CM Punk returned to the All Elite Wrestling fold this past Saturday night on Collision, and along with that brought 816,000 viewers with him, including a .33 in the coveted 18 – 49 demographic, higher than that of Dynamite from the Wednesday prior. The number exceeded expectations and proved that pro wrestling, when hyped correctly, and all the pieces come together, can still bring eyeballs to television sets. The same can be said for AEW’s competition, as WWE NXT showed up and showed out in its own right this past Tuesday, and it seems the fans came along for the ride.
Wrestlenomics is reporting, courtesy of Showbuzz Daily, that this week’s WWE NXT drew 773,000 viewers, with 300,000 of those viewers in the 18 – 49 demo. Overall, it ranked number two among cable originals in the 18 – 49 demo, the best ranking it has ever done in that category. In broadcast primetime, it ranked ninth.
For perspective, this is the highest viewership for the program in the 18 – 49 demographic since a Halloween Havoc branded episode on October 28, 2020. It is the highest overall viewership for an episode since April 21, 2021.
This week’s edition of WWE NXT saw a loaded card that was headlined by WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freaking” Rollins defending his title against Bron Breakker. The Architect was successful but was ultimately left laying following a surprise attack by The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor to close the show. The two men will face off for Rollins’ Championship next weekend at WWE Money In The Bank.
WWE NXT has seen other main roster names added to the show in recent weeks, reportedly at the request of WWE CEO Nick Khan who wants to see the show getting higher viewership in hopes of securing a larger TV rights deal. Mustafa Ali has been involved in the North American Championship picture, while Baron Corbin has set his sights on Carmelo Hayes and the WWE NXT Championship. Corbin will get a formal shot against Hayes next Tuesday on week two of NXT’s Gold Rush.