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World Wrestling Entertainment is shifting its Wrestlemania 35 week schedule back to the old format. This April, WWE NXT Takeover: New York will take place on Friday 4/5 with the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony taking place on Saturday evening 4/6, each at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The company first announced the change to those who had purchased travel packages for Wrestlemania week.
PWInsider.com reached out to WWE for comment, receiving back the following statement:
“WWE will be going back to its previous WrestleMania Week schedule with NXT TakeOver on Friday, April 5 and the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, April 6. We believe this better serves our fans.”
The new format returns Wrestlemania week, at least in 2019, to the original format of NXT Friday and HOF on Saturday. WWE had switched those two events back in 2016, partially as a way to allow those working Wrestlemania the next day (which is a LONG day for all involved) a chance to rest up before the company's flagship event.
This year's NXT: Takeover event would have gone head to head with the sold out Ring of Honor and New Japan's G1 Supershow in Madison Square Garden on Saturday 4/6. The plan is to stream that show live online for different platforms, most likely ROH Honorclub, New Japan World and Fite.tv Obviously, WWE NXT Takeover and the Hall of Fame will stream live on the WWE Network.
During the post-Takeover: Brooklyn press conference this past August, I asked WWE's Paul Levesque whether there being competition up against NXT's return to the Barclays Center changed their strategy leading into Wrestlemania 35 weekend. That night, Triple H commented that he never holds back and with the NXT brand, he swings for the fences every time out. He commented that he "doesn’t care who runs against them" and would put his product up against anyone’s. He noted there was no fear there.
While the two shows will no longer go head to head, certainly the two products will be placed against each other in a way that benefits fans that want to watch each event live as they happen.
The reformatted Wrestlemania 35 week schedule features:
Friday 4/5 – WWE NXT Takeover: New York at Barclays Center.
Friday 4/5 – WWE Wrestlemania AXXESS opens through Monday 4/8. Location TBA.
Saturday 4/6 – WWE Hall of Fame ceremony at Barclays Center.
Sunday 4/7 – Wrestlemania 35 at Metlife Stadium.
Monday 4/7 – Monday Night Raw at Barclays Center.
Monday 4/7 – Final Wrestlemania AXXESS session.
Tuesday 4/8 – Smackdown Live at Barclays Center.
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