On Tuesday, a rumor began to circulate suggesting that WWE could consider moving its Performance Center to Las Vegas, Nevada. WrestleVotes reported that during an “all-employee” meeting held at WWE HQ, staff were told the PC would be moving to Sin City sometime “in the near future.”
Following WrestleVotes’ report, Fightful Select revealed that sources within WWE strongly denied that the company had definite plans to relocate the Performance Center to Las Vegas. This information came from “Top sources” within both WWE and TKO. In a statement on X, Sean Ross Sapp mentioned that one source indicated that Mark Shapiro, the executive named in the original report, was expressing that “…having a presence there is on the table.”
Despite this, WrestleVotes maintains that the initial report stating that WWE has plans to move the PC to Las Vegas potentially is still a reality and that the process would not be an “overnight thing.”
In July 2013, WWE opened the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, which became the company’s second primary location after WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. The Performance Center replaced the original developmental initiative, “Florida Championship Wrestling.” Since then, the facility has been used for training/tryouts, and is the current home of the NXT band.
The move itself would make sense from a business standpoint. Since 2017, UFC has used Nevada as a base for both its company headquarters, “The UFC Performance Institute,” and its live event center, “The UFC Apex.”
Since both WWE and UFC became divisions TKO Group Holdings Inc. in September 2023, the conglomerate has made it clear that while the two companies operate separately, there would be opportunities for cross-promotional partnerships. In June, WWE held NXT: Battleground at UFC’s Apex, with both fans and those inside TKO touting the event as a wildly successful example of how the two giants in combat sports and entertainment could work together.
The WWE Performance Center Has Hosted Many WWE Events Aside From NXT
Aside from being the home of WWE’s developmental brand and main training facility, the venue has also been used to stage other major events for the company throughout its history.
The PC was famously the home of Wrestlemania 36, originally scheduled to be hosted inside Raymond James Stadium. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced WWE to move the event to the Performance Center. It became a two-night event in front of no audience. WWE also used the space to host episodes of RAW, SmackDown, Main Event, 205 Live, and four main roster PPVs before moving main roster shows to the “Thunderdome.”
In September 2021, the company redesigned the NXT set, ushering in the “NXT 2.0” relaunch of the developmental brand. While the “2.0” branding has been dropped in recent years, the arena’s new configuration has remained consistent.
