Seth Rollins’ first match in an NXT ring in over ten years resulted in a sizable increase in the program’s viewership this week.
The June 20 ‘Gold Rush’ episode featuring Rollins defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker finished second among cable originals on Tuesday with 773,000 viewers and approximately 300,000 (0.27) in the 18-49 demographic. (Showbuzz Daily, Wrestlenomics)
It was NXT’s largest viewership since April 20, 2021, which was the show’s second week after moving to Tuesday nights. It was the show’s largest 18-49 audience since the Halloween Havoc special on October 28, 2020.
The show ranked second among cable originals, which was the highest-ranking NXT has ever achieved since launching on the USA Network in September 2019. The show finished behind the College World Series game on ESPN, which averaged 1,798,000 viewers and 0.43 in the demo.
All categories increased by double-digit figures including overall viewers (+33%), 18-49 (+46%), 18-34 (+32%), 35-49 (+59%), and 50+ (23%) making it the most successful NXT episode since the changeover to the 2.0. era in September 2021.
In the 18-49 demo, male viewership jumped by 53% from last week with females increasing by 44% from last week’s number.
In Canada, the numbers were essentially flat from the week prior with an average of 64,800 viewers and 28,600 in the 25-54 demographic on Sportsnet 360 compared with 63,000 and 28,000 last week respectively. This week, NXT ranked eighth among sports programs in Canada on Tuesday, which was led by the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Miami Marlins with 695,000 viewers on Sportsnet.
Next week’s episode continues the ‘Gold Rush’ series of shows featuring Carmelo Hayes defending the NXT Championship against Baron Corbin, Tiffany Stratton vs. Thea Hail for the NXT Women’s Championship, and Gallus vs. Malik Blade & Edris Enofe for the NXT tag titles.
