WWE NXT officially kicked a new era into gear with the anticipated CW premiere this week, and WWE has now revealed all the official numbers for the show’s big network debut. The premiere drew in the largest audience in a year with 895,000 total viewers, and it peaked at 965,000 total viewers from 8:15 to 8:30 PM. It was up +44% compared to last week’s episode on the USA Network and was the #1 telecast on The CW this year amongst adults 25-54 (406,000) and adults 18-49 (354,000).
Big Numbers
The premiere episode provided a huge boost to The CW’s Tuesday lineup, bringing with it a triple digit increase of +143% in total viewers compared to CW’s Tuesday primetime season average. It also delivered a triple digit increase in total viewers for major markets, including New York (WPIX-TV), Los Angeles (KTLA-TV), Dallas (KDAF-TV) and Detroit (WKBD-TV) compared to last Tuesday’s primetime programming.
Those who tuned into CW’s premiere saw major crossovers with Raw and SmackDown, as the show featured appearances from CM Punk, The Miz, Bianca Belair, and Jade Cargill. Punk would be the special referee for the NXT Championship match between Ethan Page and Trick Williams, while Belair and Cargill would come out to help Kelani Jordan, setting up a match for the following week. As for The Miz, he would invite Tony D’Angelo and Oba Femi on a special edition of Miz TV.
As for that Title match, Punk did as promised and called the match down the middle. After a thrilling battle, it was Williams who would emerge victorious, taking down Page and becoming a two-time NXT Champion to close out the show. Speaking of that Title, NXT kicked off the show by introducing new Championship Titles for the men and the women, which also featured the new silver logo emblazoned across them.
The other huge match of the night kicked off the show with Roxanne Perez defending her Title against Giulia, and this featured a welcome twist, as it would also feature the return of Cora Jade to WWE TV. Jade would help her former nemesis get the win, and the two seemed to tease a team-up happening down the line.
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A New Home
“We are thrilled to welcome the WWE brand into the CW Sports portfolio as they play an integral role in our mission to bring live sporting events to the network year-round,” said Dennis Miller, President, The CW Network. “WWE NXT is a perfect fit for The CW thanks to its dynamic young talent featuring the hottest rising stars in the sport and exhilarating, unpredictable weekly events. The passion and engagement of WWE’s fanbase is unmatched, and we are eager to grow that audience as WWE NXT’s new home on broadcast television.”
“The CW has made impressive moves over the past year with its live sports programming schedule,” said Nick Khan, WWE President. “It’s a truly exciting opportunity to expand NXT’s audience by bringing the show to broadcast television for the first time in NXT’s history.”
What did you think of the CW NXT premiere? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!ย
