SUMMARY
- WWE will hold it's first ever event, NXT Battleground, inside UFC Apex in June.
- Ahead of that, UFC President Dana White has also confirmed plans of aligning the promotion's schedule with WWE's.
The TKO Merger has merged WWE and UFC into a single global phenomenon providing more entertainment and action to the fans. With this move, both UFC and WWE have been experiencing a boost in ticket sales as well as in the live ratings. It shows how much the product has grown under the leadership of Triple H and Dana White respectively.
During this time, certain changes have also been made to the program including improved production quality and newer camera shots. Along with this, WWE also changed its schedule in terms of organizing its Premium Live events each month. WWE held Sunday-based PLEs for decades. It all changed when WWE President Nick Khan was instrumental in bringing about the shift.
He believed that big sports events were better on Saturday nights. This saw a change in ticket sales and viewership as more people got engaged in watching and enjoying the events on Saturday nights. It seems that this schedule will again be reverted as Dana White has announced that TKO Group Holdings will soon resume hosting WWE Premium Live Events on Sunday.
White made an appearance during the press conference held after UFC Fight Night in St. Louis. He revealed how the future shapes up for UFC, Power Slap, and WWE and stated that changes would be made to the schedule. “You’re going to see Friday Power Slap, Saturday UFC, and Sunday WWE. You’ll start seeing that stuff too.”, stated White during the press conference.
Dana White says we’ll be seeing WWE PLE’s back on Sundays as part of TKO’s plans to market a whole weekend of shows that would include Power Slap on Friday and UFC on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/vfH5fSKD7R
— Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) May 12, 2024
Except for WrestleMania, which was held on Sundays for decades, the WWE has only held Premium Live Events on Saturdays since the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even still, even though the switch has a lot of fans, things might be about to change.
Fans don’t seem to like the new changes to the WWE PLE schedule
As soon as Dana White announced announced a possible change in plans, fans stormed the internet showing their disappointment. The WWE Universe seemed to disagree with the potential move going forward as fans want WWE PLEs to be organized on Saturdays. A fan wrote his disappointment stating “Ugh! I don’t want to watch a WWE event on a Sunday.”
Several fans were furious with the move which might cause TKO to revert the decision. “WWE PPVs are better on Saturdays imo tbh,” wrote another user in response to the statements made by White.
While there were many fans angered by the statements, several fans also thought that this would be a great move. After getting such mixed reactions from the audience, only time will tell if TKO will make the changes and reschedule the dates.
NXT Battleground to be first WWE event held in UFC Apex
Another indication that the two companies are collaborating more closely is the announcement that NXT Battleground will take place on June 9 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Typically, the location hosts smaller UFC Fight Nights with only 500 spectators. However, in 2022, an application was made to expand the capacity to 1,000 seats.
The UFC APEX arena setting for NXT Battleground 2024: pic.twitter.com/4PnVTTy2n1
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) April 22, 2024
Shawn Michaels expressed his excitement about bringing NXT to the venue at the time of the announcement. Limited NXT Battleground Priority Passes, which include premium seating, all-inclusive pre-show hospitality with WWE Superstar appearances, ringside photo opportunities, and much more, will soon be available.
There are other changes from the regular schedule for PLEs, but it’s unclear when WWE will return to Sunday evenings. The promotion has embraced holding events outside of North America in recent years. WWE has held events like Clash At The Castle in Cardiff, Wales, Money in the Bank in London, England, and Backlash France in Lyon in addition to its biannual Saudi Arabia events.