WWE: Drew McIntyre Future Update, Commitment for Nashville WrestleMania, More on NXT May 2, 2023 Viewership

Drew McIntyre Health & WWE Contract Status Updates

As noted before, Drew McIntyre has been out of action for WWE since this past April’s WrestleMania 39 event due to an unknown health issue. McIntyre’s contract with WWE is currently expected to expire by early 2024 but talks between the two sides for a potential new deal have stalled and McIntyre had recently removed all references to WWE from his Twitter account.

In regards to McIntyre’s health status, Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that McIntyre is still expected to remain out of action for at least a few more weeks. The nature of McIntyre’s medical issue is still currently not known.

In regards to McIntyre’s contract status and future in WWE, Meltzer reported that McIntyre currently has the mindset of likely leaving the company once his current contract expires. Meltzer reported that McIntyre is currently interested in the idea of doing a big program as a challenger for WWE’s new World Heavyweight Championship before potentially leaving the company.

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WWE Reportedly Committed to Bringing WrestleMania to Nashville in 2027

A recent episode of the 104.5 The Zone radio show featured Tennessee Titans President and CEO Burke Nihill as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Nihill revealing that WWE recently informed the city of Nashville that they are committed to bringing a WrestleMania event to the city in 2027. This event would take place at the Titans new stadium, which is currently scheduled to open that year.

“WrestleMania isn’t hypothetical. WrestleMania has already committed to 2027.”

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More on NXT Week 186 Viewership – May 2, 2023

The May 2nd episode of WWE NXT saw NXT suffer a large decline in overall viewership and a small decline in key demographic ratings.

NXT drew 568,000 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 this week was due to the large declines from all of their demographic viewership groups with Teenagers viewership down 33.3%, younger key demographic viewership down 33.3%, older key demographic viewership down 14.3%, and Over 50 viewership down 3.1% compared to last week’s show. Another reason reportedly was due to stiff sports competition that night particularly for NXT’s West Coast airing going head-to-head with the 2023 NBA Playoff game between Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State, which drew 7,357,000 viewers on TNT.

In terms of head-to-head competition, the 2023 NBA Playoffs Game 2 of Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks drew 4,710,000 viewers on TNT, the 2023 NHL Playoffs Game 2 of Seattle Kraken vs. Dallas Stars drew 1,406,000 viewers on ESPN, the 2023 NHL Playoffs Game 2 of Florida Panthers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs drew 1,309,000 viewers on ESPN, the MLB game of Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox drew 260,000 viewers on TBS, Curse of Oak Island drew 2,559,000 viewers on History Channel, 7 Little Johnstons drew 712,000 viewers on TLC, and Real Housewives of New Jersey drew 831,000 viewers on Bravo.

In terms of key demographic viewership, NXT had 176,000 viewers. Meltzer reported that the male/female viewership split was 110,000 male viewers (down 34.9%) and 66,000 female viewers (equal) for a split of 62.5% in favor of males.

In terms of yearly comparisons, NXT was down 14.1% in overall viewership but up 1.7% in key demographic viewership. Meltzer reported that NXT’s 18-34 viewership was up 42.9% compared to the same week last year.