Triple H's plans take shape as NXT announces WrestleMania show and plans for Philadelphia dates

We've been following the growth of WWE's Developmental brand from a regional promotion (Florida Championship Wrestling) & YouTube show (Redemption) to a weekly television show (NXT) many feel is the gem of the streaming WWE Network.

The head of that program, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, has been vocal about his plans to continue that growth with touring, and possibly an expansion of the roster to support a road schedule that will clearly establishing NXT as a competitor to the independent promotions away from whom they'll be signing talent.

After last weekend's successful trip to Ohio, the next phase of NXT's evolution is starting.  And the first news also answers the question of what NXT will be doing at WrestleMania weekend in Northern California...they'll be kicking it off!

NXT Live will come from the San Jose State University Event Center on Friday, March 27th at 10PM local time, after the conclusion of WrestleMania Axxess.  Tickets go on sale this upcoming Monday at 12PM Eastern on Ticketmaster.com.  The venue's listed capacity is 5000, and based on the sellout crowds in Columbus and Cleveland, those seats will go fast with hundreds of thousands of fans in the area for Sunday's show.

PWInsider.com is also reporting that the brand will hold shows in the Northeast for the first time in May, as WWE has a hold on the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia - a venue most wrestling fans remember as the ECW Arena.  Unlike the San Jose show, there's no official word from WWE on a Philly trip, but Mike Johnson says he has multiple sources confirming the plan to run shows there on Friday, May 15th and Saturday, May 16th.

Those dates will result in Eastern Pennsylvania having an indy version of WrestleMania week in mid-May, and raise eyebrows about Hunter and company scouting their new competition.  Ring of Honor & New Japan have already announced that they'll hold their annual co-promoted War of the Worlds shows in the same building on Tuesday and Wednesday of that week.

What's next for Triple H's plan for smark domination?  Who's going (or trying to go) to the upcoming road shows?

Stay tuned...and let us know!