The WWE NXT brand continues to grow as they were announced as part of the Aftershock music festival in Sacramento, California on October 24 & 25. It's a different kind of venue for WWE's developmental system that is growing as an alternative WWE show. The last time WWE NXT was in Sacramento was during WrestleMania weekend when they drew an impressive crowd of 5,000 people for a Friday night show. Its interesting to note that in the WWE.com release about the show, they didn't mention current NXT champion Kevin Owens. It's very possible that Owens might only be on the WWE main roster by that point, so that's why they failed to mention him even though he would be one of the biggest names if he was there. The graphic they used features current NXT Champion Sasha Banks, top diva Charlotte and one of the top male wrestlers Finn Balor. There's no guarantee that all three of them will be there although this does seem like a major event, so even if one or all of them are on the main roster they still might make that weekend appearance. The Aftershock music festival features top rock bands like Slipknot, Faith No More, Deftones, Shinedown, Janes Addiction, Coheed & Cambria, Stone Temple Pilots, Breaking Benjamin, Eagles of Death Metal and more. Controversial musician Marilyn Manson, who at one point provided the theme song of WWE Smackdown, is one of the headline acts for the event. He tweeted the poster for the event, which features the NXT logo on it. https://twitter.com/marilynmanson/status/603274150233309184 While WWE really hasn't done this kind of thing a lot where they put on wrestling shows at music festivals, it's a smart move because it will help to expand the NXT product. A lot of wrestling fans may be more willing to attend this festival because of the NXT involvement while people that are there for the music might be interested in seeing what NXT is all about. It's a smart crossover move for WWE. The "best for business" line that is uttered on WWE TV is just a catchphrase, but when they do smart moves like this it's fair to say that it really is best for business.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
