ContestsEvents

LISTEN LIVE

Future WWE Stars Train For WrestleMania In Tampa at NXT Live In Largo at The Minnreg Hall

WrestleMania comes to Tampa next year at Raymond James Stadium. Tickets will no doubt sell for hundreds to even thousands of dollars for ringside seats. But The Minnreg Hall in…

.

WrestleMania comes to Tampa next year at Raymond James Stadium. Tickets will no doubt sell for hundreds to even thousands of dollars for ringside seats. But The Minnreg Hall in Largo hosts the students WWE is training to become the next "Stone Cold" Steve Austin or Hulk Hogan. Tickets are cheap... starting at $10. WWE calls their pro wrestling school "minor league" NXT. And even though these aren't the wrestlers who headlined WrestleMania last year, they could very well be on the card at WrestleMania in Tampa next year. Thus the name NXT.

You may not know this, but yours truly was a pro rasslin' ring announcer back in the day. As a kid, I wanted to be the next "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. My high school buddy and I learned the moves so we could become pro wrestlers. I detoured and got hooked on radio. My buddy though stuck with it and was a WWE wrestler for a few years. These days, he's one of the coaches who gets these kids ready for the big time. They learn all the ins and outs, from knowing how to take a fall without breaking your back to developing a catchy character that fans will love or hate.

NXT Wrestling In Largo

32BA52F0-CD9B-4198-89A6-ABFD5740784C.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

73ECD8BA-B2CB-4672-B19F-BCE5EF5008B6.jpeg

Wrestling or ballet?


NXT Wrestling In Largo

1BC00FCE-E01D-4396-A282-9ECC35C10E60.jpeg

This guy was in the main event and a big crowd favorite "Velveteen."


NXT Wrestling In Largo

6175B644-5832-4622-9734-9574044C93BD.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

31A402F6-7BC8-4CB5-AC71-0C4FD147EF5A.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

A81D7FDE-EFEE-490A-8EEA-457BA43C6841.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

D1C71F69-60C4-4EB4-A4E5-E5ACE0B071A3.jpeg

I didn't recognize many of the wrestlers, but I did know this guy from UFC... it's funny how many wrestlers and MMA fighters bounce back and forth from wrestling to legit fighting.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

9FF95605-25D4-4F90-A523-6577BA240F0A.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

9FD25F85-8871-4E55-B42F-9E93740F9A64.jpeg

"How's my breath?"


NXT Wrestling In Largo

3F184224-9FA4-45F9-B5BA-7C05458A252B.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

7372C6D6-1796-4E43-BCF1-E6DCAB0C3E6E.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

1ED96BCE-C419-4A5C-9692-089B96B8D015.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

9C01929D-264A-46FB-9C37-EE66113B8AE7.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

CB48A1CB-EA46-414F-A71C-1D1C81E5EBA2.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

8A616936-1BE8-429B-ACB0-E5701F4635BE.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

848D4B8D-8367-40DE-8366-18B334DA11B9.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

91476554-7BD9-47E1-BD6B-8DBF57AE7638.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

06E36329-5EAE-4C98-883B-1EEB0EBC29F0.jpeg

Farting fire?


NXT Wrestling In Largo

F83E2866-5FD4-4E06-893E-C130D8EFA742.jpegGeno / Q105

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

F3A31B11-8AF1-4DF7-B9EE-45DB1A7B8A83.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

A9156527-B4C3-49C8-A7B6-16D841CB411C.jpeg

Only downside of NXT shows in Largo is the lighting is terrible. They're filming matches for the students to learn from but the way they light the right blocks gives you a headache if you're sitting up close.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

A79401D1-68B6-4616-9499-F7A2E979DD44.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

D6A3C24E-CDEF-4C9F-A1C9-420A0AA09BC8.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

FF65B438-2DEC-4CD6-A5EF-E02EC468BCF1.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

DF3CFF3E-AC4F-4432-8B76-ACD01850723D.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

B33225C4-D105-41CA-9EDA-82E78CCC2D43.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

B6D5644B-63FC-4A11-BED4-6D1DE1E9509B-e1563024750724.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

5822F66C-C2BC-4F22-A133-522273926A97.jpeg

The tag team champs!


NXT Wrestling In Largo

A2F483FF-31D2-4CC0-8428-FF217BE3F98F.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

E6D1B6E8-31CE-409F-A6DE-5764993E55CB.jpeg

Little kids don't often get to meet or get an autograph at big WWE shows. But NXT wrestlers make a point of giving kids cool moments like this.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

D52587D5-6F2F-4652-91BB-61D77FF3FAFD-e1563024467426.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

9D1DDCE7-79E5-4781-A34C-C4B0C4B6F5BB.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

E7432E23-17C0-4168-A4C2-744CE45DB103.jpeg

Tip: don't sit near the entrance. The camera recording all the students is put near the fan entrance. And since all these guys are hoping to make the WWE, they're practicing playing to the camera.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

CE693AE5-1E79-41C4-BC96-7C05828B9B9A.jpeg

As you can see, it's not a big place. You can't have a bad seat.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

E65AD7A5-1947-4125-9984-FA195C28063B.jpeg

.


NXT Wrestling In Largo

279A135A-42B9-47FE-8EFB-B43F62E29810.jpeg

They fill the place up each visit. It's cheap... tickets start at $10 for general admission or $20 for reserved seats in the first couple rows.

GenoEditor
Hear Geno on the air weekday afternoons. Geno's passions include fat guy food, concerts, sports, travel to Europe and South America. He loves 80s and 90s music, from MTV hairbands to old school freestyle, alternative rock to TRL era jams. Geno's radio career began in his hometown of Portland, Maine. Since then he's been on the air coast to coast from Boston to Las Vegas, Tampa to California.