Report: Major Changes To WWE TV Being Held Up By Merger With UFC

As WWE's plans to transition NXT from a development brand back into its own distinct third brand on the level of Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown continue, there are reportedly pitches in motion that will see even more crossover between NXT and the main roster.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported the plan right now is for more NXT talent to appear on Raw and SmackDown and more main roster talents to head to NXT. The reason for the crossover is to try and familiarise a larger audience with NXT talent and to use main roster wrestlers to boost NXT's ratings. It is also believed the crossovers will make NXT more unpredictable. 

The plan has seen the likes of Seth Rollins, Mustafa Ali, Dana Brooke, and Baron Corbin featured on NXT in recent weeks, while NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes made his main roster debut on June 26 and lost a singles match to Finn Balor. 

Despite the current plans in motion, WWE have grander schemes in mind for NXT and there is talk of taping NXT TV outside of the WWE Performance Center and running house shows beyond the coconut loop. The plans are currently being held up by the WWE-UFC merger, however. There are also "major changes" for Monday Night Raw being explored that won't come to fruition until the merger is completed.  

It was announced on April 3 that WWE had been sold to Endeavor. The pro wrestling organisation will merge with UFC under the parent company, TKO Group Holdings, later this year.