Eric Bischoff claims NXT will topple AEW Dynamite in the ratings very soon.
In recent weeks, television ratings for NXT have continued to grow and the brand is more popular with fans than it has been for over a year. Boosted by appearances from main roster stars such as Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley, the show has pulled in more than 700,000 viewers for four weeks in a row. This is the first time that’s happened since March 2021.
This rise has seen the show beat AEW Collision on a regular basis and move to within sight of Dynamite. The most recent episode of NXT drew 776,000 viewers and Dynamite 24 hours later pulled in 846,000 viewers.
This has led some to wonder — including WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff — whether NXT could soon beat AEW’s flagship show. Speaking on the latest episode of his Strictly Business podcast, Bischoff began by praising the decision to use Dominik Mysterio on the show.
“Right now, arguably, Dominik Mysterio is probably not the hottest talent in WWE. But he’s pretty hot and now you bring Rey in as part of the storyline that’s going on — brilliant idea.”
Bischoff added that the shift is even more impressive given that NXT remains WWE’s developmental brand. The former WCW boss reiterated an earlier prediction that NXT will overthrow Dynamite.
“People have to remember, NXT is a developmental organization. It isn’t [WWE’s] biggest, brightest stars as it is with AEW — you see their top talent on that show regularly. NXT is a developmental company and I wouldn’t expect it to get [these] kind of ratings with people who are trying to become stars as it will get when it has people who are established stars on the show.
“I predicted it last year or early this year. At some point in time, NXT is going to outperform Dynamite and they’re within about 100,000 viewers or less of doing that. I predicted it would happen this summer [and] I’m gonna stick with that.”
Why Is WWE Focusing So Much On NXT?
WWE’s latest push to improve and highlight its third brand is not a happy accident. In fact, it was recently reported that the boost to NXT has come directly from Endeavor and Nick Khan.
This change in policy has seen a number of main roster stars moved to the brand either permanently or for short cameos. Outside of Mysterio and Ripley, Finn Balor, Rey Mysterio, Seth Rollins, and more have also made the trip to the developmental show.
H/t to Wrestling Inc