WWE NXT is coming to The CW in October: Everything you need to know before watching.

CW fans are in for some hard-hitting action this fall as WWE NXT will have its big debut on the network! Here’s what to know about this unique brand of the iconic wrestling company!

Whenever WWE is mentioned, fans will think of the superstars on Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown. From John Cena to Roman Reigns to Becky Lynch, WWE has scores of major faces. NXT, however, is about the new generation of stars. 

Originally, NXT was a mix of competition and game shows, with aspiring wrestlers competing in challenges for a shot at a WWE contract. It was offbeat and not seen as too serious. In May 2012, it was remade into its separate brand, based out of the Performance Center at Florida’s Full Sail University. The brainchild of Paul Levesque (better known as WWE superstar Triple H), NXT is meant to be a launching pad for new stars.

The first few years had the show’s hour-long programs broadcast on the WWE Network. In 2014, they aired the first of their two-hour Takeover specials to great acclaim. A huge move occurred in 2015 as Takeover: Brooklyn took place in front of a massive crowd at New York’s Barclay Center. 

The brand would soon become loved for its hard-hitting action, not the goofy storylines and cartoonish antics of the main WWE brands, and focused on actual wrestling. It also paved the way for the “Women’s Revolution” in WWE that’s led to the rise of stars like Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and more. 

This has led to several NXT stars being promoted to the main brands. Granted, a few of them have become far less successful than on NXT, but huge stars have risen up, like Kevin Owens, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Finn Balor, and the late Bray Wyatt. 

In 2019, the show was moved to the USA Network with a flashier presentation and rebranded as NXT 2.0. While the makeover was disliked at first, it won fans back by concentrating on building up new stars for the company. Now, the show is set for a big debut on the CW, so here are a few things to know!

Where does NXT take place?

The show is taped weekly at the Performance Center, which houses about 300 fans, but that small setting adds more to the show. It’s a typical wrestling show with a focus more on the in-ring action and less on promos or other scripted bits like RAW or SmackDown. It may be that the CW will give a boost to the budget to look flashier on TV, with rumors that it might have some touring to other arenas. 

It does seem that this is only for the weekly shows, as the bi-monthly Takeover specials coincide with major WWE pay-per-view events, so they won’t be on the CW. 

The NXT Championship list

NXT does have a set of championships that spark up the shows. The big one, of course, is the NXT title, with the North American Championship right behind it. There’s also the Women’s Championship and the tag team titles. WWE did announce a Women’s North American Championship will be added at June’s NXT Battleground event. 

There’s also the Heritage Cup, meant to be contested under special “British rules.” The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is an annual tournament named after the legendary wrestling star and a nice boost for a team. That leaves plenty of prizes the NXT wrestlers can work toward. 

Who wrestles for NXT?

The joy of NXT is that the talent can constantly shift with newer wrestlers breaking out while others get a call-up to the main roster. The current batch of stars includes Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez, NXT Champion Trick Williams, Drew Gulak, Shawn Spears and more. There’s also the chance some main roster folks can make appearances alongside WWE legends like Shawn Michaels as the on-screen commissioner and Booker T on commentary.

So, with a big appearance on the CW offering more exposure, NXT looks ready to help WWE conquer another network when it debuts this fall.

NXT airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on the CW this fall.