NXT (WWE Brand)
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NXT is a developmental brand of the American
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
promotion WWE, serving as a training ground for wrestlers before they move to WWE's main roster on either Raw or SmackDown. Introduced on February 23, 2010, NXT features a separate roster of wrestlers who primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, '' NXT''. Unlike Raw and SmackDown, which are affected by WWE's
brand extension Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this ...
, NXT operates as a developmental system regardless of whether a brand split is in effect. In its original incarnation, ''NXT'' was a
reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...
-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 professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...
(FCW) as WWE's developmental territory. Primarily holding its events in the
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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. It is also praised for its increased focus on women's wrestling, as its women are presented as genuine wrestlers, eventually giving way to the WWE Women's Evolution. In September 2019, NXT's weekly television series was expanded to a two-hour format and moved to
USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
. The brand faced direct
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competition from
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
'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 German ...
'', 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 brand. A year later, the brand would revert to its original "NXT" name. In addition to NXT's main television program, the brand's wrestlers may also appear on the supplementary show, '' Evolve'', the main program of NXT's subsidiary brand Evolve. Some NXT wrestlers also occasionally appear on Raw's supplementary program, ''
Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
'', typically when they are in consideration to being promoted to the main roster, and on ''
TNA Impact! ''TNA Impact!'' (stylized as ''TNA iMPACT!'') is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) that debuted on June 4, 2004. It also features wrestlers from WWE's ...
'' due to the working relationship with
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...
(TNA) that began in 2024. From 2014 to 2021, the brand held its major events under the
NXT TakeOver NXT TakeOver was a series of periodic professional wrestling events produced by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE for its NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand division. The first TakeOver was simply titled NX ...
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 ''NXT UK'' was a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the ...
, which was based in and produced for wrestlers in the United Kingdom; the brand is currently on hiatus and will relaunch at a later time as NXT Europe to become a Pan-European brand. Another subsidiary brand, 205 Live, existed under NXT from 2019 until 2022 when 205 Live was dissolved.


History


Launch

NXT formed in 2010, following the dissolution of the ECW brand. The origins can be traced to 1992 when Eastern Championship Wrestling was created as a territory within the
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...
; but was renamed to Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1994 after its secession from the NWA. Though known for hardcore matches, ECW became one of the most successful cult followings in professional wrestling under
Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former executive, promoter, and commentator. He is signed to WWE as the on-screen manager of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed, and is widely regard ...
's leadership. After ECW was closed in 2001 due to bankruptcy, it briefly re-emerged as a leading force during the Invasion storyline. In 2003, the WWE acquired the assets of ECW and organized a number of One Night Stand reunion shows, which led to the relaunch of '' ECW on Sci Fi'' as a third brand. As the years went by, the ECW brand shifted from the original ECW alumni towards experimenting new and upcoming stars, which laid the ground work for NXT. Initially, a dispute occurred over the "NXT" trademark between WWE and
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's Scottish Wrestling Alliance (SWA), whose developmental division was called "NXT". WWE worked with SWA to secure the NXT trademark for their new series, and SWA renamed its developmental branch to "SWA: Source". Following the end of the final ECW episode on February 16, 2010, WWE debuted the ''NXT'' television program one week later on February 23, 2010 - it featured rookies from WWE's
Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa'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 t ...
-based developmental territory
Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...
(FCW) competing to become members of WWE's main roster.


Early history 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 Full Sail University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center f ...
under the NXT banner. The television show would also be revamped the same month to focus exclusively on developmental talent. On February 27, 2014, NXT held a live, two-hour event,
NXT Arrival NXT Arrival (stylized as NXT ArRIVAL) was a professional wrestling livestreaming List of WWE Network events, event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's WWE brand extension, developmental territory, NXT (WWE ...
, serving as the first live wrestling event for the newly launched
WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. The service relied on technology develo ...
service. After the second live event in May 2014,
NXT TakeOver NXT TakeOver was a series of periodic professional wrestling events produced by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE for its NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand division. The first TakeOver was simply titled NX ...
, 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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
with an event in
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. On August 22, 2015, NXT held its first TakeOver event outside of Full Sail University, with NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn at
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's
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—acting as a support event for
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
. In December of the same year, NXT held its first TakeOver event outside of the
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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 signed with WWE. Meanwhile, other ex trainees like Briley Pierce, Derrick Bateman 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
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ing and
bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
trainees, using
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
and racial slurs amongst other
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terms and condoning
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. 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
USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
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 All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
(AEW)'s weekly 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 German ...
'', on TNT; marking the beginning of the " Wednesday Night Wars". On October 18, 2019, it was announced by Drake Maverick that NXT and the 205 Live brand and NXT would begin a talent exchange. In an interview with ''VultureHound'' Magazine on September 12, executive producer
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
would confirm that both the 205 Live and
NXT UK ''NXT UK'' was a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the ...
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 Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
, competing directly against Raw and SmackDown. In 2020, after winning that year's women's
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
match,
Charlotte Flair Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr (born April 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Charlotte Flair. Flair is a second-generation professional wrestler, being t ...
chose to challenge
Rhea Ripley Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. As of July 2017, she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley. She is a List of Women ...
for the NXT Women's Championship at
WrestleMania 36 WrestleMania 36 was a 2020 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 36th annual WrestleMania and was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions, the ...
, 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. During this time period, some at NXT referred to the promotion as WWE's 'third brand', although many 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
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'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.


Move to Tuesday nights

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 David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter' ...
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, due to undergoing heart surgery in September, Levesque stepped away from the brand and
Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
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 '' 205 Live'' 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 signed to WWE, where he serves as the vice-president of Global Talent Development. He is also known for ...
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
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and the WWE Network on February 18. Briefly in 2022, talents from NXT appeared on '' Monday Night Raw'' similar to the ECW talent exchange in 2007. Meltzer reported that Raw-NXT crossovers were a way to help boost the programs' ratings, since they both air on the USA Network. In September 2022, Michaels was promoted to Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative, responsible for both creative and development at NXT, and for the expansion of NXT UK into NXT Europe at a later time. At the conclusion of the September 13, 2022 episode of ''NXT—''which marked the one-year anniversary of the revamp—an updated logo for the brand was unveiled, dropping the "NXT 2.0" title and adopting a gold color scheme reminiscent of the original NXT branding. In late-2022, after Triple H became chief content officer of WWE, NXT wrestlers began to increasingly make appearances on WWE's mid-card program ''Main Event''. These crossovers came as part of efforts to increase the profile of NXT's talent, and evaluate their performances with members of WWE's main roster. In 2024, WWE began a wider talent exchange with
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...
(TNA). Several TNA wrestlers would make appearances on NXT's weekly television series and livestreaming events and vice versa. A multi-year partnership between TNA and WWE was officially announced on January 16, 2025.


Championships and accomplishments

The colors and symbols indicate the brand of the champions (if they are not part of the NXT roster).


Current championships

*The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is defended across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.


Previous championships


Other accomplishment(s)


Television show

The
WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. The service relied on technology develo ...
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 NXT TakeOver was a series of periodic professional wrestling events produced by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE for its NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand division. The first TakeOver was simply titled NX ...
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", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...
, 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 Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English acting, actor and former professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Wade Barrett as a color commentator on the ''WWE Sma ...
( Season 1),
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( 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

* * {{Florida Championship Wrestling WWE brands 2012 establishments in the United States