WWE: Endeavor Won’t Over-Commercialize WWE, Top 25 Debut List, More on NXT May 16, 2023 Viewership

Endeavor President Mark Shapiro Comments on Not Wanting to “Over-Commercialize” WWE

A recent episode of the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast featured Endeavor President Mark Shapiro as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Shapiro’s thoughts on if Endeavor will take a similar approach to WWE as they do with UFC in regards to putting sponsorships on the mat, wrestler gear, and elsewhere for WWE’s product.

“We haven’t finished this transaction, we’re still running through this process, we’re not making any decisions. We’re not in control, so I’m not going to forecast what we may or may not do. I’ll speak to you from a point of view of why we thought it was so attractive. Yes, all of those are opportunities. You want to be authentic, seamless, organic, and true to your audience. We’re not going to put a brand on somebody’s robe walking to the ring. Do UFC fighters wear Venom apparel and Project Rock shoes? Yes, they do. Could WWE benefit from an apparel deal as such, a shoe deal as such? Absolutely. We’re not going to over-commercialize it. We’re not going to saturate it to the point that we cheap it out and trick it out, and you turn off the fanbase. You have to figure out what’s right in the ring, in the Octagon, what’s right in the arena, indoor and outdoor. What’s right with the fighters and the participants, and you have to walk before you run.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

---

WWE Releases Top 25 WWE Superstars Debut List, Chris Jericho’s Reaction to His Low Ranking

WWE recently released a video listing what they consider to be their Top 25 WWE Superstar debuts in the company’s history.

Full list of WWE’s Top 25 WWE Superstar Debuts:

1. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns)
2. Kane
3. Goldberg
4. Ronda Rousey
5. Brock Lesnar
6. AJ Styles
7. The Rock
8. Kevin Owens
9. John Cena
10. Chris Jericho
11. Booker T
12. The Undertaker
13. Sting
14. Braun Strowman
15. The Great Khali
16. Carlito
17. Asuka
18. The Nexus (Wade Barrett, Daniel Bryan, Darren Young, Skip Sheffield, Michael Tarver, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, & David Otunga)
19. Rey Mysterio
20. Umaga
21. Baron Corbin
22. The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) & Tamina
23. Shinsuke Nakamura
24. Santino Marella
25. Solo Sikoa

Following WWE’s release of their list, Chris Jericho commented on being left off the Top 5 for all-time WWE debuts.

Hold my beer….. https://t.co/1UdTvjs2On

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) May 18, 2023

---

More on NXT Week 188 Viewership – May 16, 2023

The May 16th episode of WWE NXT saw NXT suffer a large decline in overall viewership and a small decline in key demographic ratings and key demographic rankings.

NXT drew 564,000 viewers and a 0.14 key demographic rating on USA Network. NXT’s key demographic ranking for that night was 15th 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 was due to the large decline from their older key demographic viewership group, which was down 23.9% compared to last week’s show. Another reason reportedly was due to the large decline from their younger key demographic viewership group, which was down 8.3% compared to last week’s show.

In terms of head-to-head competition, the 2023 NBA Playoffs Game 1 of Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets drew 7,128,000 viewers on ESPN, the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery drew 3,240,000 viewers on ESPN, Curse of Oak Island drew 2,596,000 viewers on History Channel, 7 Little Johnstons drew 766,000 viewers on TLC, and Real Housewives of New Jersey drew 1,016,000 viewers on Bravo.

In terms of key demographic viewership, NXT had 182,000 viewers.

In terms of yearly comparisons, NXT was down 6.2% in overall viewership and even in key demographic viewership. Meltzer reported that NXT’s 18-34 viewership was up 37.5% compared to the same week last year.