Dave Meltzer Questions WWE’s Confidence In NXT After Stand & Deliver Date Change

For the first time since 2015, “WWE NXT” will not be part of WrestleMania weekend, as WWE has officially moved its annual Stand & Deliver Premium Live Event to April 4 at The Factory at The District in Chesterfield, Missouri. Rather than taking place the morning of WrestleMania 42 as it did in previous years, the 2026 edition will now run two weeks prior.

The change prompted commentary from Dave Meltzer on “Wrestling Observer Radio,” where he suggested the venue choice signals a lack of confidence in the current drawing power of the WWE NXT brand.

“It really was telling to me, as far as their confidence in NXT that they would book a 2,100 seat building for their biggest show of the year,” Meltzer said. “As opposed to 5,000 [or] 7,000 — there’s so many buildings in the St. Louis market that they could have run, to pick that one was really interesting. I mean it just basically says that they do not have confidence that NXT, at this stage of the game, can sell a lot of tickets.”

However, Meltzer also acknowledged logistical factors may have played a role in the decision. WrestleMania weekend production has historically been demanding, with SmackDown airing Friday night, Stand & Deliver Saturday morning, and WrestleMania running both Saturday and Sunday.

“It was just so hard from a production standpoint to go and do SmackDown on Friday night, Stand and Deliver on Saturday morning — plus it’s the fact that it’s the morning because it’s Vegas not in the afternoon — and then come back with Saturday night [for] WrestleMania,” he added.

Whether the move reflects business caution, production practicality, or a strategic rebrand of Stand & Deliver remains to be seen. What is clear is that 2026 will mark the first WrestleMania season in over a decade without NXT sharing the same weekend spotlight.