August 26, 2019 Observer Newsletter: Birth of the Wednesday Night War
The Wednesday Night Wars are now official, with WWE announcing on 8/20 that NXT would be going live weekly on the USA Network.
The word started getting out after the 8/15 NXT tapings at Full Sail University. Paul Levesque was there, and strongly hinted to the wrestlers about a big television announcement, which he said would take place on Raw. As it turned out, the announcement didn’t take place on Raw, but was instead released by WWE the next morning. He told the wrestlers he’d love to tell them but couldn’t do so until it was officially announced.
But through different people at the Performance Center, the word got around that the show would be on the USA Network, and not FS 1, as had been expected. It was noted to us that the wrestlers knew that it would be starting quicker than expected because on their schedule, the next TV taping was 9/11, but Levesque told everyone he’d see them on 9/18.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.