WWE’s Big Plan For A Top NXT Star Is Failing

WWE has tried all it can to help NXT keep pace with AEW Dynamite in pro wrestling’s new “Wednesday Night War,” but simply put, that hasn’t happened.

The yellow brand has largely been dominated by the upstart AEW in the viewership department in 2020 despite boasting a star-studded roster of up-and-comers, one that has also focused heavily on two high-profile main roster stars in Finn Balor and Charlotte Flair. Balor was the first major Raw or SmackDown to move to NXT on a long-term basis as part of a decision made that was reportedly made by WWE purely to help NXT combat AEW in the ongoing ratings battle.

Balor is still being paid “main roster money” to work a much more limited schedule in NXT, and Flair—WWE’s highest paid female star in terms of annual downside guarantees—is also being paid extremely well despite being primarily used in NXT over the past few months. As was the case with Balor, WWE reportedly decided to utilize Flair on both NXT and Raw because WWE officials wanted a top star—specifically Flair—on NXT to beat AEW.

Well, that’s a good idea in theory, but in execution? It’s really not working.

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Dave Meltzer revealed on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingWorld.co) that Flair’s recent NXT match against Dynamite was a total flop in the viewership department, saying, “The Charlotte Flair/Mia Yim match was actually a low point. It did 170,000 in 18-49, which is dreadful. It was the second lowest point of the show — the Charlotte Flair match, that is a story because you know obviously it’s Charlotte Flair and she’s there to put the numbers up and you know there are people waiting to see if it’ll work or not. With Io Shirai it may work, but with Mia Yim, you know, obviously it did not.”

All you have to do is look at Wrestling Inc’s 2020 NXT vs. AEW viewership archive to see that Flair’s short-term move to NXT hasn’t resulted in “The Queen” being a massive ratings draw for the yellow brand the way that WWE officials likely would have hoped. In fact, that has been the case essentially since day one of the Flair-to-NXT experiment. That has also remained true for Balor as he hasn’t demonstrated any noticeable impact on NXT ratings, which actually shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

Although Balor and Flair are clearly viewed highly by WWE management, there are very few, if any, stars—whether on Raw, SmackDown or NXT—who have proven to be significant and consistent draws on TV, especially during a time when every major pro wrestling show has seen a noticeable downturn in its viewership. Raw, SmackDown and AEW have all hit historic ratings lows in 2020, and there are undoubtedly several factors contributing to their dissipating audience, including a lack of overall star power and the fact that fans have been unable to attends shows live for the past couple of months.

It seems that virtually all pro wrestling programs can expect to struggle to maintain their audience for the foreseeable future regardless of whether or not they are overloaded with star power. However, Flair’s disappointing effect—or lack thereof—on NXT viewership should also be taken as a sign that perhaps her massive push as a 12-time world champion simply isn’t turning her into the massive star WWE officials believe she is. While there is little doubting Flair’s ability as a wrestler or her standing as one of the greatest female superstars of all-time, her star power has clearly been overestimated.

Ideally, Flair would be in NXT to help elevate new female stars by putting more eyes on the yellow brand, but in reality, she—like so many others—is failing to draw in new fans.