NXT would take part in that year's Survivor Series, competing directly against Raw and SmackDown.[25] In 2020, after winning that year's women's Royal Rumble match, Charlotte Flair chose to challenge Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36, establishing that NXT championships were also options for Rumble winners to choose as they are guaranteed a world championship match of their choice at WrestleMania.

During this time period, some at NXT referred to the promotion as WWE's 'third brand',[26][27][28] although many journalists still referred to NXT as developmental, with Raw and SmackDown viewed as WWE's "main roster".[29][30] WWE wrestler Matt Riddle called NXT a "small ocean", while "when you get to the main roster you are in the ocean".[31] Reflecting on the Wednesday Night Wars in a 2022 interview, Levesque said, "People put so much pressure on [this] 'competitive war'...it never was that. ... they beat our developmental system, good for them". This effectively retracted the view that NXT was one of their top three brands during that time.[32]

Move to Tuesday nights

The Wednesday Night Wars came to an end in April 2021 when NXT was moved to Tuesday nights.[33] After 12 NXT wrestlers were released from their contracts that August, Dave Scherer and Mike Johnson of Pro Wrestling Insider reported there had been internal talks of major changes to the brand, such as: "a new logo, new lighting, a focus on younger talents and a different format to the TV shows."[34] Dave Meltzer reported that NXT would likely go back to its developmental roots, with "talent that are [sic] younger, bigger and that could someday main event at WrestleMania".[35] WWE President Nick Khan subsequently confirmed that NXT would undergo a "complete revamp" overseen by Levesque.[36] However, due to undergoing heart surgery in September, Levesque stepped away from the brand[37] and Shawn Michaels stepped in to oversee the creative aspect of the brand.[38]

Shawn Michaels - in his role as a Sr. Vice President in WWE - has been in charge of the NXT brand since September 2021

Dubbed NXT 2.0, the revamp began on the September 14 episode of NXT.[39] WWE NXT and 205 Live would emanate from a fully redesigned venue at the WWE Performance Center to coincide with the revamp, dropping the "Capitol Wrestling Center" name.[40] The NXT TakeOver series would also be discontinued, with that year's WarGames event being the brand's first PPV to not be held under the "TakeOver" name.[41][42][43] Since its revamp, many of the NXT wrestlers were released en masse in November 2021 due to budget cuts and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that involved administrative staff, plant and wrestlers.[44][45] This fractured further in January 2022, several backstage workers were released, most of them known for their work with Levesque, including NXT General Manager William Regal and writer Ryan Katz.[46] On February 15, PWInsider reported that WWE was ceasing the production of 205 Live episodes, replacing the series with a new supplementary show for NXT called Level Up, which premiered on Peacock and the WWE Network on February 18.[47]

Briefly in 2022, talents from NXT appeared on Monday Night Raw similar to the ECW talent exchange in 2007. Meltzer reported that Raw-NXT crossovers were a way to help boost the programs' ratings, since they both air on the USA Network.[48]

In September 2022, Michaels was promoted to Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative, responsible for both creative and development at NXT, and for the expansion of NXT UK into NXT Europe at a later time.[49] At the conclusion of the September 13, 2022 episode of NXT—which marked the one-year anniversary of the revamp—an updated logo for the brand was unveiled, dropping the "NXT 2.0" title and adopting a gold color scheme reminiscent of the original NXT branding.[50]

In late-2022, after Triple H became chief content officer of WWE, NXT wrestlers began to increasingly make appearances on WWE's mid-card program Main Event. These crossovers came as part of efforts to increase the profile of NXT's talent, and evaluate their performances with members of WWE's main roster.[51][52]

Championships and accomplishments

The colors and symbols indicate the brand of the champions (if they are not part of the NXT roster).

Raw SmackDown

Current championships

NXT
Championship Current champion(s) Reign Date won Days
held
Location Notes Ref.
NXT Championship Ilja Dragunov 1 September 30, 2023 197 Bakersfield, California Defeated Carmelo Hayes at No Mercy. [53]
NXT Women's Championship Roxanne Perez 2 April 6, 2024 8 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Defeated Lyra Valkyria at Stand & Deliver. [54]
NXT North American Championship Oba Femi 1 January 9, 2024 96 Orlando, Florida Defeated Dragon Lee on NXT. [55]
NXT Heritage Cup Charlie Dempsey 1 February 27, 2024 47 Orlando, Florida Defeated Noam Dar 2–1 on NXT. [56]
NXT Tag Team Championship
Nathan Frazer and Axiom 1 April 9, 2024 5 Orlando, Florida Defeated Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin on NXT.
NXT Women's North American Championship TBD 1 Title announced during Stand & Deliver on April 6, 2024.
  • The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is defended across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.

Previous championships

Championship Time on brand
NXT Cruiserweight Championship October 9, 2019 — January 4, 2022[nb 1]
Million Dollar Championship June 13, 2021 — August 23, 2021
WWE 24/7 Championship May 20, 2019 — November 9, 2022[nb 2]
NXT Women's Tag Team Championship March 10, 2021 — June 23, 2023[nb 3]

Other accomplishment(s)

Championship Latest winner(s) Date won Location Notes
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker February 4, 2024 Clarksville, Tennessee Defeated Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams in the tournament final at Vengeance Day to win
Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Kay Lee Ray and Io Shirai March 22, 2022 Orlando, Florida Defeated Dakota Kai and Wendy Choo in the tournament final on NXT 2.0 to win

Television show

The WWE Network was the main broadcaster of NXT's eponymous television program in the United States from 2014 to 2019. Regular episodes ran for one-hour and aired on tape delay, while live NXT TakeOver events were produced periodically. Beginning on May 17, 2012, WWE began filming NXT at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, with the venue being billed on air as "Full Sail Live".[57]

In its original format from 2010 to 2012, the series was a seasonally-broadcast competition series that was filmed in large venues during the SmackDown tapings. The series saw "NXT Rookies" paired with "WWE Pros", with the pairs competing in challenges until one sole winner remained. As with WWE's main programming, the series followed scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters that built tension and culminated in a series of matches or challenges. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers, while storylines were produced on the weekly series.[58][59] Over the course of its five-season run, the winners of each season were Wade Barrett (Season 1), Kaval (Season 2), Kaitlyn (Season 3) and Johnny Curtis (Season 4). After NXT Redemption, the show's seasonal format was dropped.

Pay-per-view and WWE Network events

Event Date Venue Location Main event Ref.
Arrival February 27, 2014 Full Sail University Winter Park, Florida Bo Dallas (c) vs. Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship [60]
TakeOver May 29, 2014 Adrian Neville (c) vs. Tyson Kidd for the NXT Championship [61]
TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way September 11, 2014 Adrian Neville (c) vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd for the NXT Championship [62]
TakeOver: R Evolution December 11, 2014 Adrian Neville (c) vs. Sami Zayn in a Title vs. Career match for the NXT Championship [63]
TakeOver: Rival February 11, 2015 Sami Zayn (c) vs. Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship [64]
TakeOver: Unstoppable May 20, 2015 Kevin Owens (c) vs. Sami Zayn for the NXT Championship [65]
TakeOver: Brooklyn August 22, 2015 Barclays Center Brooklyn, New York Finn Bálor (c) vs. Kevin Owens in a Ladder match for the NXT Championship [66]
TakeOver: Respect October 7, 2015 Full Sail University Winter Park, Florida Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks in a 30-minute Iron Man match for the NXT Women's Championship [67]
TakeOver: London December 16, 2015 SSE Arena Wembley, London, England Finn Bálor (c) vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship [68]
TakeOver: Dallas April 1, 2016 Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, Texas Finn Bálor (c) vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship [69]
TakeOver: The End June 8, 2016 Full Sail University Winter Park, Florida Samoa Joe (c) vs. Finn Bálor in a Steel Cage match for the NXT Championship [70]
TakeOver: Brooklyn II August 20, 2016 Barclays Center Brooklyn, New York Samoa Joe (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship [71]
TakeOver: Toronto November 19, 2016 Air Canada Centre Toronto, Ontario, Canada Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship [72]
TakeOver: San Antonio January 28, 2017 Freeman Coliseum San Antonio, Texas Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship [73]
TakeOver: Orlando April 1, 2017 Amway Center Orlando, Florida Bobby Roode (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship [74][75]
TakeOver: Chicago May 20, 2017 Allstate Arena Rosemont, Illinois The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) (c) vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) in a Ladder match for the NXT Tag Team Championship [76]
TakeOver: Brooklyn III August 19, 2017 Barclays Center Brooklyn, New York Bobby Roode (c) vs. Drew McIntyre for the NXT Championship [71][77]
TakeOver: WarGames November 18, 2017 Toyota Center Houston, Texas Sanity (Alexander Wolfe, Eric Young, and Killian Dain) vs. The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) and Roderick Strong vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O'Reilly) in a WarGames match [78][79]
TakeOver: Philadelphia January 27, 2018 Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Andrade "Cien" Almas (c) vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT Championship [80][81][82]
TakeOver: New Orleans April 7, 2018 Smoothie King Center New Orleans, Louisiana Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa in an unsanctioned match [83][84]
TakeOver: Chicago II June 16, 2018 Allstate Arena Rosemont, Illinois Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa in a Chicago Street Fight [85][86]
U.K. Championship June 26, 2018 Royal Albert Hall Kensington, London, England Pete Dunne (c) vs. Zack Gibson for the WWE United Kingdom Championship [87]
TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 August 18, 2018 Barclays Center Brooklyn, New York Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Johnny Gargano in a Last Man Standing match for the NXT Championship [88][89]
TakeOver: WarGames November 17, 2018 Staples Center Los Angeles, California Pete Dunne, Ricochet, and War Raiders (Hanson and Rowe) vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) in a WarGames match [90][91][92]
TakeOver: Phoenix January 26, 2019 Talking Stick Resort Arena Phoenix, Arizona Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Aleister Black for the NXT Championship [93][94]
Halftime Heat February 3, 2019 WWE Performance Center Orlando, Florida Aleister Black, Ricochet and Velveteen Dream vs. Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa [95]
TakeOver: New York April 5, 2019 Barclays Center Brooklyn, New York Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole in a two-out-of-three falls match for the vacant NXT Championship [96]
TakeOver: XXV June 1, 2019 Webster Bank Arena Bridgeport, Connecticut Johnny Gargano (c) vs. Adam Cole for the NXT Championship [97]
TakeOver: Toronto August 10, 2019 Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario Adam Cole (c) vs. Johnny Gargano in a two-out-of-three falls match for the NXT Championship [98]
TakeOver: WarGames November 23, 2019 Allstate Arena Rosemont, Illinois Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, and Kevin Owens vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong) in a WarGames match [99][100]
TakeOver: Portland February 16, 2020 Moda Center Portland, Oregon Adam Cole (c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship [101]
TakeOver: In Your House June 7, 2020 Full Sail University Winter Park, Florida Charlotte Flair (c) vs Rhea Ripley vs Io Shirai for the NXT Women's Championship [102]
TakeOver XXX August 22, 2020 Keith Lee (c) vs. Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship [103]
TakeOver 31 October 4, 2020 Capitol Wrestling Center at the WWE Performance Center Orlando, Florida Finn Bálor (c) vs. Kyle O'Reilly for the NXT Championship [104]
TakeOver: WarGames December 6, 2020 The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Roderick Strong, and Bobby Fish) vs. Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan) in a WarGames match [105]
TakeOver: Vengeance Day February 14, 2021 Finn Bálor (c) vs. Pete Dunne for the NXT Championship [106]
TakeOver: Stand & Deliver April 7, 2021 Io Shirai (c) vs. Raquel González for the NXT Women's Championship [107]
April 8, 2021 Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole in an unsanctioned match
TakeOver: In Your House June 13, 2021 Karrion Kross (c) vs. Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Pete Dunne in a Fatal 5-Way match for the NXT Championship [108]
TakeOver 36 August 22, 2021 Karrion Kross (c) vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship [109][110]
WarGames December 5, 2021 WWE Performance Center Orlando, Florida Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, Grayson Waller, Tony D'Angelo, and Carmelo Hayes) vs. Team Black & Gold (Johnny Gargano, L. A. Knight, Pete Dunne, and Tommaso Ciampa) in a WarGames match [111]
Stand & Deliver April 2, 2022 American Airlines Center Dallas, Texas Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship
In Your House June 4, 2022 WWE Performance Center Orlando, Florida Bron Breakker (c) vs. Joe Gacy for the NXT Championship
Worlds Collide September 4, 2022 WWE Performance Center Orlando, Florida Bron Breakker (c) vs. Tyler Bate (c) to unifiy the NXT Championship and NXT UK Championship
Halloween Havoc October 22, 2022 WWE Performance Center Orlando, Florida Bron Breakker (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh for the NXT Championship
Deadline December 10, 2022 WWE Performance Center Orlando, Florida Bron Breakker (c) vs. Apollo Crews for the NXT Championship [112]
Vengeance Day February 4, 2023 Spectrum Center Charlotte, North Carolina Bron Breakker (c) vs. Grayson Waller in a Steel Cage match for the NXT Championship [113]
Stand & Deliver April 1, 2023 Crypto.com Arena Los Angeles, California Bron Breakker (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship [114]
Battleground May 28, 2023 Tsongas Center Lowell, Massachusetts Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship [115]
The Great American Bash July 30, 2023 H-E-B Center at Cedar Park Cedar Park, Texas Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Championship
No Mercy September 30, 2023 Mechanics Bank Arena Bakersfield, California Becky Lynch (c) vs. Tiffany Stratton in an Extreme Rules match for the NXT Women's Championship
Deadline December 9, 2023 Total Mortgage Arena Bridgeport, Connecticut Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Baron Corbin for the NXT Championship
Vengeance Day February 4, 2024 F&M Bank Arena Clarksville, Tennessee Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Trick Williams for the NXT Championship
Stand & Deliver April 6, 2024 Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes
Battleground May 26, 2024 Enmarket Arena Savannah, Georgia
Heatwave July 7, 2024 Scotiabank Arena Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Notes

  1. ^ The championship was shared with the 205 Live and NXT UK brands until it was unified with the NXT North American Championship on January 4, 2022 and subsequently retired.
  2. ^ The championship was shared amongst all of WWE's brands, until it was retired on November 9, 2022.
  3. ^ As a result of the 2023 WWE Draft, the title was briefly on the SmackDown brand from May to June 2023 until it was unified with the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship on the June 23, 2023, episode of SmackDown and subsequently retired.

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