WWE has a lot going on with new television deals starting up, and the October 1 WWE NXT will be a historic one for the black and gold brand. They are gearing up for a long-awaited CW debut, and plenty of eyes will be on Chicago.
Over the weekend, The CW’s listings for NXT indicated a change in the program’s age rating from PG to TV-14, a shift from its previous classification on the USA Network. This prompted speculation among fans about whether it was an error or a signal of a significant change for NXT.
Corey Brennan from Fightful Select reportedly reached out to multiple NXT sources, including production staff and talent, but none reported any knowledge of an impending shift in the presentation related to the age rating change or confirmation that the show would transition to TV-14.
Regarding the age rating, a source within WWE production commented that it would be unusual for NXT to change while RAW and SmackDown remain at a TV-PG rating. The source expressed concern that, with NXT airing on network television, this could serve as a means to avoid censoring crowd chants and other instances of profanity. We will have to see if they do, indeed, refrain from censoring fan chants as they do on the main roster.
It’s also unclear how this change may affect advertising, because that is also a big reason why WWE maintains their family-friendly programming to fall in line with those big dollars from mainstream brands.
“While no sources we spoke to were able to completely rule out a possible age rating shift, those we spoke to were all skeptical of the possibility of change, as it would cause issues with advertisers on the brand.”
We will have to see what WWE brings to NXT tonight. Chicago is bound to be popping tonight, and the event is generating a lot of buzz within the pro wrestling world already. Only time will tell what kind of home the black and gold brand finds on The CW.
Ringside News will have full coverage of WWE NXT’s debut on The CW. It will be quite a night. There’s still time to get tickets as of this writing, so jump on Ticketmaster if you’re still thinking about going to the show.
