This Tuesday, NXT heads to Allstate Arena in Rosemont for its first episode on The CW.
WWE is stacking the card with a Miz TV segment, an appearance from WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, and two huge title matches: Ethan Page vs. Trick Williams for the NXT Championship and Roxanne Perez against Giulia for the NXT Women's Championship.
Chicago native CM Punk will serve as the special guest referee in Page and Williams' match and, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels and senior vice president of talent development teased what fans can expect from NXT's CW debut.
"What you can expect is one of the best shows NXT has ever offered," he promised. "You are literally getting an opportunity to start the journey with the future WWE superstars of tomorrow.”
"Any time [CM Punk] comes to visit, it’s not just valuable to us from a television show standpoint, but it’s always valuable to the men and women who are here developing and hoping to become main roster Superstars on Raw or SmackDown," Michaels continued. "I’m sure a lot of them probably think maybe if they get there soon enough they can have a chance to be in the ring with somebody like CM Punk."
He added, "We have numerous fantastic legends and coaches here on NXT, but it is always fantastic when you have a current main roster WWE and global superstars like CM Punk come visit. He has come down here on various occasions. He’s been very supportive of NXT, the talent and the system that we have here."
As for how NXT will change when it moves from the USA Network to The CW, Michaels says the plan is to make a "big splash" and noted, "We’ll have some big changes, but I think more of that will be from a look and physical standpoint. We will still be what NXT is, which is bringing some of the most talented, young, diverse athletes in all of the nation, and developing them into the WWE superstars of tomorrow."
"The hunger, the passion that’s always been the core value of NXT is always going to be there. But certainly we’ll try to put on some pretty cool bells and whistles for the CW launch on October 1."
Make sure to check back here on Wednesday for all the biggest news from the show.