In the mid-2010s, NXT was the hottest wrestling show on the planet. Attracting names like Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, and Kevin Owens, the brand could seemingly do no wrong. Even when those Superstars moved up to WWE's main roster, the likes of Adam Cole, Bobby Roode, and Shinsuke Nakamura were there to pick up the slack.
However, interest in the show has definitely declined in recent years, and the move to a two-hour format on the USA Network hasn't benefited the brand in any way.
The emergence of AEW saw NXT defeated in the ratings on an almost weekly basis, and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon recently took charge of the show and rebranded it NXT 2.0. A gaudy new colour scheme and a focus on the WWE prototype of a "Superstar" followed, and while that led to an initial ratings boost out of curiosity, the numbers have quickly started to decline.
It seems "RAW-lite" isn't really resonating with viewers, something that's evident from the 632,000 viewers this week's NXT 2.0 drew compared to last Tuesday's 655,000. The key 18 - 49 demo is also slipping, meaning WWE's attempts to draw a younger audience simply is not working thus far.
One source tells Andrew Zarian that, "[This] is all to bring a new younger viewer who is connected with pop culture & trends. Needless to say, the demo numbers are disappointing but we are hopeful this is just a bump in the road."
Time will tell on that front, but AEW Dynamite continues to widen the gap between the shows...
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