WWE Vengeance | |
---|---|
Promotions | WWE |
Brands | Raw (2002, 2004–2007) SmackDown (2002–2003, 2007) ECW (2007) NXT (2021–present) |
Other names | Vengeance: Night of Champions (2007) NXT Vengeance Day (2021—present) |
First event | 2001 |
WWE Vengeance, known as NXT Vengeance Day since 2021, is an American professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was originally created in 2001 as a pay-per-view (PPV), when the promotion was still called the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; renamed WWE in 2002). Since 2021, the event has been held annually in February for WWE's developmental brand, NXT, under the title NXT Vengeance Day, which is a reference to the event taking place on or around Valentine's Day. The 2021 event aired on both traditional PPV and via livestreaming. The 2022 event was then held as a television special on the USA Network, but since 2023, it has aired exclusively via WWE's livestreaming platforms.
The event initially replaced Armageddon for the promotion's December 2001 PPV due to sensitivity issues following the September 11 attacks. However, Armageddon would return the following year, with Vengeance moving up to July as a replacement for Fully Loaded. Following the promotion being renamed to WWE and the implementation of the brand extension in early 2002, the event was made exclusive to the SmackDown brand in 2003, and then Raw from 2004 to 2006 before WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs. This in turn allowed the ECW brand to be involved in 2007, but that would be the only year to include ECW.
In 2007, Vengeance was held as Vengeance: Night of Champions, with all of WWE's championships at the time being contested. Night of Champions would replace Vengeance as a standalone chronology the following year, but Vengeance made a one-off return in October 2011. In February 2021, WWE revived Vengeance for the NXT brand as a TakeOver event called Vengeance Day, which was the first Vengeance to air via livestreaming in addition to traditional PPV. The TakeOver series was discontinued that September, however, Vengeance continued on under the Vengeance Day name with the 2022 event being held as a special episode of the NXT program, thus establishing Vengeance Day as NXT's annual Valentine's event. The 2023 event returned Vengeance to livestreaming, but not PPV, as beginning with Stand & Deliver in April 2022, NXT's major events only air on WWE's livestreaming platforms.