NXT Possibly Moving to the USA Network (Updated)

Over the past two days, there have been talks about NXT moving to a two hour show on Wednesday nights on USA Network, according to PWInsider.

The possibility of NXT moving off of the WWE Network to a cable TV channel has been in discussion for a while now, with FS1 previously being the main possible destination. But now USA appears to be the front-runner.

The advantage of being on FS1 would be that FOX would likely promote NXT hard, but an advantage of USA is that WWE fans are already familiar with watching WWE on USA. FS1 also has a deal to air Big East NCAA basketball on Wednesday nights, which may be an issue.

The new NXT would air on Wednesday nights from 8-10 PM ET, which is of course the same time slot that AEW will be airing in on TNT.

There have been talks about the show either airing live every week, or live every other week, with a taped show in between, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

The show would still air from its current home, Full Sail Live in Winter Park, FL, PWInsider says, though it seems like a safe bet that they would eventually travel to other venues.

At first, the planned start date would have been October 2, the same day as AEW’s TNT debut, but there’s now a possibility that they may start earlier to “get a jump” on AEW, according to Meltzer.

Vince McMahon is “adamant” about NXT beating AEW’s viewership numbers, Meltzer says.

An announcement is expected very soon. If the show is going to move in late September, we’re a little over a month away.

Update (8/17)

There are some within WWE that believe that “USA is a done deal” and it’s just a matter of time before it’s officially announced, according to PWInsider. But they also added that some sources claimed that the deal is not yet close to done.

NXT staff were told this week that “things would be changing very soon” and to be prepared for a longer show, PWInsider says.

NXT’s next tapings are on Wednesday, September 11 and Thursday, September 12 at Full Sail Live. One source told PWInsider that one possible move could be that NXT would launch on USA live at the September 11 taping, then tape the next week’s show the following night, before eventually beginning weekly live airings.

PWInsider also added that USA Network came to the table with interest in NXT over the last few weeks. Before that, FOX/FS1 had been the main network interested.