NXT is a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

of the American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

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 NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

''. The brand serves as a

developmental territory In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a highe ...

for WWE's two main brands, Raw and SmackDown, which are referred to as the main roster. Due to its status as the company's developmental territory, NXT operates regardless if there is a brand extension in effect or not. In its original incarnation, ''NXT'' was a

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, re ...

-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 Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...

(FCW) as WWE's developmental territory. Primarily holding its events in the

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

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 and storylines. WWE would promote NXT as its third main brand in September 2019, when its eponymous weekly series was expanded to a two-hour format and moved to

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

. The brand faced direct

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

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 territory. A year later, the brand would revert to its original "NXT" name.Beth Phoenix on how NXT 2.0 changes affected the announce team - 411mania.com
/ref> In addition to NXT's main television program, the brand's wrestlers also appear on the supplementary show, '' Level Up''. 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 in 2023 as NXT Europe to include all

Pan-European Pan-European can refer to: * Pan-European identity * Pan-European corridors ** Pan-European Corridor X ** Pan-European Corridor Xa * Pan European Game Information * Pan-European Institute * Pan-European nationalism * Pan-European Oil Pipeli ...

countries. Another subsidiary brand,

205 Live ''WWE 205 Live'' is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired exclusively on the WWE Network until March ...

, existed under NXT from 2019 until 2022 when 205 Live was dissolved.

History

Beginning

NXT was formed in 2010, following the dissolution of the ECW brand. Initially, the NXT trademark was disputed between WWE and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

's Scottish Wrestling Alliance (SWA), whose developmental division was also called NXT. WWE worked with SWA to secure the NXT trademark for their new series with SWA's developmental branch being renamed "SWA: Source." In February 2010, WWE debuted the ''

'' television program, the program featured rookies from WWE's

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...

-based developmental territory

(FCW) competing to become members of WWE's main roster.

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. The television show would also be revamped the same month to focus exclusively on developmental talent. McMahon and 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. 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 Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

with an event in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

. On August 22, 2015, NXT held its first TakeOver event outside of Full Sail University, with NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

'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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

with NXT TakeOver: London. By 2016, NXT was running approximately 200 shows per year between the United States and overseas.

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. Meanwhile, other ex trainees like Briley Pierce,

Derrick Bateman Michael Hutter (born March 18, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Ethan Carter III (or simply EC3). EC3 is a co-founder of Control Your Narrative. He also performs on the independent circuit. He ...

and independent wrestler Terra Calaway also made allegations in 2015, while previous allegations made in 2013 by Chad Baxter and Chase Donovan were also noted. They accused DeMott of making trainees perform dangerous drills, physically

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...

ing and

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an ...

trainees, using homophobic and

racial slurs The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or ot ...

amongst other derogatory terms and condoning sexual harassment. 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. On March 6, 2015, DeMott denied the allegations, but resigned from WWE.

The Wednesday Night Wars

On August 20, 2019, it was announced that the ''NXT'' television series would move to

—the current broadcaster of WWE's flagship ''

Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show ...

''—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". On October 18, 2019, it was announced by Drake Maverick that NXT and the

brand and NXT would began a talent exchange. 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. On October 31, 2019, it was announced that NXT would take part in that year's Survivor Series, competing directly against Raw and SmackDown. 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. Despite WWE promoting NXT as one of their top three brands during this time, some independent journalists still referred to NXT as developmental, with Raw and SmackDown viewed as WWE's "main roster". WWE wrestler Matt Riddle called NXT a "small ocean", while "when you get to the main roster you are in the ocean". Reflecting on the Wednesday Night Wars in a 2022 interview, Levesque said, "People put so much pressure on his'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.

NXT 2.0

The Wednesday Night Wars came to an end in April 2021 when ''NXT'' was moved to Tuesday nights. 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." Dave Meltzer reported that NXT would likely go back to its developmental roots, with "talent that are icyounger, bigger and that could someday main event at WrestleMania". WWE President Nick Khan subsequently confirmed that NXT would undergo a "complete revamp" overseen by Levesque. However, Levesque was sidelined throughout the re-branding due to undergoing heart surgery in September, and

Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one ...

stepped in to oversee the creative aspect of the brand. Dubbed "NXT 2.0", the revamp began on the September 14 episode of ''NXT''. ''WWE NXT'' and ''

'' would emanate from a fully redesigned venue at the WWE Performance Center to coincide with the revamp, dropping the "Capitol Wrestling Center" name. 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. 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. 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 Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his ti ...

and writer Ryan Katz. 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 Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...

and the WWE Network on February 18. Briefly in 2022, talents from NXT appeared on ''

'' similar to the ECW talent exchange in 2007. Meltzer reported that Raw-NXT crossovers were a way to help boost NXT 2.0 ratings as both programs air on the USA Network.

Return to NXT

At the conclusion of the September 13, 2022 edition of the show, the brand returned to the NXT name, revealing a revised version of the logo featuring white lettering in the 2.0 font outlined in black and gold (a nod to the brand's past history) and removing the 2.0 part.

Championships and accomplishments

Current championships

Previous championships

Other accomplishment(s)

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". 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 A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

, 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. Over the course of its five-season run, the winners of each season were Wade Barrett ( Season 1),

Kaval The kaval is a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout the Balkans (in Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Southern Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Greece, and elsewhere) and Anatolia (including Turkey and Armenia). The k ...

( 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

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Professional wrestling in the United States WWE brands 2012 establishments in the United States