First Two WWE NXT USA Network Episodes To Have Second Hour Air Live On The WWE Network

WWE NXT on the USA Network will initially air live each week as a one hour show, not two hours as previously believed, according to a new announcement from WWE.

The announcement states that the September 18 and September 25 NXT USA episodes will air live from 8pm – 9pm ET on the USA Network, from Full Sail Live in Winter Park, FL. The second hour of those episodes, from 9pm – 10pm ET, will then air live on the WWE Network.

The full two hours will begin airing live on just the USA Network on Wednesday, October 2, and that will be the norm moving forward. This is the same night that AEW premieres their weekly TNT show from 8pm – 10pm ET.

As we've noted, the plan has been for the weekly NXT TV episode to be available on the WWE Network each Thursday night, 24 hours after it airs on USA.

There's no word yet on why the first two weeks are being split between the USA Network and the WWE Network, but we will keep you updated. This appears to be a recent change in plans as the original press release on NXT moving to USA stated that the two hour show would begin airing on USA with the September 18 episode.

As noted, the following matches have been announced for the NXT USA premiere on September 18:

* NXT North American Champion The Velveteen Dream defends against Roderick Strong

* Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair vs. Mia Yim to crown a new #1 contender for a future title shot from NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler

Below is WWE's full announcement:

First hour of NXT to air live on USA Network and second hour to stream live on WWE Network on Sept. 18 and 25

The historic debut of WWE NXT on USA Network is fast approaching, and WWE.com has you covered with important details on how to catch all the action of the first two live episodes.

The episodes on Wednesday, Sept. 18 and Sept. 25, will air as follows:

* The first hour will air live on USA Network starting at 8/7 C
* The second hour will stream live on the award-winning WWE Network at 9/8 C. The second hour will then be immediately available for on-demand viewing on WWE Network.

Already announced for the Sept. 18 episode is a huge NXT North American Title bout between champion Velveteen Dream and challenger Roderick Strong of The Undisputed ERA, as well as a Triple Threat Match featuring Bianca Belair, Io Shirai and Mia Yim to determine the next challenger to NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler.

Don't miss out on a second of the action when the gold standard in sports-entertainment goes live later this month!

On Sept. 18 & 25, the first hour of #WWENXT will air LIVE on @USA_Network and the second hour will stream live on @WWENetwork!

Here's everything you need to know about catching @WWENXT's first two live episodes: https://t.co/oI3aztQUMF

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) September 5, 2019