WWE NXT: August 17 episode viewership revealed as Samoa Joe and Karrion Kross get into a brawl

Last night was the last live episode of WWE NXT until next month, and it seems like the viewership left with it.

According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, this week's edition of WWE NXT brought in 654,000 viewers, which is way down from last week's 751,000. Last week, NXT's viewership bounced back nicely as the show returned to the USA Network. But with NXT TakeOver 36 just days away, it has to be concerning for the black and gold brand to lose this much viewership compared to last week.

The future of WWE NXT as we know it today is very uncertain. It's time for their fanbase to support the black and gold brand now more than ever. We'll see what next week's show brings that will feature the fallout of NXT TakeOver 36.

WWE NXT last night on USA Network was watched by 654,000 viewers on average. 200,000 were aged 18-49 (0.15 rating).More details and analysis soon at https://t.co/1SscdBCpr8 pic.twitter.com/1vY6gT5yoc

— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) August 18, 2021

WWE NXT placed 31st on cable for Tuesday

Regarding the all-important 18-49 demo, WWE NXT saw a drop from last week from 0.19 to 0.15. With viewership and the demo both down, this probably isn't a great sign for the black and gold brand heading into TakeOver 36.

Showbuzz Daily also reports that WWE NXT placed 31st on cable for Tuesday. Certainly not a great number, all things considered. It will be interesting to see what direction the black and gold brand will take following TakeOver 36.

Last night's episode of WWE NXT opened with Roderick Strong's "Diamond Mine Open Challenge," which turned into a match against Ilja Dragunov.

The show closed with a pull-apart brawl between Samoa Joe and NXT Champion Karrion Kross to build some much-needed hype into their match on Sunday. The current run on WWE RAW that Kross has had has taken some steam out of his feud with Samoa Joe, which is very unfortunate.

What did you think of WWE NXT last night? What was your favorite match or segment? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.