WWE has surprised fans, and NXT fans in particular, by revealing that there will be no NXT TakeOver the night before the 2020 Royal Rumble. A TakeOver the night before every big four PPV (and some others) has been the norm since 2016, but this January it seems that’s changing. As revealed when WWE started selling travel packages for Royal Rumble weekend, a WWE Worlds Collide show will instead happen on Saturday Jan. 25 in Houston, Texas. “Worlds Collide” is a name WWE has already been using for shows where members of their various brands compete, including NXT UK and 205 Live in addition to domestic NXT and the Main Roster. Previously those events have been taped at Fan Axxess events and aired later on the Network, but this seems likely to be the first live Worlds Collide show.
The shows will also be in different arenas in Houston, with Worlds Collide in the Toyota Center, while the Royal Rumble is in Minute Maid Park. According to the Wrestling Observer, WWE is also changing how they organize big TV around big PPV weekends. Instead of staying in the same plays for four days, they’re moving Raw and Smackdown to nearby cities. In the case of Royal Rumble weekend, the Friday night Smackdown will be in Dallas, while Monday Night Raw will be in San Antonio.
The Observer also notes that plans are still being worked out for exactly what the Worlds Collide show will look like. It makes sense, as WWE continues to grow its various brands, to start working more people from NXT UK and 205 Live into big shows, as well as integrating NXT USA more with the Main Roster brands now that they’re going to be on cable. We don’t know what this means for future TakeOvers, but the Observer says that’s still being worked out and there will be news before long. It’s understandable that planning for future TakeOvers might be hard right now, since NXT is about to go through a major transition and may look pretty different soon.
