NXT looks like it will be making its presence felt during WrestleMania week with a new TakeOver event reportedly scheduled for Thursday, the 8th of April.
A social media post from Fightful shared a screengrab of the cancellation page on the WWE Network. That page listed Fastlane for March 21st, WrestleMania on the 10th and 11th of April with the NXT event sandwiched in between.
The black and gold brand has had a presence during WrestleMania week since 2016. NXT TakeOver Dallas was the first TakeOver event to take place in the same week as Mania, occurring on the Friday night before it. That event was headlined by Finn Bálor retaining his NXT Championship against Samoa Joe.
As things stand Bálor is NXT Champion and with no title defences announced between now and the 8th of April, he could well be champion heading into that event.
No NXT TakeOver took place during a very different WrestleMania week in 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down live events, TakeOver along with the Hall of Fame ceremony were postponed by WWE. WrestleMania itself was taped in front of no fans at the WWE Performance Center.
This what pops up if you try to cancel WWE Network. Looks like NXT TakeOver is scheduled for April 8. pic.twitter.com/z49tHIv8sH
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) March 3, 2021
The NXT Women’s Championship was defended at WrestleMania 36 in 2020. Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair successfully challenged Rhea Ripley for the gold. No NXT involvement has been announced for WrestleMania this year so far. NXT TakeOver could very well be the black and gold brand’s own ‘show of shows’ in 2021.
This new night for TakeOver could see wrestling fans with a jam-packed week of wrestling to keep up with. NXT TV is scheduled for Wednesday 7th April alongside AEW Dynamite. The 8th would see TakeOver followed by WWE SmackDown on Friday the 9th. WrestleMania 37 will then be held over the weekend of the 10th and 11th of April. That will be followed by Raw on the 12th. There is currently no word on what this means for the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony which traditionally has been held on a separate night from the in-ring shows.