The December 23 episode of WWE NXT averaged 602,000 viewers on The CW, down 0.8 percent from the previous week. This marks the fourth-highest audience for the show since October 14.
In the 18-49 demo, NXT drew a 0.08 rating. That’s identical to the rating the December 16 episode drew and matches the third-highest rating the show has done in that category since October 14. Among network programming in prime time, NXT tied a repeat episode of the Fox series “Doc” for the lowest rated show of the night.
As compared to the same week in 2024 (under Nielsen’s old panel-only ratings measurement system), NXT’s overall viewership was down 16.7 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 42.9 percent.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for NXT, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 3.4 percent in viewers and steady in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
Shayna Baszler is no longer officially with WWE, but she still has a great relationship with the company and could potentially return with a full-time role working backstage in NXT.
Since her release from WWE in May, Baszler has stayed busy by taking indie dates and holding seminars. She also has made regular visits to NXT to guest coach and shadow producers. Whenever she’s not on the road, Baszler is at the WWE Performance Center helping out younger talent.
“Strangely enough, I feel like I’m busier and away from home more than I was before, just by the nature of taking every available opportunity there is to just do everything that I want to do,” she said on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet. “I’m still taking indie dates and doing stuff like that. I’ve been doing a lot of guest coaching and shadowing producing at NXT. So, pretty much, if I’m not on the road, I’m helping out there, if I can.
“I’m not like officially hired, but I have a good relationship with them. So, you know, I’m officially guest coaching when I can or when the opportunity comes.”
Baszler said she likes this behind-the-scenes position a lot more than she thought she would — and she would like for it to become a full-time role.
“I’m hoping,” Baszler responded when asked if this could become a full-time job. “If I don’t suck too bad at the guest part of it, then…”
Baszler had already been been helping out in this capacity before her WWE release. Admittedly, she was a little “salty” when asked if she would like to continue doing it during her 90-day no compete clause. But Baszler has found the role to be very rewarding.
“I got emotionally invested in the athletes that are there that I’m working with,” she said. “Some of the girls, even some of the guys, like, seeing their growth and seeing collaboration ideas. I’ve been a talent, right? So I know how to go from creative to the talent and kind of bridge the gap of what creative is looking for and what the talent wants to do.
“I don’t know, I got emotionally invested in everything. So they kind of got me coming back. But, yeah, it’s been a lot more rewarding. I’ve enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, to be honest.”
Baszler said WWE has been very supportive of her continuing to wrestle on the indies while guest coaching. There have been no ultimatums so far. She wouldn’t be against working more WWE matches if they asked. But at this stage of her in-ring career, Baszler isn’t too concerned with personal accomplishments. She’s more interested in whetting her creative appetite and helping to keep her style of wrestling alive.
The 45-year-old Baszler is a former NXT Women’s Champion and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion. Along with helping behind the scenes, Baszler made an on-camera appearance at NXT Homecoming this September.
Je’Von Evans grew up a John Cena fan — and now he’s able to reach out to Cena whenever he needs advice.
The 21-year-old rising WWE star recently competed on the same show as Cena’s retirement match. Through that experience and Cena’s visits to the Performance Center, Evans has been able to develop a connection with him. He and Cena have been texting with Cena giving Evans advice on wrestling and life in general.
“I grew up watching Cena, which is probably a crazy thing to say or a crazy thing for y’all to hear,” Evans told the Battleground Podcast. “Like, I grew up watching Cena. It’s crazy to know now that like — and I say this almost every interview — the legends that I’ve had connections with, now I can hit them up whenever, you know? And now that i just made a connection with Cena, we’ve been texting. He gives me advice about wrestling, about life, all that. It means so much, it means so much. From being a fan to now being a colleague and learning under his tree — it’s insane.
On Raw last night, it was noted that Evans will be a “free agent” soon with a call-up to either Raw or SmackDown on the horizon. He is still a member of the NXT roster at the moment.
Evans teamed with Leon Slater in a loss to AJ Styles & Dragon Lee at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13. Cena had his retirement match in the main event of the show, ending his career with a submission loss to Gunther.
When asked abour dream opponents he’s looking forward to facing, Evans told the Battleground Podcast that he’d love to have matches against CM Punk and Rey Mysterio.
Je’Von Evans is staying patient as he awaits the first championship of his WWE career.
The up-and-coming NXT star was unsuccessful in yet another title match over the weekend, failing to win the AAA Cruiserweight Championship at Guerra de Titanes. Evans took part in a three-way match at the show where Laredo Kid pinned Jack Cartwheel to remain champion.
After the match, it was pointed out on social media that Evans now has a 0-12 record in televised title bouts since starting with WWE. Evans responded to the post but did not express any concern over his losses. Instead, they have been a learning experience for him.
“The Best And Better Opportunity Is When You’re Learning With The Legends You’ve Been In The Ring With,” the 21-year-old wrote. “I’ll Take That Over Any Championship Match”
Evans won the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline earlier this month and was supposed to challenge for the NXT Championship at New Year’s Evil 2026. But he got his title shot early on the December 9 episode of NXT, losing to Oba Femi after Ricky Saints interfered. Femi will instead defend against Leon Slater at New Year’s Evil.
Tag team partners Evans & Slater lost to AJ Styles & Dragon Lee at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13. Highlighting NXT talent like Evans was an idea that John Cena had for his retirement show. In giving advice to younger stars, Cena stressed how important it is for them to treat their matches like a conversation with the audience and give the fans time to contribute to what’s going on in the ring.
Tuesday night’s WWE NXT episode averaged 607,000 viewers on The CW, down 6.2 percent from the previous week. Despite the decrease, this is the third-highest audience total for the show since October 14.
In the 18-49 demo, NXT drew a 0.08 rating. That’s down 11.1 percent from last week but ties the fourth-highest rating the show has done in that category since the October 14 episode.
There was no major sports competition on the night, although a college basketball game did air head-to-head on ESPN and averaged a 0.28 rating in the 18-49 demo.
As compared to the same week in 2024, when Nielsen was still using its panel-only measurement system, NXT’s overall viewership was down 14.3 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 50 percent.
This was the last live NXT episode of 2025, as the final two shows of the year have already been taped in advance. Spoilers can be found here.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for NXT, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 3.9 percent in viewers but down 11.1 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
With just over two weeks remaining in 2025, WWE has revealed the full list of nominees for NXT’s Year-End Awards.
Voting is now open on WWE.com, and the winners will be announced on December 30. That is the same day that NXT’s final episode of 2025 will air. That show and the December 23 episode are being taped in advance due to this being the holiday season.
The Year-End Awards are a regular tradition for NXT that dates back to 2015. Here is the complete list of nominees for this year’s edition:
2025 NXT Year-End Awards —
Male Superstar of the Year:
Je’Von Evans
Oba Femi
Ricky Saints
Trick Williams
Ethan Page
Female Superstar of the Year:
Jacy Jayne
Sol Ruca
Blake Monroe
Tatum Paxley
Kelani Jordan
Tag Team of the Year:
DarkState
Hank & Tank
Zaria & Sol Ruca
Fatal Influence
The Culling
Moment of the Year:
NXT vs. TNA brawl
Blake Monroe’s debut
Ricky Saints’ debut
Tatum Paxley wins the NXT Women’s Championship
Stephanie Vaquer becomes a double champion
Jacy Jayne defeats Stephanie Vaquer
Stacks betrays Tony D’Angelo
Trick Williams wins the TNA World Championship
Joe Hendry appears out of nowhere
The Hardy Boyz win the NXT Tag Team titles
Match of the Year:
Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge (Deadline)
Oba Femi vs. Je’Von Evans (Heatwave)
Ricky Saints vs. Ethan Page (Great American Bash)
Kelani Jordan vs. Sol Ruca (Battleground)
Oba Femi vs. Trick Williams vs. Je’Von Evans (Stand & Deliver)
Jacy Jayne vs. Lola Vice (No Mercy)
Best PLE/Show of the Year:
New Year’s Evil
Vengeance Day
Roadblock
Stand & Deliver
Battleground
Great American Bash
Heatwave
Homecoming
No Mercy
Showdown
Halloween Havoc
Gold Rush
Deadline
NXT’s next major event is New Year’s Evil 2026. It’s taking place on Tuesday, January 6 and will be the first NXT episode of the new year. It’s already been confirmed that Jacy Jayne will defend her NXT Women’s Championship against Kendal Grey on the show.
Oba Femi’s NXT Championship challenger for New Year’s Evil will be determined when Joe Hendry, Myles Borne, Leon Slater, and Dion Lennox face off in a number one contender’s match tonight.
On the road to New Year’s Evil, Kendal Grey is set to face off against Fatal Influence in tag team action.
It’s been announced that Grey & Wren Sinclair vs. Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid will take place on NXT this coming Tuesday. The matchup continues the build to Grey challenging Fatal Influence leader Jacy Jayne for the NXT Women’s Championship at New Year’s Evil 2026.
Grey — the Evolve Women’s Champion and one of NXT’s brightest up-and-coming stars — won the women’s Iron Survivor Challenge match last weekend at NXT Deadline. The victory earned her this upcoming title shot against Jayne on the special New Year’s Evil episode of NXT that’s set for January 6.
Following Deadline, an angle took place on NXT where Fatal Influence beat down Grey and her friend Sinclair.
The updated card for Tuesday’s NXT episode can be seen below:
WWE NXT (Tuesday, December 16) —
NXT Championship number one contender’s match: Joe Hendry vs. Myles Borne vs. Leon Slater vs. Dion Lennox (winner challenges Oba Femi at New Year’s Evil)
NXT Women’s North American Champion Blake Monroe defends against Thea Hail
The TNA Wrestling and WWE NXT relationship is still going strong heading into TNA’s new TV deal.
On Tuesday morning, it was confirmed that TNA and AMC have reached a multi-year media rights deal that will begin with the Thursday, January 15, 2026 episode of Impact. TNA President Carlos Silva appeared on Busted Open Radio following the announcement and addressed what this means for the TNA-NXT working relationship. Silva said the partnership remains ongoing — and he’s excited to see how it grows in 2026.
“Absolutely,” Silva responded when asked if the TNA-NXT relationship will continue. “It’s a big part of helping us get this deal. It’s a big part of now being able to almost give back a little and provide a big platform for some of those superstars as well. And so, absolutely. The storylines, the things we’re doing together, they’re just going to continue to grow into 2026,” Silva said.
“The last 5-6 months have been awesome, and I think there’s more to come. 2026 is just going to build off of that and be even bigger.”
WWE and TNA formally entered into their multi-year partnership in January 2025. In today’s press release announcing the TNA-AMC deal, the “groundbreaking” relationship with NXT was explicitly mentioned.
“TNA Wrestling in 2025 announced a ground-breaking, multi-year partnership with WWE and its NXT brand, thus WWE stars appear on TNA programming, and TNA stars appear on WWE shows,” the press release said. “In November, TNA stars Nic Nemeth and Matt Cardona, among others, appeared on WWE programming as well as Leon Slater, Xia Brookside, Léi Yǐng Lee and others were on WWE/NXT.”
The first Impact episode on AMC and AMC+ will air live from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas on January 15.
Getting to work with her father on-screen is a blessing that Arianna Grace didn’t expect to happen this early in her career.
Grace (Bianca Carelli) signed with WWE in 2022 and has been featured in NXT with her pageant queen character. Her father, former WWE wrestler Santino Marella, is currently with TNA Wrestling as the promotion’s Directer of Authority. They’ve gotten the chance to work together with Grace serving as an on-screen liaison between NXT and TNA. The father-daughter duo even teamed up earlier this year in a loss to Robert Stone & Victoria Crawford in a match for TNA.
While speaking with The Wrestling Classic, Grace opened up about how much working with her father has meant to her. She also expressed pride in how well Marella is able to perform in the ring at 51 years old.
“Awesome. So awesome. So unbelievable. I never thought it was actually going to happen this early in my career, so that was like a surprise blessing,” Grace said. “But just like how I said with [her fiance Channing ‘Stacks’ Lorenzo] here, when I work with him — work already doesn’t feel like work — but it’s like a gift. So the same goes with my dad. Like, seeing my dad at work — it’s not work to begin with because I love my job. But now it’s like, ‘Oh my God. And my dad who is one of my best friends, he’s here too. This is so much fun.’ Like, it is so awesome.
“And I am super proud of him. Because he was out of the ring for a little while, and he crushed it when we had our tag match and his singles match with Robert Stone. And he had a match with Ethan Page on NXT too, and he just did such an unbelievable job. He kept up with the NXT pace. I didn’t know if the old man had it in him, but he had it in him. He did great.”
Grace and Channing Lorenzo got engaged in December 2024 and have been teaming together on NXT house shows as of late.
AEW star Swerve Strickland believes it’s hugely important to show support for the next generation of wrestlers that are coming up today.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, the 35-year-old Strickland said it does not bother him at all when people say NXT’s Je’Von Evans is better than he is. It’s supposed to work that way, Strickland feels. Younger wrestlers study the work of those who came before them and build on that to help wrestling evolve.
“I’m always in favor of the next guys. Always,” Strickland said. “Some people, because we do this comparison game, ‘So and so is better than so and so. So and so is better than so and so.’ I’m like, ‘He’s supposed to be. He’s supposed to be.’ That’s how evolution works. You know, it’s not an insult to say, ‘Je’Von Evans is better than Swerve.’ I’m like, yes, he is. At 21 years old, he is better than I was at 30. I have more intangibles, because I’ve learned those things on the indies. He’s in the [WWE NXT] system now at 21.”
Strickland said he knows that he was one of Evans’ influences because Evans has told him so directly. He’s excited to see how Evans continues to grow in his career and which intangibles he adds to his game over the years.
“He’s supposed to be better. That’s because — who is he watching? He was watching myself. He’s told me to my face. He’s watched me and Lio Rush and guys like that. And he took it to the next level, which is what we did,” Strickland said. You know, like, Ricochet watched the same guys. He watched Rey Mysterio and took it to the next level, because that’s what evolution is supposed to be.
“Of course [Evans is] better than me. He’s gonna be [terrifyingly good at 30]. Like, he’s gonna be scary in the next three years. You know what I mean? But the point is, it’s like, I have all these other intangibles that just make me me. I can’t wait to find the intangibles that he finds that makes Je’Von Je’von. I can’t wait for him to find those things, you know? But, like, is he better in-ring? Hell yeah, no sh*t. He’s taller too.”
Strickland feels that, while it’s important for younger talent to take advice, they shouldn’t listen to anyone who is trying to pull the next generation backward. He thinks everyone in wrestling should always want the next group of stars to make more money than their own generation did.
Along with being one of the brightest young prospects in NXT, Evans recently took part in WWE’s Last Time is Now tournament on the main roster, losing a first-round match against Gunther.
WWE has officially confirmed the addition of three new Performance Center recruits.
It was announced today that Meghan Walker, Cyrus Habibi-Likio, and Jessica Bogdanov have signed with WWE and joined the Performance Center. All three attended WWE’s SummerSlam week tryouts a few months back and were recently reported to have signed WWE deals.
Walker, a track star at the University of Nebraska, was signed to the WWE NIL program before now joining the company full time. Habibi-Likio is a former college football player who played running back at Boise State, while Bogdanov is of Russian heritage and is an accomplished gymnast.
In addition to this announcement, some news emerged today regarding another recent WWE addition. French wrestler Aigle Blanc — who reported to the Performance Center last month — looks like he’ll be using “Elio Lefleur” as his NXT name. He’s listed under that name for a triple threat match against Jack Cartwheel and Chris Carter at Lucha Libre AAA’s November 28 TV taping in Puebla, Mexico. The winner earns a shot at the AAA Cruiserweight title.
Jack Cartwheel vs. Elio Lefleur vs. Chris Carter: Eliminatoria para sacar al 2do retador por el Campeonato Mundial Crucero AAA
On the Battleground podcast, Tatum Paxley was asked how she reacts when fans on social media call for her to be brought up to the main roster:
Whenever my time comes to be on Raw or SmackDown, I trust when Triple H sees the perfect time – I trust in his decision entirely. You know, I’m in no rush to get to Raw or SmackDown. But I’m super excited to be there.
But I’m super comfortable here in NXT as well. I just know, wherever I am, I’m going to try to connect to that audience.
Charlotte Flair congratulated Maxxine Dupri on her Women’s Intercontinental title win: “At @FlatbacksT I saw firsthand the work, the growth, and the passion she poured into chasing her dreams. Congratulations, champ @maxxinedupri so damn proud & happy for you!”
Sony Pictures posted a photo today giving a first look at Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and the rest of the cast for the next Jumanji movie. The film, which is the third and final installment in the rebooted Jumanji franchise, recently began production. It’s scheduled for a Christmas 2026 release.
Ariel Helwani commented on his interview with Tony Khan: “If you would have asked me in 2023 who’s the one guest I’d never see in studio, it would prob would have been @TonyKhan. Massive respect for him for coming in & even greater respect for how he handled today. Enjoyed the chat very much. Hope we can all be friends now, AEW fans.”
Khan responded to Helwani: “Thank you for having me on your show, I appreciate you inviting me + giving me that tremendous opportunity to promote Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite Tomorrow night + #AEWCollision and #AEWFullGear this Saturday night! You and your staff were very kind hosts!”
During the Helwani interview, Khan mentioned that AEW brings in Chris Nowinski every year to talk to the roster about head injuries and safety.
Nowinski posted a tweet calling the annual visit an honor: “It’s a privilege and honor to share my concussion experience, CTE research & @ConcussionLF HelpLine with my former colleagues to help them stay safe in the ring. Thanks @AEW & @TonyKhan for the annual invitation.”
A full-time coaching role could be in the cards for Shayna Baszler down the line, but her focus right now remains on competing in the ring.
Following her release from WWE in May, Baszler picked up some experience working behind the scenes in NXT while waiting for her 90-day clause to run out. Dave Meltzer later reported that WWE is interested in hiring Baszler as a producer or coach. Nothing is in place for that at the moment, though, and Baszler continues to wrestle on the indies in her post-WWE career.
Baszler recently spoke with Catch Club and was asked if working behind the scenes in WWE is something she’d like to do in the future.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s something that’s very fulfilling to me, coaching, helping people learn about wrestling. So I think I have a lot to give in the ring still, so I want to concentrate on that and get that out of my system,” she responded.
“But I think obviously the natural progression would be to coach. You know, I always say, people sometimes go to school, they go to college, university for 10 years to become a doctor or a professor or something like that. I spent all my time learning combat arts, so my university was in the martial arts gym, learning how to submit people. So I think the natural progression, that’s where my level of expertise is. So it just makes sense to pass that on. I had really good coaches, as you mentioned, that did that for me, so I think I’d like to pass that on too.”
Catch Club’s interview with Baszler was conducted earlier this month while she was overseas to compete at an indie show in France. This past weekend, the 45-year-old Baszler made her House of Glory debut in New York with a victory over Maki Itoh.
Tuesday night’s WWE NXT episode averaged 554,000 viewers on The CW, an increase of 4.9 percent from last week. It’s the best audience total for the show since October 14.
In the 18-49 demo, NXT drew a 0.07 rating. That’s down 12.5 percent from last week and ties the lowest rating NXT has ever done in that category. NXT finished last on network television with less than half of what the next-lowest show did in the key demo, though The CW is generally a lower-rated station than the other major networks.
The show went head-to-head, as it will all season, with the NBA on NBC, which was second on network TV to ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. The NBA broadcast drew a 0.42 rating in 18-49 and averaged 2.237 million viewers overall.
As compared to the same week in 2024 (under the previous Nielsen panel-only reporting method), NXT’s overall viewership was down 12.2 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 56.3 percent.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for NXT, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 10.9 percent in viewers and 41.8 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
Note: Starting on October 1, Nielsen began using the new Big Data + Panel measurement system. The change has resulted in severe declines for most wrestling shows, particularly in the 18-49 demo.
Getting to spend a little bit of time with John Cena was an insightful experience for WWE NXT star Kelani Jordan.
With his in-ring career winding down, Cena made a couple of visits to the WWE Performance Center last month to share some wisdom with the talent in NXT. Jordan reflected on those visits in a new interview with Denise Salcedo. Jordan got to ask Cena a few questions, with Cena telling her that there are inevitably going to be peaks and valleys in any wrestler’s journey — but it’s important to believe in yourself when adversity hits.
“First of all, he is just so intellectual. And he is incredible. He gave us so much insight,” Jordan said. “He honestly just kept reminding us that, ‘Hey, wrestling’s a journey. It’s not going to always be the mountain top, there’s going to be times you’re in the valleys.’ So he just kept on, like, reinforcing, ‘Hey, believe in yourself. Dare to be different.’ He told me, because I asked him a few questions, he’s like, ‘Just keep doing what you’re doing, stay the course.’
“Because, guess what? There’s going to be times where — sometimes on social media, people love you. Sometimes in the crowd, they love you. But sometimes they boo you, and that’s okay. He was a babyface for so long and there were times where the crowd turned on him. But guess what? He’s still John Cena, and they’re still paying tickets to come see him. So he just kind of reminded us, like, ‘Hey, there’s going to be valleys, there’s going to be hills, but just believe in yourself and keep at it because then you’re destined for greatness.'”
Cena only has three WWE appearances left on his retirement tour, which will conclude with his last match taking place at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13. Because Cena loved his Performance Center visits so much, he came up with the idea for the SNME card to include some exhibition matches between NXT talent and main roster stars. Jordan told Salcedo that being part of SNME would mean the world to her. If she’s able to compete, either Rhea Ripley or IYO SKY would be dream opponents.
At the moment, Jordan is the TNA Knockouts World Champion. She has a title defense coming up at NXT Gold Rush week two later this month. It will be Jordan putting her belt on the line against Jordynne Grace and Lei Ying Lee in a triple threat.
