Predicting EVERYTHING That Will Happen On This Crazy Week Of Wrestling
6. NXT Draws First Blood
NXT's first week on USA Network saw WWE's black and gold brand draw an impressive 1.2 million viewers. Considering NXT's last show to go out on live television (in December 2017) did 841,000, this should be seen as a success, though the number dropped to a still-respectable 1.006 million the following week.
The Wednesday Night Wars' first week should bring an increase. NXT's previous two episodes were put together with building to this one in mind and the card is laid out almost like a mini-TakeOver, with three huge championships bouts. This is speculative, but >1.2 million isn't out of the question.
AEW Dynamite is even harder to forecast, as while Dave Meltzer has reported that TV industry experts would consider 500,000 a good number for a startup promotion, random, run-of-the-mill movies have aired in their TNT slot opposite NXT in recent weeks, drawing between 600,000 and 700,000. There's every chance the 500k estimates are conservative, as none of AEW's other numbers (ticket sales, pay-per-view buys, etc.) have made much sense up to this point.
Whatever the case, NXT will likely better Dynamite on week one, though AEW's focus should be geared more towards long-term sustainability than short-term victories at this stage.