NXT Draws Over 840,000 Viewers In Broadcast Debut
The show was aired as part of 'WWE Holiday Week' on the USA Network.
Dec 15, 2017
NXT made its broadcast debut on Wednesday night, airing as part of the USA Network's 'WWE Holiday Week'. The show is usually shown exclusively on the WWE Network.
The episode drew just over 840,000 viewers. For comparison, this week's Raw drew 2.68 million viewers, and SmackDown 2.48 million. This may seem like a small amount by comparison, but for a show with as relatively little promotion and renown as NXT, it could be seen as an admirable amount.
Predictably, the show proved most popular with the demographic of males aged 18-45.
The show saw four matches - quite a lot, considering NXT only runs for an hour - although none reached the ten minute mark.
New NXT Champion Andrade 'Cien' Almas defeated Fabian Aichner in a brief non-title match.
Following that, the Authors of Pain (accompanied by Paul Ellering) squashed the team of Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan in just over a minute.
In a USA Network-exclusive match, new NXT Women's Champion Ember Moon defeated Peyton Royce.
Finally, Adam Cole and Aleister Black squared off in a match to decide entry into the fatal 4-way number one contender bout. Black was able to triumph in just over seven minutes, the longest match on the show.
We also saw an announcement for a match on next week's show, a UK Championship rematch between Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate. The pair last clashed over the title in a Match of the Year candidate at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, drawing considerable critical acclaim for their efforts.
A video package was also shown suggesting the upcoming debut of Shayna Baszler, a member of Ronda Rousey's 'four horsewomen of MMA', and the runner-up in the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament earlier this year (losing to Kairi Sane).
'WWE Holiday Week' continued last night with Tribute To The Troops, WWE's annual special dedicated to (and performed in front of) members of the US Armed Forces.