WWE reportedly set to start NXT India program
The WWE are reportedly planning to expand internationally once again. Post Wrestling's John Pollock and Brandon Thurston claim the WWE will be starting an NXT India program in January 2021. According to Thurston, the show will be brodcasted worldwide via the WWE Network and on linear television in India.
This will not be the first time WWE has chosen to expand the black and gold brand. The WWE started in NXT UK in 2018, after Triple H announced it in 2016. However, due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, plans for numerous expansions have been put on hold.
This has not stopped the WWE from coming up with plans for future Performance Centers and International programs, though. There looks to be another reported addition in NXT Japan.
India has been a key area that the WWE has been looking to expand to, having made various moves to show their interest. These include giving Jinder Mahal a WWE title run, putting on live shows, and sending ambassadors regularly.
WWE will kick off the program with an eight-man single elimination tournament
As reported back in October, WWE are planning a big event in India in 2021. During the recent third-quarter earnings call that featured WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, CBO Stephanie McMahon, CFO Kristina Salen, and President & CRO Nick Khan, several announcements were made. You can read more about them here.
Post Wrestling believes that this 2021 event is an eight-man elimination tournament, but notes plans can always change. However, as things stand, this could be the event that kicks off what is being described as "NXT India".
If an NXT India program is in the making, it is believed that the WWE will choose to distribute the program to Indian audiences via their long-term partners in India, the Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited. Their distribution deal with the company was renewed for five years back in March.
This is truly an exciting time not just for the WWE, but for the country of India as well, being a nation with a lot of untapped athletic potential. It will be great to see some new talent being uncovered in the Indian subcontinet on NXT India.