Last week, it was reported that “WWE NXT” attracted its largest audience since September 2019 for its New Year’s Evil special, attracting 957,000 viewers. The show featured two title changes as well as a last-minute appearance from The Rock, which certainly played a role in propelling the developing brand’s audiences. However, new viewership data has now been released for “NXT’s” debut show in 2025, revealing restated numbers lower than initial estimates.
According to Luttenomic, “NXT” averaged 798,000 viewers and posted a 0.21 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. Comparing both categories to the previous week, total viewership was up 27%, with the 18-49 demo up 40%. Although “NXT” recorded lower numbers than initially reported, they still managed to attract their highest total viewership since the October 8 episode, which was the second episode of “NXT” on The CW and featured featured Randy Orton. Additionally, “NXT’s” premiere show of 2025 also outperformed the last four weeks of television, with total viewership up 17% and the 18-49 demo up 31%.
Rock’s appearance not only impacted the viewership of “NXT” on The CW, but also on WWE’s YouTube channel, with “The Great One’s” full promo segment attracting over 810,000 views. views. Despite no sign of rock on last Tuesday’s “NXT” show, the developing brand still got a good audience, averaging 779,000 viewers. It remains to be seen if “NXT” will return to the numbers it saw before New Year’s Evil, or if its hot streak will continue heading into Wrestlemania season.
