WWE NXT Is Coming to Phoenix in May

Just in time to cure your post-WrestleMania blues

April 12, 2017

Image: Ember Moon dishes out some pain to Asuka at an NXT live event last year.

Ember Moon dishes out some pain to Asuka at an NXT live event last year. Sabre Blade/Flickr Creative Commons

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Wrestling fans of the Valley, are you still suffering from a case of the post-WrestleMania blues? Well, we’ve got some news that might help cheer you up.

NXT is finally coming to Phoenix next month.

The developmental brand of WWE, which has become insanely popular with wrestling geekdom in recent years, will be putting on a live event at Comerica Theatre on Thursday, May 4. And it's something that many local pro wrestling fanatics have been waiting to see in person for years.

For those who aren’t die-hard devotees of the squared circle, NXT is where many future WWE superstars hone their craft and develop their characters before being featured on shows like Raw or Smackdown Live.

In some ways, it serves as a talent incubator and testing ground for pro wrestlers, including many sought-after stars from the independent scene and Japan, such as Kenta Kobayashi (now known as Hideo Itami), Chris Hero (a.k.a. Kassius Ohno), Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Asuka.

It's also pretty darn popular, even rivaling Raw and Smackdown in terms of in-ring action and eye-popping moves.

Since its debut as WWE’s third brand in 2013, it's put on an ever-increasing amount of live events in theaters and medium-sized venues across the U.S. and around the world. And after four years, it's finally headed to Phoenix.

And while the WWE hasn’t released a list of which NXT stars will appear at Comerica Theatre in May, we’re guessing that many of the wrestlers on its current roster (including NXT champions Bobby Roode) will be there.

Tickets are currently on sale and are $20 to $40. Better get em fast, since the event is likely to sell out.

NXT Live takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 4, at Comerica Theatre.

Benjamin Leatherman is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times where he focuses primarily on arts, culture, music and nightlife. He joined New Times in 2003. Prior to that, he contributed to magazines such as Tips & Tricks and The Wrestler. Benjamin has earned multiple awards from the Arizona Press Club including an award for sports enterprise reporting in 2009 and an award for statewide arts reporting in 2014. He holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

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