NXT receives major ratings boost with CM Punk's appearance

CM Punk recently made an appearance on NXT. This has been a huge benefit to the show.

Undoubtedly, CM Punk remains one of the most popular WWE stars today. Everywhere he goes, fans can't stop chanting his name. He is also known for inserting himself into difficult and different situations, which is what happened this Tuesday.

Punk appeared this week to announce that he would be the special guest referee for Ethan Page's NXT Championship defense against Trick Williams on October 1 in Chicago. He also had a segment with the brand's women's champion Roxanne Perez and her challenger Giulia. The appearance of the Straight Edge Superstar proved beneficial to the brand.

Wrestlenomics and Programming Insider reported that the September 17 episode of NXT had an average viewership of 677,000. The show also averaged 282,000 viewers and had a 0.21 rating in the key 18-49 demographic.

The episode's overall viewership was up 8%, while the viewership in the 18-49 demographic increased by 10% over the previous week. This week's NXT also ranked number one among prime-time cable programming for the day.

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Tom Prichard doesn't believe CM Punk will replace Shawn Michaels

Since returning to WWE last year, CM Punk has already made quite a few appearances in NXT. He appears to enjoy being involved in the show and helping out some of the younger talent. This has sparked a debate on whether he could take over NXT from Shawn Michaels once he retires.

During a recent episode of the Taking You To School podcast, Tom Prichard quickly shut down the possibility of Punk taking over NXT from the Heartbreak Kid.

Instead of taking over from Shawn Michaels, maybe Punk will lend a helping hand from time to time.