The debate about whether or not NXT should move from Wednesday nights has been going for a while now, but recent reports have come out indicating that the move is pretty much a done deal and that whenever it happens it will see NXT moving to Tuesday nights. Today WWE made the long talked about move official, announcing that NXT will move to Tuesday nights on the USA Network starting on April 13th as part of a new extension of WWE’s agreement with USA Network. NXT will stick to the two-hour format and nothing else will change other than the day, which is now completely clear thanks to Impact Wrestling moving to Thursdays.
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Here’s the quote from WWE. “We are incredibly proud of our three-decade partnership with WWE and in extending USA’s NXT deal, we are further establishing our portfolio as an unrivaled home for quality WWE content,” said Frances Berwick, Chairman, Entertainment Networks, NBCUniversal. “By transitioning NXT to a Tuesday timeslot where WWE has performed well in the past, we are giving our passionate fanbase more of what they love with back-to-back nights of exhilarating, live programming.”
“We are thrilled to continue WWE and NBCUniversal’s longstanding partnership with the extension of NXT on USA Network,” said Paul Triple H Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy & Development. “The move to Tuesdays provides a new opportunity for us to grow the NXT brand and enables our partner, USA Network, to continue to build its strong portfolio of sports and entertainment programming.”
The move will likely benefit both NXT and AEW Dynamite and allow them to draw in more viewers, though that’s not why the move is being made. USA Network will now be the home of NBC’s broadcasts for the National Hockey League after the closure of NBC Sports Network, and they are likely going to use the new slot on Wednesdays for those games.
The move should benefit USA Network and NXT in equal measure, allowing for a rise in ratings and a bigger showcase for all of the talent on the black and gold brand. It will put an end to the supposed Wednesday Night War, but then again that had lost steam early on anyway, as fans either flip between the two shows or figured out which one was more for them and stuck to that through the whole night. It was going to be difficult to completely overtake the other, and now both shows can claim an even bigger audience.
Are you excited for the move? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things NXT with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
