NXT viewership falls to 520,000 amid World Series competition

WWE NXT on The CW averaged 520,000 viewers for the October 27 episode, a 20.6% drop from the prior week and the program's smallest audience since May 19, F4WOnline reports. The show posted a 0.09 rating in the 18-49 demographic, down 10% from the week before and tying NXT's lowest 18-49 mark since August 4.

The decline came as Game 4 of the World Series — a potential clincher for the Milwaukee Brewers — aired on Fox. The Tampa Bay Rays prevailed in the 12th inning of that game to extend the series; the Brewers later won Game 5, which aired opposite AEW Dynamite.

Year-over-year comparisons to the same week in 2025, when NXT also went head-to-head with the World Series, show mixed movement: overall viewership was down 1.3% compared to that week last year, while the 18-49 rating was up 28.6%. F4WOnline notes this marks the third consecutive week, and the fourth time in the last five weeks, that NXT has posted a year-over-year increase in the key 18-49 demo.

Looking at recent trends, NXT's 10-week average through Oct. 20 was a 0.12 18-49 rating and 670,000 viewers. This week's numbers were 22.4% below that recent average in total viewers and 25% below in the 18-49 rating. Over the last 11 weeks the show's audience has varied, peaking at 768,000 on Sept. 1 and hitting the low of 520,000 on Oct. 27.

F4WOnline is the source for these Nielsen figures.