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NXT’s move to Tuesday nights kicked off with this week’s (Apr. 13) episode, leading to some promising results in their ratings and viewership. WWE didn’t waste much time in releasing the following statement last night where they brag about NXT’s numbers beating out competition from both the NBA and NHL:
“On the heels of last week’s NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver, which was the most-watched NXT TakeOver in history, NXT made its Tuesday night premiere last night on USA Network with impressive results across TV and social media.
NXT was up +16% YOY and had more viewers than the NBA game on TNT and NHL game on NBCSN in both P2+ and P18-49.
On social media, NXT was the most-social national TV show in primetime.
NXT takes place every Tuesday night at 8/7c on USA Network live from the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando. All new episodes are available on demand in the United States exclusively on Peacock, the day after its airing on USA.”
Considering how NXT was consistently walloped in the ratings by AEW almost entirely from start to finish during the Wednesday night ratings war going back to October 2019, you just know that WWE has been chomping at the bit to have a moment like this. They even make sure to point out that last week’s TakeOver was the most watched in history, even though they conveniently don’t mention the part about it being the only TakeOver event that was ever broadcast on cable television.
I’m having a little bit of fun with WWE’s statement, but the truth is that finishing in the top 10 in the demo rating for the night is something to be proud of, and could provide a starting point for better things to come on Tuesday nights for NXT. Tony Khan has no shame marking out and drinking A Little Bit of the Bubbly whenever AEW Dynamite finishes in the top 10 on Wednesday nights, so WWE is certainly allowed to point out their success over live sports competition on Tuesdays.
If you weren’t a regular viewer of NXT on Wednesdays, did this week’s episode convince you to stick around on future Tuesday nights to watch more of the black-and-gold brand? Or will you go screaming and yelling back to some other night of the week for your pro wrestling needs?