WWE Rumors - Massive change for this week's NXT
The Coronavirus pandemic has massively affected pro wrestling and WWE have also been hit badly. Vince McMahon's promotion have had to broadcast shows from the Performance Center behind closed doors, with only essential personnel present.
This week's RAW and last week's SmackDown were broadcast from the Performance Center, as will WrestleMania 36 next month. This coming week's NXT will also be at the Performance Center, but it may not follow the same format as previous shows of the black and gold brand.
According to Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, the show will not have any live matches, but will have "interviews, personality profiles, old footage" in a studio setting.
This is a big departure from the usual NXT shows which have exceptional in-ring action, as well as segments to hype up matches and set-up new feuds. We don't quite know the reason for WWE not having any live matches on the show on this week's NXT.
RAW and SmackDown from the Performance Center were a little different too. The red brand had just one match with the rest being filled with The Undertaker's feud with AJ Styles, Stone Cold Steve Austin's 3:16 Day celebration with Becky Lynch, Lynch's message to her WrestleMania 36 opponent Shayna Baszler, and Edge's return to RAW and challenge to Randy Orton.
Last week's SmackDown, despite being an hour shorter than RAW, had three matches - Jeff Hardy facing off against Baron Corbin, Daniel Bryan and Cesaro battling it out in a singles match, and current SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks teaming up with Bayley to face the team of Alexa Bliss and Bayley. We also saw Triple H have a prominent role on the show, where he was a guest commentator.
It will be interesting to see how WWE fills up the two hours of NXT without the live matches, and what new feuds will be set-up on the show.