WWE NXT has a new sound to begin Tuesday nights.
Shawn Michaels announced that Drake’s “Shabang” is now the official opening theme for WWE NXT, revealing the change in a video released ahead of this week’s episode. The announcement marks the end of the brand’s run with “Millions From Now” by 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne as its show-opening music.
Michaels, who oversees NXT creative, presented the news through a performance-center-themed video that puts the focus squarely on the wrestlers and personalities who make up the current NXT roster. His message was concise and enthusiastic: “Nobody does it quite like this crew. New music. Same show-stealing Superstars. ‘Shabang’ by @Drake is the new opening theme for #WWENXT. Turn it up!!”
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The switch gives NXT another fresh presentation element at a time when the brand continues to position itself as a place where established WWE names, developing prospects, crossover talent, and visiting performers can all share the spotlight. Theme music is a significant part of a wrestling show’s identity, setting the atmosphere before the first match, promo, or surprise appearance takes place. “Shabang” will now carry that responsibility for NXT each week.
For more background on this topic, read JBL Believes Gable Steveson Was Never a Natural Fit for WWE.
A Performance Center Celebration of the NXT Roster
The video opens with Michaels arriving at the WWE Performance Center, where he is briefly confronted by NXT Champion Grayson Waller. The encounter immediately reinforces Waller’s status at the top of the brand while also framing the clip around the controlled chaos that has long defined NXT’s television environment.
After making his way to his office, Michaels puts on his signature cowboy hat before the video shifts its attention to the wider NXT locker room. A collection of stars rap along with “Shabang,” creating a promotional piece built around the idea of a united, energized roster ready to take over the weekly broadcast.
Among those featured are Zaria, Shiloh Hill, NXT Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan, Myka Lockwood, the Vanity Project, EVOLVE Women’s Champion Nikkita Lyons, DarkStates, and Myles Borne. The video also includes the NXT broadcast team and ring announcer Mike Rome, emphasizing that the theme change is meant to represent the entire television product rather than only the talent competing inside the ring.
The final imagery returns to the arena setting, with the lights coming up around the Performance Center ring to signal the opening of the show. It is a straightforward but effective transition: the music starts outside the ring and ultimately leads viewers into the place where NXT’s stories and championships are decided.
For Michaels and the creative team, the video also serves as a reminder of NXT’s particular mix of personalities. The brand is not presented solely through champions or headline acts. It relies on an ensemble that includes emerging wrestlers, established names, on-screen groups, announcers, and the behind-the-scenes identity that the Performance Center has developed over the years.
Moving on From “Millions From Now”
Before this change, NXT used “Millions From Now” by 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne as its opening theme. That track helped soundtrack a period in which NXT continued to expand its identity within WWE, balancing developmental roots with a more aggressive push toward major-event programming and wider partnerships.
New opening music does not change match outcomes or championship lineages, but it can help define a new chapter in the life of a weekly series. Wrestling viewers quickly associate certain songs with particular eras, major angles, and roster groups. By moving to “Shabang,” NXT is making a visible and audible statement that its presentation is evolving alongside its current talent lineup.
The involvement of a major music artist also fits WWE’s longstanding use of recognizable songs to enhance its programming. NXT has routinely used its music choices to distinguish its weekly atmosphere from Raw and SmackDown, whether leaning into high-energy hip-hop, rock, or tracks that reinforce the youth-driven feel of the brand.
“Shabang” arrives as NXT continues to showcase a roster that is broad in both style and background. Jordan holds the NXT Women’s Championship, Waller sits atop the men’s division as NXT Champion, and performers from multiple WWE-connected platforms are set to be involved in the brand’s immediate future. The new theme provides a common introduction for all of those stories.
Kelani Jordan’s Halloween Havoc Challenger to Be Decided
The timing of the announcement comes ahead of a particularly important edition of NXT television. The show will feature a previously announced 20-woman battle royale to determine Kelani Jordan’s challenger for the NXT Women’s Championship at Halloween Havoc.
The match is notable not simply because a title opportunity is at stake, but because of the range of participants expected to be involved. The field will include talent from WWE’s main roster along with representatives from NXT, AAA, WWE EVOLVE, and TNA Wrestling.
That collection of promotions makes the battle royale one of the clearest examples of NXT’s expanding competitive landscape. A title match at Halloween Havoc will be earned through a contest featuring wrestlers with different levels of experience, different affiliations, and potentially very different approaches to the match format.
For Jordan, the situation ensures that she will not know who she must prepare for until the battle royale is over. A champion can scout likely contenders in advance, but a multi-promotional 20-woman match introduces variables that are much harder to predict. Alliances can form and disappear quickly in a battle royale, while the final survivor may emerge from anywhere in the field.
The outcome will also shape the women’s championship direction heading into Halloween Havoc. Jordan’s reign has placed her at the center of one of NXT’s most competitive divisions, and the battle royale provides an opportunity for a new challenger to establish momentum in a single night. Whether the winner comes from NXT, the main roster, AAA, EVOLVE, or TNA, the result will carry implications beyond one premium live event match.
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Continues
Tuesday’s card will also continue the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, one of NXT’s most important annual tournaments. The tournament has traditionally offered teams a chance to accelerate their standing in the division, and this year’s field continues to bring together contrasting styles and personalities.
Dorian Van Dux and Sean Legacy are scheduled to face the Tokyo Bad Boys. The matchup presents both teams with a major opportunity to advance in a tournament whose history is tied to the legacy of Dusty Rhodes and to the importance of tag team wrestling within NXT.
Elsewhere in the tournament, Hank and Tank will meet Shido Ash and Viktor Zanov. Each pairing enters with the same objective: survive the bracket, build momentum, and prove that it can be the team to carry the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic forward.
Tag tournaments can rapidly reshape a division because they demand consistency from two wrestlers rather than one. A team needs timing, trust, and the ability to adapt when opponents attempt to isolate either member. With the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic moving ahead, every match carries added weight, especially for competitors looking to establish themselves as future title contenders.
The tournament action, combined with the women’s battle royale, gives NXT a stacked episode as the new opening theme takes effect. The show will have championship implications in the women’s division and meaningful tournament stakes in the tag team ranks, ensuring that the change in presentation is attached to a night of consequential in-ring competition.
NXT Faces an Unusual Tuesday Night Opponent
This week’s NXT broadcast will air opposite a pre-taped episode of AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam Paris from France. The overlap places two nationally visible wrestling programs on the same night, giving fans a packed Tuesday schedule.
Competition between wrestling broadcasts is nothing new, but the specific circumstances make this a distinctive evening. NXT will present a live-feeling Performance Center environment built around its championship and tournament stories, while AEW’s Grand Slam Paris episode brings a special-event setting from overseas.
For NXT, the new theme launch provides an additional point of emphasis on a night when the brand is looking to stand out. Michaels’ video does more than announce a song; it packages the NXT roster as a collective unit and reminds viewers of the personalities they will see when the show begins.
The immediate test for “Shabang” will come when the NXT opening hits and the lights rise around the Performance Center ring. From there, the focus will quickly turn to who outlasts 19 other women to earn a shot at Kelani Jordan, which tag teams advance in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and how the NXT roster responds to another pivotal night on the brand’s calendar.
With a new theme, a champion awaiting her next challenger, and a prestigious tournament continuing, WWE NXT enters Tuesday with both a refreshed soundtrack and plenty at stake.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.