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WWE‘s NXT is leaving the USA Network on Oct. 1, heading from cable to broadcast television on the CW — and now we know where the broadcast will take place. The Tuesday, Oct. 1, live show will be held at Chicago’s Allstate Arena with main event star and Chicago native CM Punk, WWE announced Tuesday.
The following week on Oct. 8, NXT will tap another local star when they head to St. Louis, featuring special main roster guest Randy Orton.
The show’s ratings haven’t historically been as large as those of its two top shows, “Raw” and “SmackDown,” but NXT’s average viewership has risen 20% year-to-date among 18-49, while its overall ratings across age groups are up 4% versus last year, according to Nielsen data provided by WWE. NXT has also ranked highly in cable primetime on Tuesday nights.
NXT’s move to the CW is part of a five-year agreement, with its other brands set to move as well — “SmackDown” from Fox to USA in September, while “Raw” heads from USA to Netflix at the end of the year. NXT has been seen on cable and streaming over its 13-year history, but this is the first time that the league that develops up-and-coming pro wrestling talent will be seen on broadcast TV.
The league is known for figureheads over the years including WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque and more recently his both real and on-screen ally Shawn Michaels. The company touted the fact that nearly 90% of the wrestlers who participated in last year’s WrestleMania event went through the NXT developmental territory. Among the biggest stars to come out of NXT are Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Charlotte Flair.
The CW will be looking to pair the athletic sports entertainment of WWE’s NXT with other sports on the network. A controlling stake in the network was sold to Nexstar in October 2022, which has led to cutbacks in scripted shows and an increase in unscripted content. Other sports that the network now airs include ACC football and basketball, Pac-12 football and LIV Golf. They also air “Inside the NFL” and are set to air the NASCAR Xfinity Series beginning this fall.
Tickets for the live events go on sale this Thursday at 10 a.m. local time on Ticketmaster. They’re also offering the chance to register for a presale that starts Wednesday at 10 a.m. local time.
