WWE NXT Ratings Rise For August 22 Episode Featuring Rhea Ripley And Dominik Mysterio

The presence of The Judgment Day continues to bode well for the "WWE NXT" brand from a viewership perspective. This week's "NXT: Heatwave" special was watched by an average of 720,000 viewers, of which about 254,000 were adults aged 18 to 49, according to "Wrestlenomics." The latter number, representing the key demographic most valued by advertisers, translated to a 0.19 rating, the report added. 

This week's "Heatwave" episode was up 6 percent compared to last week's total viewership of 680,000. As for the 18-49 demo, the viewership was up 2 percent from last week, but there was no change in the 0.19 rating. 

Interestingly, The Judgment Day not appearing on last week's show led to a whopping 12 percent drop from the August 8 episode, which registered its highest viewership in two years with an average of 776,000 viewers. In other words, Judgment Day's Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio are now proven needle movers within the WWE landscape. 

While Ripley and Mysterio did bring back eyeballs to WWE's developmental brand, they did so in a loss against Lyra Valkyria and Dragon Lee in a mixed tag team bout, a match that was a culmination of recent issues between the four superstars. The ending of the match saw Raquel Rodriguez — Ripley's opponent at the upcoming Payback premium live event — appearing at ringside and brawling with "The Nightmare," giving Lee the perfect opportunity to finish off Mysterio with the Destino for the pinfall win. 

The loss also marked the first time Mysterio was pinned on the "NXT" brand since capturing the North American Championship from Wes Lee on July 18. Although the ending of the match suggested that Judgment Day was moving on from Valkyria and Lee, the latter took to Twitter later in the night to issue a challenge to Mysterio for the North American Championship, which could set up a rematch from their bout on August 8.