WWE Forced to Move NXT From Tampa to New Location
WWE likes to bundle several wrestling shows in the same city. It all goes back to the 'Raw after WrestleMania' episodes, which included crowds packed with foreign travelers. These shows were very entertaining, as they often featured new stars while the crowd cheered the heels and booed the babyfaces.
This weekend, the WWE schedule included Saturday Night's Main Event, NXT Battleground on Sunday, followed by Monday Night Raw. All of these shows were set to take place at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Fla. The regular Tuesday episode of NXT was supposed to take place there as well.
Joe Hendry, Trick Williams, and Oba Femi (Getty)
But you can only stretch a wrestling market so far. According to WrestleTix, the show was canceled after fans bought 1,700 tickets. The episode is likely to move to its usual home at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
Along with the news that Monday Night Raw on Netflix drew fewer than 1 million viewers, it brings up the question: Is the WWE's boom period coming to an end?
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It's not always easy to tell when a hot streak ends until years after it happens. In retrospect, we could say that the Golden Era of the World Wrestling Federation ended when Yokozuna beat Hulk Hogan for the WWF title at King of the Ring 1993 (I was there!). World Championship Wrestling's hot streak ended with the Hulk Hogan-Kevin Nash "Fingerpoke of Doom" on the first Nitro episode of 1999. The Attitude Era and Monday Night Wars seemed to end at WrestleMania X-7, with Stone Cold Steve Austin turning heel and beating The Rock for the WWF title.
The current developments show that WWE needs to keep promoting new stars. WWE has a ton of star power with Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, and CM Punk, among others.
But the company has to keep pushing wrestlers like Bron Breakker, Stephanie Vaquer, Roxanne Perez, Giulia, and Oba Femi. The Backlash main event of John Cena vs. Randy Orton had two decades of rich history behind it. But fans in every new generation like to have their own stars to cheer.
Related: John Cena Should Face a Different Opponent at Saturday Night's Main Event
Related: Will Jey Uso Survive Logan Paul's Challenge on Saturday Night's Main Event?
WWE Forced to Move NXT From Tampa to New Location first appeared on Athlon Sports on May 22, 2025
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