The last two weeks have been a roller coaster for pro wrestling fans of the NWA, WWE NXT, and The CW. Haus of Wrestling reported two weeks ago that the NWA had signed a pair of TV deals with The CW for Powerrr and an unnamed NWA reality show. Things seemed to be going smoothly until a segment involving cocaine aired on the latest NWA PPV, resulting in The CW deciding to move away from the relationship. This led to yesterday’s surprising announcement that WWE’s Shawn Michaels-led brand, NXT, has swooped in and signed a five-year deal with the top twenty network.
In an interview with News Nation, Michaels discussed how he feels about WWE NXT inking its next TV deal with The CW.
“It’s a huge deal for us,” Michaels said. “Coming to CW in October of 2024. This really is huge for the young men and women here in NXT. As you mentioned, the stars of tomorrow. Since its inception in 2013, coming to network television is just gigantic. For people who aren’t in the television industry, that means the possibility of being in every home in America, which is just, as you know, I said, just huge for us.
“Incredibly exciting. For people who may not know, WrestleMania last year consisted of 90% former NXT talent. And, so, make no mistake about it, the people that you’re going to be seeing on CW on October of 2024 are going to be people that are going to be main eventing Wrestlemania in the very near future.”
Michaels was pressed about what CW fans can expect from NXT that will differentiate it from WWE’s other marquee shows, Raw and SmackDown.
“Obviously, we’re much younger,” he stated. “We are recruiting college athletes coming out of college. And look, when Hunter started this thirteen years ago, his vision was that within the WWE, we can hone and develop the future stars of the WWE. And coming to the CW Network for a five-year agreement is just proof positive that his vision has worked.
“And I’m obviously just honored to continue to keep that going. And it really is again; I guess what you’ll see from NXT is excitement, unparalleled innovation, and, as they say, where the wrestling business, and sports entertainment are going in the future. You’re gonna see it firsthand on NXT.”
Before wrapping up his brief conversation, The Heartbreak Kid was asked what star he sees as the one to be WWE’s next breakout sensation.
“I think the two guys that we’ve built this brand around just in the last couple of years, Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, are two guys. Trick Williams, Tiffany Stratton, The Creed Brothers, Tony D’angelo, we have had a number of people just in these last couple of years that have gone from coming out of college to now being regular names in the WWE and names in the wrestling business as a whole.
“And so we are just; this is only going to grow, coming to the CW Network. I hope everybody can understand just how excited we are about this. This is absolutely a huge deal for us and all these young men and women here, and this old guy running the ship is very excited about the future because it looks incredibly bright.”
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