President Donald Trump’s speech earlier this week put some shows on pause. With CW series WWE NXT getting pre-empted in major markets.
Trump addressed Congress last Tuesday to lay out his plans for the future of the country, talking about military, trade, immigration, and foreign aid. All the major networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and even The CW, chose to air the speech. This, in turn, had to pre-empt the usual Tuesday night lineup, including WWE NXT. According to wrestling and MMA reporter Dave Meltzer on X, the series was pre-empted in New York and Chicago but was scheduled to air the following day, going head-to-head with AEW.
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Those in New York, Chicago, and Indianapolis were also able to stream the new episode of NXT on The CW app for free starting Wednesday, rather than waiting until primetime that night, according to executive producer Shawn Michaels. As of now, it doesn’t seem like there will be any other interruptions for the show moving forward, but that could all change, likely depending on any other speeches or anything similar that would deem important enough to air primetime.
This isn’t the first time WWE NXT had to be moved for political reasons. Last November, NewsNation Decision Desk 2024 took over The CW’s Tuesday lineup because of the 2024 presidential election. NXT wound up airing the following night. Unlike most networks, shows are just pre-empted until the following week, but at least on The CW, fans only had to wait a day or even just a few hours if they decided to watch it on the app, which was better than nothing.
Premiering in 2010 on the WWE website, WWE NXT showcases young WWE talents who are in the company’s developmental system, and the series features occasional cameos from established Superstars and legends. It moved to Hulu in 2012 before coming to WWE Network in 2014. USA Network became the new home in 2019 until 2024, when it moved to The CW amid the network making changes to its programming slate, adding more unscripted, acquired, and sports content. WWE NXT seems to be doing pretty well on The CW, and as long as it doesn’t keep getting pre-empted, it should be sticking around for at least a little bit. New episodes air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.