Booker T Thinks NXT Ratings Can Continue To Rise Over 1 Million Viewers
The popularity of WWE’s NXT brand is on the rise, so the show’s analyst Booker T has explained why he thinks the audience will continue to grow.
For the past month, the rise in the television audience for WWE NXT has been noticeable. The average audience for the last four weeks of NXT looks like this:
- July 18, 2023: 746,000 viewers
- July 25, 2023: 703,000 viewers
- August 1, 2023: 717,000 viewers
- August 8, 2023: 776,000 viewers
That number for the August 8th episode of NXT was the highest television audience in over two years.
In the main event, The Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio defeated Dragon Lee to retain the NXT North American Title. It was another controversial win for “Dirty” Dom who benefitted from “Mami” Rhea Ripley hitting Dragon with the Women’s World Title while Rey Mysterio was on the apron holding the NXT North American Title that Ripley threw into the ring to distract the referee.
During the Hall of Fame show with Booker T and Brad Gilmore, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T spoke about NXT’s success. Since Booker is on commentary every week with Vic Joseph, he can offer an interesting perspective on the growth of WWE’s third brand.
“I wanted to talk about that, the strong rating with NXT. There again, the rating’s up. I know it has to be due to the interplay with the main roster mixing it up with the guys on NXT. I just think it’s a great mix. Having Dominik in the mix, like I said, that kid has grown. He’s grown exponentially in his last 365 days. Unbelievable, what this kid has gone.”
“Just to see Rhea Ripley playing that role right now too, playing a hell of a role. I’m just liking everything. I’m liking the mix, I’m liking the nucleus of it. So let’s just keep it rolling.”
Booker T Feels NXT Ratings Will Continue To Go Up
If you follow WWE ratings news regularly then you know that Smackdown on Fox usually gets in the range of 2.2 to 2.5 million weekly viewers while Raw is in the range of 1.6 million to 1.9 million viewers on USA Network. The television audience for most shows are down, but WWE regularly wins against the competition in the important 18-49 age demo for both Raw and Smackdown.
As for NXT, it is tougher to draw an audience close to Raw and Smackdown due to having so many younger stars who aren’t as established like the wrestlers on the main roster.
Despite the obvious disadvantage for NXT in terms of the lack of experience for their talent, Booker T feels like they can reach an audience of 1 million viewers in the US.
“I really think NXT numbers, I think they can get up to a million views a show, just because the show is a really, really solid show. It’s really, really good entertainment. The characters really play their role. For me, to see those stars before they become superstars is something very, very important for me to be invested because I want to know who I’m gonna like when they get there. I want to know who’s the guy I’m cheering for.”
“I’m loving it. The ratings, everything, my spot, contract coming up. Everything, man. Everything’s good.