With NXT preparing to air live on the USA Network next Wednesday, more news about the third WWE brand is released on a daily basis. It was announced yesterday that at next year’s Royal Rumble weekend, held at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, there will be no NXT Takeover. Taking its place will be a Worlds Collide event.
The big five WWE PPVs (Rumble, WrestleMania, Money In The Bank, SummerSlam & Survivor Series) have for the past few years, had an NXT Takeover event preceding it. No reason has been given for the change.
Worlds Collide was held at last year’s Rumble weekend, where it was a two-day tournament-style event. The event was won by the current NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream. He defeated NXT Uk’s Tyler Bate in the final.
Next year’s event will take place on Saturday, January 25, and will feature NXT, NXT UK and 205 Live roster members.
In other NXT news, a few hours ago WWE and Full Sail University announced that they have extended their partnership. The full press release can be found below:
WWE AND FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY EXPAND PARTNERSHIP
Orlando, FL., September 9, 2019 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) and Full Sail University have expanded their partnership as NXT will now emanate weekly from Full Sail Live and air on Wednesday nights live on USA Network at 8/7c starting September 18.
Additional ticket information for all remaining 2019 weekly NXT events can be found at nxttickets.ticketforce.com
“Full Sail University has been invaluable to the success of NXT,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events & Creative. “The passion we see from their students inspires our entire NXT roster and staff, and we are excited for the brand’s next chapter at Full Sail Live each week.”
“WWE is known the world over for being a leader in the entertainment industry, and as an educational partner to Full Sail University, they have served to inspire the next generation of production professionals that are being taught on our campus daily,” said Full Sail University President, Garry Jones. “With the latest announcement of NXT emanating from Full Sail Live each week and airing on the USA Network, we look forward to the expanded learning opportunities this will provide to our students.”
WWE and Full Sail University began their partnership in 2012. Since that time, Full Sail Live has played host to monthly NXT events, multiple NXT TakeOver specials and the Mae Young Classic and Cruiserweight Classic tournaments. In addition, the partnership has resulted in hundreds of hours of practical production experience for more than 1,200 students, multiple career networking opportunities for students and grads, and WWE has granted more than $400,000 in scholarships to Full Sail University students, which are applied toward the recipient’s areas of study within the university. The partnership will continue to deliver real-world experience to students in all facets of broadcasting and television.
NXT launched in 2010 and has risen to become WWE’s third global brand alongside Raw and SmackDown, hosting nearly 200 live events around the world each year. Airing on Wednesday nights at 8 pm, NXT has been WWE Network’s #1 weekly series.
NXT offers a unique blend of authentic in-ring action with exciting and entertaining storylines that feature WWE’s hottest up-and-coming Superstars including Adam Cole, Velveteen Dream, Shayna Baszler, Johnny Gargano, Matt Riddle, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, Candice LeRae, Tommaso Ciampa, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish. The brand’s diverse roster consists of elite athletes from the NFL, collegiate and amateur sports, MMA and international sports such as rugby, kushti, and kabaddi. It is also the birthplace to 80 percent of the current Raw and SmackDown rosters including Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss, Bray Wyatt, and Baron Corbin.
