WWE NXT Announces Main Roster-Sized Arenas For The CW Premiere, CM Punk and Randy Orton to Appear

WWE NXT goes to Allstate Arena and Enterprise Center in October.

By Liam Crowley

WWE NXT is entering a new era. The sports-entertainment giant's developmental brand has been airing a weekly broadcast for over a decade, first truly coming into form upon the launch of WWE Network in 2014. Back then, WWE NXT aired as a one-hour pre-taped show on WWE Network every Wednesday and built to quarterly network specials dubbed NXT Takeovers. Come Fall 2019, WWE NXT migrated to network television, expanding to a live two-hour broadcast on USA Network in a primetime slot on Wednesday nights, airing opposite AEW Dynamite on TNT. After losing the ratings war to AEW, WWE NXT moved to Tuesdays, eventually finding its footing in 2022. WWE NXT evolved into a legitimate ratings draw and became a desired product for networks nationwide, eventually landing a multi-year agreement with The CW for $20-$25 million annually.

This deal puts WWE NXT in more homes than ever before, as The CW is available in "100 percent" of households in the United States.

WWE NXT Ventures to Chicago, St. Louis For The CW Debuts

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(Photo: WWE)

WWE is making an added effort to supersize the white and gold's new network launch.

As announced in a press release, WWE NXT will emanate from Chicago's Allstate Arena and St. Louis's Enterprise Center on Tuesday, October 1st and Tuesday, October 8th, respectively. The Allstate Arena show will be WWE NXT's premiere broadcast on The CW.

Main roster stars and hometown talents CM Punk (Chicago) and Randy Orton (St. Louis) have been announced to appear before the live crowd. It's unclear as to if either man will show face on the broadcasts. Tickets for both events go on sale Thursday, August 15th at 10 AM local via Ticketmaster.com. An exclusive presale opportunity will be available starting Wednesday, August 14th at 10 AM local. 

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Both the Allstate Arena and Enterprise Center are main roster-sized venues, holding nearly 20,000 fans each. Recently, Allstate Arena has hosted episodes of WWE Monday Night Raw (March 25th) and WWE SmackDown (June 21st). WWE last came to the Enterprise Center on February 5th for WWE Monday Night Raw. Aside from the pre-taped episodes of WWE NXT from arenas that hosted past NXT Takeover events, these live shows will be the largest WWE NXT TV broadcasts ever produced.

WWE NXT premieres on The CW on October 1st at 8 PM ET.

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