WWE NXT WWE NXT is a professional wrestling television program for developmental talent produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) which debuted on February 23 , 2010 . The original format was described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE ' s scripted live event shows , the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE ' s developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) in a competition to become WWE ' s next breakout star with the help of mentors from WWE ' s Raw and SmackDown brands . In its current form it is no different than any of the WWE ' s other scripted live event shows other than it primarily features developmental talent . The show originally made its debut on Syfy in February 2010 , replacing ECW . Less than a month after its premiere , it was announced that WWE SmackDown would move from MyNetworkTV to Syfy in October . NXT aired its final episode on Syfy on September 28 to make way for SmackDown , and began airing as a webcast at WWE . com for visitors from the United States on October 5 . Outside of the United States , the show is still televised . History . On February 2 , 2010 , WWE Chairman Vince McMahon announced that " ECW " would be going off the air and would be replaced with a new weekly program in its slot that McMahon called " the next evolution of WWE ; the next evolution of television history . " It was later announced that " ECW " would air its final episode on February 16 , 2010 , and on the February 9 , 2010 episode of " ECW " , the successor show ' s name was announced as " WWE NXT " . NXT began as a reality competition . From 2010 – 2012 , the show consisted of pairing " Rookies " with WWE Superstars ( known as " Pros " ) , with the pairs competing in challenges until there was one sole winner . The winners of the show were Wade Barrett ( Season 1 ) , Kaval ( Season 2 ) , Kaitlyn ( Season 3 ) and Johnny Curtis ( Season 4 ) . Before season five ended , WWE revamped the show to make it a sports entertainment show , moved the tapings permanently to Florida , and changed the show ' s roster to feature more developmental wrestlers . Production . " NXT " was taped in large venues before the " WWE Smackdown " tapings and used the universal WWE HD set from 2010 – 2012 . When WWE revamped the show , they moved the tapings to Full Sail University in Orlando , Florida , with the venue known as " Full Sail Live " . WWE started taping " NXT " in Florida on May 17 , 2012 . " NXT " aired on Syfy from 2010 - 2011 . In 2011 , when " SmackDown " moved to Syfy , " NXT " moved to WWE . COM , and after Season 5 , " NXT " stopped broadcasting in the US until September 2012 when WWE reached a deal with Hulu Plus , on which new episodes of " NXT " began airing September 26 , 2012 . From February 27 , 2014 , to January 7 , WWE NXT streamed over the WWE Network every Thursday night at 9 : 00 ET / 8 : 00 CT . On January 14 , 2015 , WWE NXT was moved to Wednesday nights at 8 : 00 ET / 7 : 00 CT . Current Championships . WWE NXT Championship . The WWE NXT Championship is a professional wrestling heavyweight championship owned by the developmental territory of WWE , NXT Wrestling ; it is contested for in their heavyweight division . WWE NXT Tag Team Championship . The NXT Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the developmental territory of WWE , NXT Wrestling ; it is contested for in their tag team division . WWE NXT Women ' s Championship . The NXT Women ' s Championship is a professional wrestling women ' s championship owned by the developmental territory of WWE , NXT Wrestling ; it is contested for in their women ' s division . On - air personalities . Authority Figures . ( * ) On August 24 , Maryse underwent surgery for an abdominal hernia and was on medical leave from WWE , therefore Maryse ' s role as co - host ended . She would later be released from WWE on October 28 , 2011 and would not return to NXT . As of November 2011 , there is no official co - host .