WWE: Mia Yim on Michin Name Situation, Cameron Grimes Update, More on NXT Feb. 21, 2023 Viewership

Mia Yim Comments on Her Michin Name Situation in WWE

A recent episode of the Out of Character with Ryan Satin podcast featured Mia Yim as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Yim’s thoughts on the current situation with her “Michin” name in WWE.

“That’s a great question because I don’t know [laughs.] I think it was initially a nickname. The whole time, I was told it was a nickname. The biggest thing that I want everyone to know is I’m okay with this name. Everything new, not everyone’s gonna like it. I get it, but I’m okay with this name. It’s better than Reckoning, so I’m not gonna complain about this name [laughs]. It’s a nickname now, and who knows, maybe in the future, it could transition to being my name. If it is, I’m okay with that too.

I just want everyone to know, you don’t have to see the building on fire. It’s okay. It’s also a challenge for me to make it work. It might not work now because for 12 years, I’ve been Mia Yim, so of course something different, something new, people [aren’t] gonna like it]. ‘Why are you changing something that’s not broken? It’s like okay, but this may be just a challenge. Let me see if I can get you to love Michin just as much as you love Mia Yim, if that were the case. All in all, I think it’s a nickname for now.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

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Cameron Grimes WWE Status Update

As noted before, NXT talent Cameron Grimes has been absent from WWE’s NXT programming since this past November due to creative-related issues over plans for his main roster call-up.

Fightful Select reported that Grimes was seen in attendance backstage at WWE’s SmackDown show in Evansville, Indiana. Grimes reportedly had been invited by WWE officials to compete in a dark match against Ashante “Thee” Adonis that was held prior to the start of the show.

It is currently not known when Grimes will be making his official call-up to WWE’s main roster.

This was Grimes first match since his match against Joe Gracy on the November 8th episode of NXT.

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More on NXT Week 176 Viewership – Feb. 21, 2023

The February 21st episode of WWE NXT saw NXT suffer a large decline in overall viewership and a slight decline in key demographic ratings but gained a slight increase in key demographic rankings.

NXT drew 589,000 viewers and a 0.14 key demographic rating on USA Network. NXT’s key demographic ranking for that night was 16th place.

Detailed viewership and key demographic breakdowns were not available in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Dave Meltzer reported that the main reason for NXT’s declines this week was due to a weaker than usual Tuesday night for general television viewership and the large decline from their younger key demographic viewership, which was down 40% compared to last week’s show. Another reason reportedly was due to the large decline from their Over 50 viewership group, which was down 5.7% compared to last week’s show. This reportedly offset the large gain from their older key demographic viewership group, which was up 26.7% compared to last week’s show.

In terms of head-to-head competition, the College basketball game of Indiana vs. Michigan State drew 1,092,000 viewers on ESPN, the College basketball game of Tennessee vs. Texas A&M drew 919,000 viewers on ESPN, the College basketball game of Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma drew 363,000 viewers on ESPN2, the College basketball game of Baylor vs. Kansas State drew 444,000 viewers on ESPN2, Curse of Oak Island drew 2,700,000 viewers on History Channel, 1000-lb Sisters drew 1,233,000 viewers on TLC, and Real Housewives of New Jersey drew 874,000 viewers on Bravo.

In terms of key demographic viewership, NXT had 182,000 viewers. Meltzer reported that the male/female viewership split was 123,000 male viewers and 59,000 female viewers for a split of 67.6% in favor of males.

In terms of yearly comparisons, NXT was down 3.8% in overall viewership but up 18.2% in key demographic viewership. Meltzer reported that NXT’s 18-34 viewership was up 28.6% compared to the same week last year.