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Welcome to the English version of Solowrestling Read more
This afternoon, WWE has announced that the next edition of NXT Stand & Deliver will take place on April 4th, two weeks before WrestleMania 42, which represents a significant change compared to previous years, where the NXT brand's PLE took place just before the grand event. The decision has caught many by surprise, leading the specialized media outlet PWInsider to investigate the matter.
According to journalist Mike Johnson, who has learned through various WWE sources, holding the event on the West Coast of the United States was key in making this decision, as "the last times WrestleMania took place in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, it ended up working against the company's overall planning for the most important week of the year. Initially, the event had been internally planned to take place in Las Vegas."
"The feeling within the company was that by moving the show to April 4th, Stand & Deliver would have more opportunities to shine on its own and not get lost among the numerous WWE televised events that take place that same week. Additionally, the calendar change would allow WWE's production team to be freed from having to produce three events within a 24-hour period (SmackDown, the Hall of Fame, and NXT) just before facing Night One of WrestleMania 42," Johnson wrote.
"We were also cautioned that moving Stand & Deliver out of WrestleMania week should not be considered a permanent decision. As indicated, the company will evaluate the event's location year by year and make a decision based on each case. Therefore, we could see NXT return to WrestleMania week in the future, especially if WrestleMania is not held on the West Coast," he explained.
NXT has not missed the big event since WrestleMania 31 (2015), holding a PLE during the grand event's weekend. A decade later, the developmental brand will have to hold the most important show of the year on a different date than usual, allowing it to "stand on its own," as Shawn Michaels stated in this afternoon's announcement.
