WWE Worlds Collide, also known as NXT Worlds Collide, is a
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- ...
event series produced by
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
, an American-based
professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within ...
. Established in 2019, the concept is interbrand competition between WWE's various
brand divisions. Although the event has been held primarily for WWE's
developmental brand
In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...
,
NXT, other brands have also been featured. The event was put on hiatus after the 2020 event but returned in 2022. After another three-year hiatus, the event returned in June 2025 and was held with Mexico's
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide
Promociones Antonio Peña, S.A. de C.V. doing business as, d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (commonly referred to as simply AAA, pronounced "Triple A" – an abbreviation of its original name Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración de Espectáculos ...
, which WWE acquired in April 2025.
The
first event was held as a tournament in early 2019 and featured wrestlers from NXT,
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 ...
, and
205 Live
''WWE 205 Live'' is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, as a replacement for ''WWE Superstars'', and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired e ...
. In April that year, a four-episode
streaming television
Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable t ...
series titled ''
WWE Worlds Collide'' aired. In addition to the other three brands, this series also featured wrestlers from WWE's main roster brands,
Raw and
SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...
. A
second singular event was then held in 2020, but only featured wrestlers from NXT and NXT UK. The
2022 event was again held primarily for NXT and NXT UK, but also with a few wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown taking part; this was also the final WWE event for NXT UK (205 Live was also dissolved in early 2022). The
2025 event featured wrestlers from Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and AAA, as well as WWE and AAA partner promotion
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 ...
.
History
In early January 2019, 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
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
announced an interbrand tournament to take place during the weekend of that year'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 ...
event and it would
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
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 professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings.
The service relied on technology develo ...
. The tournament was a two-day event, held on January 26 and 27 at the
Phoenix Convention Center
The Phoenix Convention Center is an events venue in downtown Phoenix, Arizona located along East Monroe, East Washington, East Jefferson, North Second, North Third, and North Fifth Streets. The center opened in 1972, and has since hosted national ...
in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, and aired on
tape delay as a single broadcast on February 2.
The event hosted a 15-man
single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
, called the
Worlds Collide Tournament, which was evenly divided between the
NXT,
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 ...
, and
205 Live
''WWE 205 Live'' is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, as a replacement for ''WWE Superstars'', and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired e ...
brands
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
. The winner of the tournament received a future match for a championship of their choice, with the choices being the
NXT Championship
The NXT Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended as the top men's championship of NXT (WWE brand), NXT, the promotion's Farm team, de ...
, the
NXT North American Championship
The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended as the secondary men's championship of NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champi ...
, NXT UK's
WWE United Kingdom Championship
The NXT United Kingdom Championship was a men's professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was primarily defended as the top championship of the NXT UK brand division, a sister brand of WW ...
, and 205 Live's
WWE Cruiserweight Championship—the latter only being an option if the winner was within the 205 lb. weight limit.
On March 28, 2019, WWE announced that Worlds Collide would return during April's
WrestleMania Axxess
WWE World at WrestleMania, formerly known as WrestleMania Axxess, is a professional wrestling fan convention held by WWE during the week of WrestleMania. The event typically runs for four to five days—from Thursday to Sunday or Monday—and fea ...
festival.
In addition to the three brands previously featured at the Worlds Collide special, wrestlers from the
Raw and
SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...
brands would also participate in the events.
On April 9, WWE announced that these events would air as a four-episode
streaming television
Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable t ...
series on the WWE Network titled ''
WWE Worlds Collide'', starting on April 14.
During WWE's
Royal Rumble 2020 weekend announcements, WWE revealed that another
Worlds Collide event would be
livestreamed
Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- live ...
on the WWE Network on January 25, 2020, and broadcast from the
Toyota Center
Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once th ...
in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, though unlike the first event, it would only feature the NXT and NXT UK brands and not also 205 Live (which would cease operations in February 2022). Also unlike the first event, there was not a Worlds Collide Tournament with a future championship opportunity at stake. Instead, the card's matches were interbrand matches pitting wrestlers from NXT against those from NXT UK.
Worlds Collide was then put on hiatus due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. In October 2021, the company revealed their event calendar for 2022, and Worlds Collide was not included. Prior to this, NXT underwent a restructuring, being rebranded as "NXT 2.0", reverting to a
developmental territory
Development of the human body is the process of growth to maturity. The process begins with fertilization, where an egg released from the ovary of a female is penetrated by a sperm cell from a male. The resulting zygote develops through mitos ...
for WWE. However, on August 18, 2022, WWE announced the return of Worlds Collide, scheduled for September 4, and it would primarily feature NXT and NXT UK. The announcement also confirmed that the
2022 Worlds Collide would be the final event for NXT UK; following the event, the brand took a hiatus and will eventually relaunch as NXT Europe. At the 2022 event, all of NXT UK's championships (except the
NXT UK Heritage Cup
The NXT Heritage Cup is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is a specialized championship for NXT (WWE brand), NXT, the promotion's Farm team, developmental brand, defended exclusivel ...
) were
unified into their respective NXT championship counterparts. In addition to the WWE Network in international markets, it was available to livestream on
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
in the United States (as the American WWE Network merged under Peacock in March 2021). The 2022 event was also the final major event for NXT in which the brand was referred to as "NXT 2.0", as shortly after the event, the "2.0" moniker was dropped.
On April 19, 2025, after a three-year hiatus, WWE announced the return of Worlds Collide for NXT, scheduled for Saturday, June 7, 2025, at the
Kia Forum
The Kia Forum, also known as Los Angeles Forum and formerly Great Western Forum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located on West Manchester Boulevard, with Pincay Drive to th ...
in
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...
. The event was held in collaboration with the Mexican promotion
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide
Promociones Antonio Peña, S.A. de C.V. doing business as, d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (commonly referred to as simply AAA, pronounced "Triple A" – an abbreviation of its original name Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración de Espectáculos ...
, which WWE revealed it had acquired shortly after the announcement of the
2025 Worlds Collide. It was held as part of the
2025 Money in the Bank weekend, held the same day prior to that event, which took place at Inglewood's
Intuit Dome
Intuit Dome is an indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States. The arena is located south of the other major Inglewood sports venues, SoFi Stadium and the Kia Forum. It is the home venue of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Bask ...
. This was the first Worlds Collide to livestream on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
in most international markets following the merger of the WWE Network under
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
in January 2025 in the areas. The event also had involvement from wrestlers from WWE's Raw and SmackDown brands as well as a couple of wrestlers from WWE and AAA partner promotion
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).
Events
References
{{WWEPPV, Worlds Collide
Recurring events established in 2019