WWE NXT (TV Series)
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''WWE NXT'', also known as ''NXT'', is an 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 o ...
television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
. It is produced by the American
professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
, featuring performers from the promotion's
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- ...
brand division. The show currently airs live on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...
on the
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 Madison ...
. ''NXT'' initially debuted in 2010 as a
seasonal A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
show which was presented as a hybrid between WWE's scripted live event shows and
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
, in which talent from WWE's developmental territory
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) participated in a competition to become WWE's next "breakout star", with the help of mentors from WWE's
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
and
SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
brands. Five seasons of this iteration were broadcast, with
Wade Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English-American professional wrestling commentator, actor, and former professional wrestler who holds both British and American citizenship. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is a col ...
,
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 ka ...
, Kaitlyn, and
Johnny Curtis Curtis Jonathan Hussey (born July 22, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) under the ring name Dirty Dango. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring nam ...
as winners. In June 2012, WWE ended the seasonal competition format and opted to revamp the show as a developmental wrestling program. ''WWE NXT'' became the flagship television show of the NXT brand, and has since received a positive reception and high viewership, with praise for its high quality of wrestling and captivating storylines particularly from 2014 to 2018. Many considered ''NXT'' to be superior to WWE's flagship shows during this time. The initial version of the show made its debut on
Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
on February 23, 2010, replacing ''
ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
'', but was replaced by ''
SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
'' in October. It then aired as an hourly
webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
on WWE.com in the United States until June 13, 2012, before it was expanded to international markets on the
WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...
in 2014. In 2019, ''NXT'' expanded into a live two-hour program on the USA Network, designed to go head-to-head with rival promotion
AEW AEW or aew may refer to: * Airborne early warning, airborne radar system for detecting aircraft * Aerosvit Airlines, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine (ICAO airline designator: AEW) * AEW Capital Management, a property investment management company ...
's flagship show ''
Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...
'' on
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
. However, after failing to beat ''Dynamite'' in TV ratings, NXT was revamped and rebranded as ''NXT 2.0'' in September 2021. The show was moved to air on Tuesday nights after USA Network attempted to purchase the rights to begin airing live
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
games (that ultimately went to
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
instead). A supplementary show titled '' NXT Level Up'', began airing on February 18, 2022, replacing '' 205 Live''. In September 2022, "2.0" was dropped from the title.


History


Background

On February 2, 2010, WWE Chairman
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
introduced a new weekly program that would replace the canceled ''ECW'' in its time slot on Syfy. McMahon described the show as "the next evolution of WWE; the next evolution of television history". The new show's name, ''NXT'', The name was later discovered to be
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
already in the United Kingdom by
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...
(NWA) affiliate Scottish Wrestling Alliance (SWA) which also used "NXT" as their brand for upcoming stars. Both parties ultimately reached an agreement that resulted in SWA releasing the "NXT" trademark in favor of a new one before the show's debut. The show's format was revealed in an article by ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' on February 16, with a press release from WWE made shortly later that day. ''NXT'' is the second reality-based series produced by WWE, the first being ''
WWE Tough Enough ''WWE Tough Enough'' was an American professional wrestling reality competition series that was produced by WWE, wherein participants undergo professional wrestling training and compete for a contract with WWE. There were two winners per season ...
'' which aired between 2001 and 2004. Due to WWE's nature of airing weekly shows without hiatus, the plan for ''NXT'' was to split the year's set of episodes into multiple
seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
.


Original format (2010–2012)

''NXT'' was formed in 2010 when they paired up wrestlers from WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (dubbed "Rookies") with wrestlers from WWE's existing
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
and
SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
brands 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 ...
(dubbed "Pros"). Each episode featured the rookies being mentored by the pros as they develop their gimmick and performance skills in front of a live audience. The pairings also enabled the show to crossover into WWE's ''
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
'' and ''
SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
'' programs. As the length of each season differed, features of the competition occur at different times accordingly. In addition to matches, weekly challenges were held during the competition to further test the Rookies' physical and mental skills. Past physical challenges include a keg carrying contest, an assault course contest and a " Rock 'Em Sock 'Em" tournament. Past non-physical challenges include making 30-second promos on a given topic and selling programme within a time limit. During the first two seasons, the winner of the weekly challenge receives a special prize such as a main event match, a talk show segment or a feature on WWE's official website. One of the more frequent prizes given out to the winner is an "Immunity Pass", which gives the holder
immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
from elimination in the next round of polls. During the last three seasons a greater emphasis on challenges was placed on the show. Instead of awarding prizes to the winner of the challenges, points are instead awarded to the winner with a cumulative tally of points recorded before each of the first three polls. The Rookie with the most points before the next upcoming poll is awarded immunity. In season three, one point is awarded for winning the challenge. In October 2010, WWE moved their show ''SmackDown'' to Syfy, with ''NXT'' leaving the network at the same time. Despite WWE's stated intention of broadcasting the show on another TV channel, ''NXT'' began to be aired as a
webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
on WWE's website for American visitors. In season four, the number of points vary on the difficulty of the challenge. In the result of a tie-break, the audience is then asked to vote for the Rookie they want to get immunity. Season four also saw the introduction of challenge matches involving the entire roster of Pros or Rookies where the winner would be given the chance to swap their respective Rookie or Pro for another. In various weeks, polls were held to evaluate the success of each Rookie and determine the winner of the competition. The poll rankings are entirely determined by votes from the Pros and starting from season 2, votes from fans via WWE's official website. In the Pros' votes, each of the Pros vote for their favorite Rookie, but cannot vote for their own Rookie. Their votes are based on the following four criteria: * Win–loss record within the show * Strength of opponents * Work ethic * "It" factor Initially, in the first two seasons the full results and rankings from the poll were revealed. However, since August 17, 2010 only the elimination is revealed. The first poll, usually held a third of the way through the competition, determines the Rookies' rankings. Subsequent polls are held several weeks later near the end of the season, where the lowest ranked Rookie without immunity is eliminated. Season 2 was set to use this format, but was changed to have the first poll an elimination poll. Season three also used the second season's format. The show continued until the season finale, where the final two or three Rookies appear. One or two final polls were then held to determine the winner of the competition. The prize for the winner is a WWE contract as well as a championship match at any
list of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events This is a list of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, detailing all professional wrestling cards promoted on pay-per-view (PPV) and the WWE Network by WWE. Due to the American version of the WWE Network merging under Peacock, and with the ...
. Outside of the polls, Rookies could still be eliminated via an executive decision from WWE management, as the first season saw both Daniel Bryan and
Michael Tarver Tyrone Evans (born March 8, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and Christian hip hop recording artist as Monster Tarver. He is best known for his time with WWE as Michael Tarver. He appeared on the first season of ''WWE NXT'' and later de ...
eliminated by management for a lack of self-confidence. Starting in 2012, the all-rookie competition was abandoned with the show now featuring past and present rookies alongside lower cardmembers of the main WWE roster.
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 ...
would also take over as the authority figure and match coordinator, with
Matt Striker Matthew Kaye (born June 26, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling commentator, actor and former high school teacher, using the ring name Matt Striker. During his career he has worked for WWE, Impact Wrestling, Luc ...
being retained as the show's host. On May 30, 2012, it was revealed that a sixth season of ''NXT'' under its original format was set to air. The season was supposed to star Big E,
Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins (often referred to as Seth "Freakin" Rollins). Prior to signing ...
,
Damien Sandow Aron Steven Haddad (born August 3, 1982) is an American professional wrestler best known for wrestling with WWE under the ring name Damien Sandow. He is also known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and the independent circuit under t ...
,
Sin Cara In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, ...
,
Bo Dallas Taylor Michael Rotunda (born May 25, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Bo Dallas. Rotunda is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Blac ...
and
Adam Rose Raymond John Leppan (born 20 July 1979) is a South African retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE under the ring name Adam Rose. Making his debut on the South African independent circuit in 1995, Leppan signed with ...
as the season's rookies, but ultimately was cancelled before airing.


Reboot (2012–2021)

In May 2012, the show's format was revamped. The show began using more talent from FCW as well as talent from the main roster. The first four episodes under the new format were taped at
Full Sail University Full Sail University is a private for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts. The school moved to Florida in 1980 and began ...
on May 17. Starting with
NXT Arrival NXT Arrival (stylized as NXT ArRIVAL) was a professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's developmental territory, NXT. The event aired exclusively on the WWE Network and t ...
in February 2014, NXT occasionally aired live episodes on the WWE Network, which effectively serve as the NXT equivalent of main roster pay-per-view shows. WWE continued to air ''NXT Redemption'', hoping a new television deal could be made. WWE.com revealed on June 13 that the new version of ''NXT'' would be made available online via WWE.com and
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
beginning on Wednesday, June 20, when WWE would begin airing the episodes they taped at Full Sail on May 17. However, WWE removed all of the ''NXT'' material from their website on June 19. ''NXT'' was then aired exclusively on Hulu and Hulu Plus in the United States while continuing to be broadcast internationally. ''NXT'' began airing on the WWE Network on February 27, 2014, with a live event called
NXT Arrival NXT Arrival (stylized as NXT ArRIVAL) was a professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's developmental territory, NXT. The event aired exclusively on the WWE Network and t ...
. NXT returned to cable on December 20, 2017, airing a 1-hour special on
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 Madison ...
. In September 2019, ''NXT'' permanently moved to USA Network and was revamped as a live, two-hour program on Wednesday nights, with replays available the following day on WWE Network. Due to scheduling overlap with the final episodes of '' Suits'', the second hour of the program was aired on WWE Network until October 2, when it began airing in its entirety on USA. This started the
Wednesday Night Wars The Wednesday Night Wars were a period of mainstream televised American professional wrestling in which All Elite Wrestling (AEW)'s ''AEW Dynamite, Dynamite'' debuted on TNT (American TV network), TNT opposite WWE's ''WWE NXT, NXT'' on the USA Netw ...
, during which NXT was broadcast in direct competition with rival wrestling show ''
AEW Dynamite AEW or aew may refer to: * Airborne early warning, airborne radar system for detecting aircraft * Aerosvit Airlines, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine (ICAO airline designator: AEW) * AEW Capital Management, a property investment management company ...
'', which aired in the same time slot on
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
. Several publications noted the similarity between this ratings war and the
Monday Night Wars The Monday Night Wars or Monday Night War was an era of mainstream televised American professional wrestling, from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001, in which the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) ''Monday Night Raw'' (later ''Raw I ...
that had involved ''Raw'' and ''
WCW Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the Unite ...
''. Beginning with the March 18, 2020, episode of ''NXT'', WWE began filming all of its programs without an audience at Full Sail University as a result of restrictions imposed amid the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. From October 4, 2020, all shows of NXT, including
NXT TakeOver NXT TakeOver was a series of periodic professional wrestling events produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events were produced exclusively for the promotion's NXT brand division and aired live on pay-per- ...
specials, have been broadcast live from the
WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE wre ...
, which was modified and is now known as ''Capitol Wrestling Center'' with a capacity of nearly 100 members of the audience and few people appearing for the show through the virtual screen similar to the
WWE ThunderDome The WWE ThunderDome was a bio-secure bubble created by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, in partnership with the full-service fan experience company, The Famous Group. It was launched in August 2020 as a way for professional wrest ...
. On April 13, 2021, following
WrestleMania 37 WrestleMania 37 was the 37th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place as a two-night ...
, WWE moved ''NXT'' back to Tuesday nights.


NXT 2.0 (2021–2022)

The Wednesday Night Wars came to an end in April 2021, when ''NXT'' was moved to Tuesday nights. After twelve NXT wrestlers were released from their contracts that August,
Dave Scherer Dave Scherer is an American sports writer and journalist, best known for writing about professional wrestling for the '' ECW Magazine'', ''New York Daily News'', '' World of Wrestling Magazine'', 1Wrestling.com and founding the newsletter ''The ...
and Mike Johnson of ''
Pro Wrestling Insider Dave Scherer is an American sports writer and journalist, best known for writing about professional wrestling for the ''ECW Magazine'', '' New York Daily News'', '' World of Wrestling Magazine'', 1Wrestling.com and founding the newsletter ''The W ...
'' 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 David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...
reported that, after having lost the ratings war with AEW, NXT will likely go back to their developmental roots, with "talent that are younger, bigger and that could someday main event at
WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...
." WWE President Nick Khan subsequently confirmed that NXT would undergo a "complete revamp" overseen by
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...
.


Return to NXT (2022–present)

At the conclusion of the September 13, 2022, edition of the show, the brand returned to the original NXT branding, revealing a revised version of the 2.0 logo in white with added gold accents and removing the "2.0".


Special episodes


On-air personalities


Authority figures

On August 24, 2011, Maryse underwent surgery for an abdominal hernia and was on medical leave from WWE, therefore Maryse's role as co-host ended. She would later be released from WWE on October 28 and would not return to ''NXT.'' A new co-host was never announced. Dusty Rhodes was named Interim NXT General Manager on June 20, 2012, which coincided with the rebranding of NXT into a full scale developmental promotion. On the August 29 episode (taped July 29) of ''NXT,'' Rhodes was noted as NXT Commissioner. On September 25, 2013,
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...
relieved Dusty Rhodes of his duties and replaced him with John Bradshaw Layfield. On November 25, 2015, the ''Raw'' lead commentator Michael Cole replaced William Regal as NXT General Manager while Regal was recovering from neck surgery.


Commentators

; Notes # Matt Striker became the alternate color commentator on ''NXT'' beginning due to Regal's increased in-ring schedule (Regal would continue as commentator when he was not wrestling). This ended on the episode of ''NXT'' when Regal would return as a full-time commentator. # Michael Cole served as special guest color commentator on ''NXT'' for the broadcast substituting for an absent William Regal. Cole would also substitute for Regal again on commentary on the broadcast due to Regal and Striker competing in a match that night. # Matt Striker and Josh Mathews were guest commentators on ''NXT'' for the broadcast substituting for the absent William Regal and Jack Korpela. Striker and Mathews returned to commentary the following two weeks because Jack Korpela's contract with the WWE had expired and he opted not to renew. # Matt Striker and William Regal commentated the episode of ''NXT'' due to Mathews being absent. # Following the absence of Josh Mathews from ''NXT'' after being attacked by
Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist (MMA), amateur wrestler, and professional American football player who holds both American and Canadian citizenship. He is ...
on the episode of ''Raw'', Matt Striker was joined by several guest commentators for one night on ''NXT'': Hornswoggle,
AJ Lee April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. She is currently an executive producer and color commentator for WOW – Wom ...
, and Michael McGillicutty. # On the episode of ''NXT'', Josh Mathews was substituting for an absent Todd Grisham. This repeated on , but this time he was substituting for an absent Jack Korpela, who would later be released from his WWE contract. # Jim Ross only called the main event. # The pairings of Dawson/Luftman (Dawson and Luftman were the same man) and Regal and Phillips and Maddox commentate on alternate shows. Riley replaced Maddox in August 2013 after Maddox became the Raw General Manager.
Scott Stanford Scott Stanford (born 30 August, 1966) is a seven time Emmy Winning American Entertainment Host, News/Sports Anchor and commentator. Stanford is currently a Studio Host for WWE (since 2009) and can also be seen Co Hosting The Suki & Scott Show o ...
serves as narrator. # When McGuinness was feeling under the weather, so only Ranallo and Watson called the event. # When McGuinness was absent for the birth of his daughter, so only Ranallo and Watson called the event. # On the Christmas episode of ''NXT'', Ranallo/McGuinness called some of the show from Full Sail, While Phillips/Phoenix called the other half from Brooklyn.


Ring announcers

(*) If Chimel was absent from the ''NXT/SmackDown'' tapings, he would have been substituted as ring announcer by ''Raw''’s Justin Roberts or '' Superstars''’ Eden Stiles, who would also serve as ''SmackDown''’s ring announcer for that week's episode. Effective December 8, 2011, Chimel has been replaced by Lilian Garcia on ''SmackDown'' and Eden Stiles has picked up Chimel's ''NXT'' announcing duties until December 13, 2011. On December 21 prior to ''NXT'' being uploaded on WWE.com, Stiles announced that she asked for her release from WWE a day after her final ''Superstars'' and ''NXT'' appearances had been recorded.


Production

In its original incarnation, the
American Bang American Bang was an American southern rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. The group was founded by two former members of Llama and one of the Kicks, along with a fourth member, in 2005. American Bangat Allmusic They initially formed under the ...
song "Wild and Young" had been used for each season with the exception of the third. During season three, the show's opening theme song was " You Make the Rain Fall" by
Kevin Rudolf Kevin Winston Rudolf (born February 17, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist from New York City, New York. He is best known for his 2008 single " Let It Rock". Early life Kevin Winston Rudo ...
. " Get Thru This" by Art of Dying was also used as
bumper music Bumper music, or a bump, is a term used in the radio broadcasting industry to refer to short clips of signature songs or theme music used to buffer transitions between programming elements, typically lasting no longer than fifteen seconds. It is ...
during the initial five seasons of the show. NXT, as a game show, were held in large arenas as a part of the taping schedules of WWE's other shows which featured the ring ropes yellow and used the same HD set used by WWE's other weekly programs. Upon its reboot and arrival at
Full Sail University Full Sail University is a private for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts. The school moved to Florida in 1980 and began ...
, " Welcome Home" by
Coheed and Cambria Coheed and Cambria are an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), an ...
was used from the show's relaunch on June 20, 2012 to February 24, 2014 but it retains the yellow ropes and used the black mat. "Roar of the Crowd" by
CFO$ CFO$ () was an American songwriting and production duo consisting of John Paul Alicastro and Michael Conrad Lauri. They were primarily known for creating entrance music and program themes for World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE). Career CFO$ ...
served as the official theme song for ''NXT'' since its arrival to the
WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...
from ( February 27, 2014) to April 5, 2017. A remix of the same song was used starting on June 15, 2016. From April 12, 2017, the theme song was "Rage" by CFO$, followed by "Resistance" by Powerflo; which was first used on the May 31, 2017 episode. On the April 4, 2019 episode, "
All Out Life "All Out Life" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released as a single on October 31, 2018 by Roadrunner Records, it is the band's only single that was not included on an album, though it was included on the Japanese release of t ...
" by Slipknot was used as the new theme song. From April 20, 2021 to September 7, 2021, the official theme song for ''NXT'' was "Say Cheese" by
Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...
, first performed at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. When NXT was relaunched as NXT 2.0 on September 14, 2021, the official theme song is "Down South" by Wale featuring
Yella Beezy Markies Deandre Conway (born October 21, 1991), known by the stage name Yella Beezy, is an American rapper from Dallas, Texas. He is best known for the singles " That's On Me", "Bacc At It Again", "Up One", and "Goin Through Some Thangs". Earl ...
&
Maxo Kream Emekwanem Ogugua Biosah Jr. (born March 29, 1990), known professionally as Maxo Kream, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. His debut album ''Punken'' was released in 2018, and the follow-up and major label debut, ''Brandon Banks (album), ...
. The new set features multicolored LED screens with an arch. The ring mat turned white and the ring ropes became white before turning blue and the announce table was repositioned. After NXT 2.0 was reverted to NXT, the ring ropes were reverted to white and the logo became white with black and gold accents in October 2022.


Broadcast history


International broadcasts

WWE NXT (along with '' WWE NXT UK'') broadcast in the United Kingdom on
BT Sport BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...
since January 2020. In the
Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
, NXT episodes are added on
Shahid ''Shaheed'' ( ,  ,   ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...
streaming platform a day after the live broadcast on USA Network.


See also

*
WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE wre ...
, WWE's training facility, which is close to Full Sail University. *
Wednesday Night Wars The Wednesday Night Wars were a period of mainstream televised American professional wrestling in which All Elite Wrestling (AEW)'s ''AEW Dynamite, Dynamite'' debuted on TNT (American TV network), TNT opposite WWE's ''WWE NXT, NXT'' on the USA Netw ...


References


Notes


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:WWE NXT 2010 American television series debuts 2010 web series debuts 2020s American television series Syfy original programming
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- ...
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- ...
American non-fiction web series USA Network original programming Hulu original programming Wrestling Observer Newsletter award winners