WWE NXT 2021: Latest News, WWE NXT Rumors, Results

The closest you will ever come to see the future of professional wrestling first-hand is on the proving grounds of the black and gold ring of NXT. 

The product of years of planning and restructuring, NXT is its own brand now and has become a top talent pool for WWE. However, it wasn’t always as good as it is today.

WWE NXT History

NXT started off as a very small venture for WWE, tying up with FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling). NXT featured FCW’s talents who showed off their skills and, accordingly, got promoted to WWE’s main roster. 

Soon, FCW rebranded as NXT and moved to the Full Sail University campus.

NXT began its inevitable expansion and soon hosted its first two-hour live event - NXT arRIVAL on February 27, 2014. Later in May of the same year, the second live event called TakeOver was organized.

TakeOver, as we know already, went on to become the standard event name for NXT and has come a long way from its roots. August 22, 2015, marked a historical event for NXT. This was NXT TakeOver Brooklyn, New York, the first live event for the brand away from Full Sail University.

Spread

The black and gold banner then quickly spread its influence. In December 2015, months after Brooklyn, NXT spread to London as NXT TakeOver: UK. 

By the end of 2016, NXT aired an impressive 200 shows through all its branches and only grew from there.

Now, NXT has its own Championships. The NXT Championship and the North American Championships are very highly contested. NXT has its own viewership war now with AEW Dynamite in what has culminated in the AEW vs NXT Wednesday Night Wars. 

NXT proved its extreme dominance by winning Survivor Series 2019, scoring an impressive 3 points over Raw and SmackDown's 2 and 1 respectively.

NXT TakeOver: Toronto in 2019 was a huge hit, and received a huge reception form the Canadian crowd. It propelled the event to another level of fame and stood as a testament to the growth of the brand.

Royal Rumble winners can now also challenge for the NXT Championship, as was evident when Charlotte Flair challenged NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley for the title.

Current times

NXT now has an average viewership rating of 842,000 and is keeping itself very steady during the pandemic. Excellent content and well-booked matches make it a force to reckon with.

NXT will only grow further, and we will see a lot of future stars enter into its ranks before tapping into the main rosters. NXT also has its own comic book depicting the rise of Superstars like Seth Rollins, Finn Bálor, and Shinsuke Nakamura to the top.

WWE NXT Roster

The NXT roster consists of some of the most talented Superstars in the world.

The current NXT Champion Finn Bálor, the giant slayer, has a prominent backing and has overcome many odds to get where he is.

In fact, Triple H regards NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai as the best female wrestler in WWE.

Other popular NXT Superstars include Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, Shotzi Blackheart, Karrion Kross, and Tommaso Ciampa.

Where to Watch?

NXT can be exclusively viewed on WWE Network if you are a member. The show can also be viewed on traditional channels every Wednesday night at 8 PM E.T.