Steve Carrier on March 31, 2023
NXT Showrunner Shawn Michaels recently addressed the issue of WWE’s NXT Battleground event being held on the same day as AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
While speaking with BT Sport, Michaels told Ariel Helwani that WWE decided to run the event on May 28th at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts because it was Memorial Day weekend. He added that in the past, WWE had done well on holidays and that holidays always tend to be big days for them.
Michaels clarified that it was not a direct response to AEW’s Double or Nothing event but more of a strategic decision based on holiday weekends being successful for WWE in the past. He also mentioned that the event would be live on Peacock and essentially free.
No, no. Look, I’ll say this, from a holiday standpoint, that’s the thing. In the past, we’ve done well on the holidays. It’s my understanding that’s why we did that. It’s not different than, we used to do stuff back in the day on Christmas and on Thanksgiving. Holidays are always big days. That’s what this is for us. We’re live on Peacock. Basically, sort of free. From my standpoint, it’s just the date was available. The holiday does really well for us.
AEW has not yet commented on WWE’s decision to run a show on the same day as Double or Nothing. It remains to be seen whether this will have any impact on the viewership numbers for either event.
It is worth noting that WWE has a history of scheduling events on the same day as major wrestling shows from other promotions. In the past, WWE has scheduled pay-per-views on the same day as Ring of Honor’s Final Battle event and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom event. This has led to accusations of WWE deliberately trying to compete with other promotions. However, Michaels’ recent comments suggest that the decision to run NXT Battleground on the same day as Double or Nothing was not a direct response to AEW.
What do you think of Shawn Michaels’ comments regarding WWE’s decision to schedule NXT Battleground on the same day as AEW’s Double or Nothing event? Do you believe it was a strategic move to take advantage of the holiday weekend, or was it an attempt to compete with AEW? Leave a comment.
March 31, 2023 9:52 am
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