“WWE NXT” is heading to the 2300 Arena, better known as the former ECW Arena, and the promotion will be bringing a gaggle of former ECW stars along with it. According to Dave Meltzer, the move is intended to play on nostalgia, while not hurting the reputation of any main roster stars.
“The one thing [WWE] don’t want to do is go in there head-to-head with a bunch of main roster stars and risk losing because AEW is in their regular timeslot and [NXT is] not,” Meltzer explained on “Wrestling Observer Radio.” Normally, “NXT” goes head to head with “AEW Dynamite” on nights when “Dynamite” has been moved to Tuesdays. A recent Title Tuesday edition of “Dynamite” drew historic lows for the program. Meltzer believes that WWE would rather use ECW stars to keep the main roster stars free from any possible damage a loss could do. “If they lose, then maybe it wasn’t smart, but I think it’s smart.”
With the move to The CW, “NXT” had to forfeit Tuesday night, as CW is responsible for local U.S. Presidential Election coverage, forcing the move to Wednesday. Already set for the show, former ECW World Tag Team Champion Bubba Ray Dudley will team with NXT Champion Trick Williams to face Ridge Holland and Ethan Page. ECW star Dawn Marie will guest referee a match between Jaida Parker and Lola Vice, while former ECW World Television Champion Rob Van Dam is slated for an appearance, though his role in the feud between Je’Von Evans and Wes Lee has yet to be revealed.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Wrestling Observer Radio” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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