WWE NXT Level Up concluded its run at the end of 2024. However, a new NXT-related program is on its way.
When NXT moved to The CW, so did its older shows, as most of its library was pulled from Peacock and moved to the CW App. That left NXT Level Up in limbo as it continued to air on Peacock before WWE opted to discontinue it. Level Up premiered on February 18, 2022, as the replacement for 205 Live.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that a new show called NXT Evolve is on its way. Ironically, Gabe Sapolsky, who worked with Paul Heyman in ECW and was the co-founder and head of talent relations/booker of ROH before starting EVOLVE, will be working on the project.
Meltzer wrote, “Level Up is being replaced by something called NXT Evolve although not at the start of the year. We’ve heard to expect it in a few months. It’s a Gabe Sapolsky project and essentially would be people in developmental but not on NXT television regularly, like Level Up. I think that instead of just matches, to do angles and promos and book it more like a television show. It will be shows taped only for television/streaming.”
Sapolsky began working as a creative consultant with WWE in January 2016 in NXT as part of the creative team. He was released in January 2022 before being brought back that September. EVOLVE shut down shortly after the pandemic started in 2020 when WWE purchased the assets.
PWInsider.com reports that there have been rumors among talent on the independent scene for a month that WWE is bringing back EVOLVE in some capacity, but no one in WWE confirmed it.
The belief is the tapings would be held at the Performance Center utilizing the WWE ID talents. It’s unclear where the show would air but some independent talent think tapings are slated for late January or early February.
Gabe Sapolsky would be in charge of the creative and has been overseeing the WWE ID brand thus far. The end of WWE NXT Level Up was not to replace it with EVOLVE, but rather the A&E “WWE LFG” series.
