The current coronavirus pandemic has caused WWE to make some drastic budget cuts, with many superstars and employees losing their jobs as a result. And the crisis has reportedly derailed Triple H ‘s plans for expanding NXT ‘s global reach as well, with the planned Japanese iteration of the brand supposedly no longer happening.
Citing Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio , Sportskeeda reported that the company’s plan to introduce more NXT brands around the world is no longer happening, and the future of the British brand could also be in jeopardy.
“ NXT Japan looks to be dead in the water, yes. All kinds of expansion like that are going to be dead for a while. All the new NXT offshoots, I don’t know what’s going to happen with [NXT] UK but I expect major cuts in the UK as well. Yeah, but, NXT Japan ain’t going to happen now. I mean, there is even an article on Tokyo Sports today that actually said that they talked to some people that were going to be working there and it’s like, yeah, it’s not happening.”
As The Inquisitr previously reported, WWE was recently in negotiations with Pro Wrestling NOAH with the aim of acquiring the company and turning it into NXT Japan . However, while those plans didn’t come to fruition in the end, WWE still seemed keen on launching another iteration of the black-and-gold brand in the Land of the Rising Sun.
EXCLUSIVE: Why did @WWEAsuka use the green mist to retain the @WWE Women’s #TagTeamTitles ? Because IT WAS FUNNY, RIGHT? ??
P.S. The #KabukiWarriors don’t need @RealPaigeWWE. #WWENXT @KairiSaneWWE pic.twitter.com/G1ew8ITxq2
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) October 31, 2019
The company reportedly wanted to set up a brand in Japan because of the country’s large wrestling fan base. However, some fans and pundits criticized the idea as they believed WWE was trying to extend its stranglehold on the world wrestling economy.
While NXT UK has been praised for its in-ring action, the brand was introduced shortly after ITV brought back World of Sport , a popular British wrestling show with a storied history. According to the rumors, WWE officials want to monopolize the industry, and they also had plans to set up NXT offshoots in Canada and other countries where wrestling is popular.
It remains to be seen if WWE will try to resurrect its expansion plans at a later date. However, the company appears to be more focused on trimming the roster at the time of this writing, and more NXT brands would require hiring more people. NXT UK seems to be fine for now, but more WWE cuts are expected to happen in the coming days.