September 23, 2019 Observer Newsletter: NXT debut on USA, Clash of Champions reviewed
NXT debuted on the USA Network on 9/18 as the third straight night of pro wrestling that week on the station.
The first show consisted of two dark matches, a one-hour show on USA followed by another 51 minutes on the WWE Network.
You got a lot of hard work, an emphasis on in-ring and building matches for the future. There was less time for interviews, and much higher quality of wrestling than on Raw or Smackdown. Indeed, if it wasn’t a WWE product, the push of no B.S., had any other company said it, would be taken as a knock on the WWE main brands themselves.
NXT in uncharted water. There was one hour special a few years ago on USA that did 841,000 viewers. This debut was far more heavily promoted, but also comes at a time that WWE itself has run off a substantial percentage of its audience since that show a few years ago.
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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.