WWE NXT No Mercy media call, Shawn Michaels talked about NXT’s television ratings and the brand’s current product.
The WWE Hall of Famer thinks NXT is the closest thing to the attitude era that fans can get right now.
“Obviously, where I’m at now, is different than where I was at the beginning. At the beginning, you look at those ratings every week. I’m not a numbers guy, by any stretch, but I’ve learned more about numbers…the two times I was focused on ratings is when you’re the champion and holding the belt, and when you’re the guy running the show to get those ratings. At the beginning, I did, I focused on them quite a bit. Now, I understand the long game and understand the goal. Obviously, we’re thrilled when they go up. Right now, we have been trending up and trending up in those demographics that everyone speaks of, significantly. We’re talking 26% in 18 to 49 and 61% in 18 to 34. When I first stepped in for Hunter and eventually took over, the conversation I had with Vince [McMahon] is him wanting me to focus on that 18 to 34. Despite other stories that are out there, it was never being compared to anybody else, it was just him wanting us to focus on 18 to 34 because he wanted us to have a younger demographic. That’s the one that I scroll significantly in these last two years. We’re very proud of that and trending upwards. That’s always the strategy. This is a television business, the strategy is always to get those numbers. Obviously, the main roster integration helps us with that. An analogy I’d like to share; we feel like the main roster for us is like a trojan horse. We come in with the main roster first and then out of the trojan horse comes all these NXT stars and we’re hoping, when a Becky Lynch comes in and gives us a well over 800 [800,000] and into the millions, we hope is that we expose a number of NXT talent to them that a percentage of those people come back and they see something they enjoy our product, they see our show and go, ‘they do a lot of different stuff and do stuff unlike anybody else. They have so many spaces and environments for their talent, it’s not just in the back of a building, there is so much variety to what they do. There is humor, fun, great wrestling.’ That’s what we hope happens in this process, each time we use a main roster talent, that will obviously give us viewers we didn’t have before that a certain segment continue to watch our product and enjoy. As of right now, that’s been working quite successfully. I don’t want toot my own horn, it’s been going well for us.”
“I feel like NXT has got a buzz right now, and I feel like we’re the hottest thing going right now in the wrestling business. We have a fun show. Ours is the closest thing to the Attitude Era you’re going to get, and I know a lot of people want to roll their eyes at that, but we have a wild west stuff going on and there is always something new happening. It’s very different. We have a number of different reasons for being in storylines. If you ask me, every other show out there, they all wrestle each other because they are all angry at each other. ‘I’m angry at this guy, we’re going to fight about it.’ If you watch NXT, there are different reasons and different stakes on why people get into wrestling matches on our show. I’m very proud of our show and what we’ve accomplished over the last several months.”
You can keep up with all your wrestling news right here on eWrestlingNews.com. Or, you can follow us over on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
In a recent media call for WWE NXT No Mercy, Shawn Michaels, a WWE Hall of Famer, discussed the brand’s television ratings and its current product. According to Michaels, NXT is currently the closest thing fans can get to the attitude era.
Michaels admitted that in the beginning, he used to focus on the ratings every week. However, he has now learned to understand the long game and the ultimate goal. He mentioned that NXT has been trending upwards in the demographics that are important to the company, such as 18 to 49 and 18 to 34. The brand has seen a significant increase of 26% in the 18 to 49 demographic and 61% in the 18 to 34 demographic.
When Michaels took over from Triple H as the person in charge of NXT, Vince McMahon wanted him to focus on the 18 to 34 demographic because he wanted a younger audience. Michaels expressed pride in the fact that NXT has successfully attracted a younger demographic over the past two years.
To further boost their ratings, NXT integrates main roster talent into their shows. Michaels compared this integration to a trojan horse strategy, where they bring in main roster stars first and then expose NXT talent to them. The hope is that some of the viewers who enjoy the main roster stars will also find something they enjoy in NXT’s product, which offers a variety of spaces, environments, humor, fun, and great wrestling.
Michaels believes that NXT currently has a buzz and is the hottest thing in the wrestling business. He attributes this to the show’s unique and different approach compared to other wrestling shows. In NXT, wrestlers have different reasons and stakes for getting into matches, rather than just being angry at each other. Michaels expressed his pride in what NXT has accomplished over the last several months.
For all your wrestling news, you can visit eWrestlingNews.com or follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
In conclusion, Shawn Michaels believes that NXT is currently the closest thing to the attitude era and is the hottest thing in the wrestling business. The brand’s focus on attracting a younger demographic and its unique approach to storytelling and matches have contributed to its success. With the integration of main roster talent, NXT hopes to continue growing its viewership and exposing more people to its product.