WWE's NXT Move To Earn Stars New Deals, Vince McMahon Staying Away

The highly anticipated switch for World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) third brand NXT to live television was finally confirmed by the company earlier this week and with it a raft of changes are said to be expected. NXT, which used to air exclusively on WWE Network, will now air a two-hour show on the USA Network on Wednesday nights.

“WWE and USA Network today announced an agreement in principle to air WWE’s weekly Wednesday night show, NXT, live on USA Network at 8/7 C starting Sept. 18,” WWE said in a statement on their official site. “Following NXT’s growth in popularity, the new two-hour weekly show will expand its reach on USA Network, the leader in cable entertainment, while staying in its Wednesday night timeslot that it has held since 2015.”

WWE’s move to bring NXT to television is said to have been fast-tracked to counterprogram newly formed pro-wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) impending television debut in October. Chairman Vince McMahon and co are genuinely concerned about the new promotion and its sudden rise that is threatening WWE’s dominance in North America.

AEW will air its weekly episodes on Wednesday as well on TNT, and McMahon was keen to ensure his company was not left behind. He is keen for NXT to follow in the footsteps of WWE’s flagship programs Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live.

“The move to USA Network provides an opportunity to deepen our relationship with NBCUniversal and further build the NXT brand,” McMahon said. “Over the long term, our goal is to develop a following that can be monetized to the same level as our flagship programs, Raw and SmackDown.”

According to Wrestling Observer, via Wrestling Inc, the switch to television for NXT will also see all the talent on the brand receive new contracts. The report claims that all developmental deals will be hanged to main roster deals.

The top tier talent in NXT are expected to be offered an increase in their wages and will receive pay closer to what their counterparts on WWE’s main roster – SmackDown and RAW – make annually. WWE is always on the lookout to sign new and upcoming talent for their NXT brand and it is claimed they will now make more lucrative offers owing to the brand being on TV.

According to Guggenheim Securities analyst Curry Baker, the NXT-USA Network television deal will bring the company around $30 million per year at least for the first one or two years. Meanwhile, the running of NXT is expected to involve McMahon or Kevin Dunn, it will be solely looked after by executive vice-president of talent and live events Triple H – real name Paul Levesque.