WWE: Great Muta to be Inducted into WWE Hall of Fame, Alexa Bliss Update, More on NXT Mar. 7, 2023 Viewership

Great Muta Reportedly to be Inducted as Member of WWE’s 2023 Hall of Fame Class

Legendary wrestler and former Pro Wrestling NOAH talent The Great Muta reportedly is currently planned to be inducted into WWE’s Hall of Fame, according to PWInsider.

Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that WWE officials currently have plans for The Great Muta to be inducted as a member of this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class.

The Great Muta held his retirement match at this past January’s Great Muta Final Bye-Bye event for Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan. Keiji Muto, who portrays the Great Muta, had his own separate retirement match at NOAH’s Keiji Muto Grand Final Pro-Wrestling ‘Last’ Love Hold Out event this past February in Japan.

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Alexa Bliss WWE Status Update

Alexa Bliss has been noticeably absent from WWE since this past January’s Royal Rumble 2023 event in San Antonio, Texas.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the reason for Bliss’ current absence is due to her being on a hiatus from the company.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his own sources also confirmed that the reason for Bliss’ current absence is due to her asking and being granted time off from the company. Johnson reported that WWE officials did not have any creative plans in place for Bliss following her match against Bianca Belair at this past January’s Royal Rumble 2023 event.

Bliss recently responded on Twitter denying that the reports of her current absence being due to a hiatus-related reason are true.

Tired of seeing these tweets. I am not on a hiatus. They know where to find me.

— Lexi (Kaufman) Cabrera (@AlexaBliss_WWE) March 10, 2023

also need to remember – you only see what parts of life I want you to see.

— Lexi (Kaufman) Cabrera (@AlexaBliss_WWE) March 10, 2023

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More on NXT Week 178 Viewership – March 7, 2023

The March 7th episode of WWE NXT saw NXT gain a large increase in overall viewership, key demographic ratings, and key demographic rankings. This week’s episode was notable for being the NXT Roadblock special.

NXT drew 624,000 viewers and a 0.17 key demographic rating on USA Network. NXT’s key demographic ranking for that night was 13th 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 increases this week was due to the very large increase from their younger key demographic viewership, which was up 50% compared to last week’s show. Another reason reportedly was due to the large increase from their older key demographic viewership, which was up 18.8% compared to last week’s show. Meltzer reported that NXT’s key demographic viewership was its highest since the December 14, 2022 episode.

In terms of head-to-head competition, the NBA game of Philadelphia 76ers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves drew 886,000 viewers on TNT, the College basketball game of Northern Kentucky vs. Cleveland State drew 460,000 viewers on ESPN, the College basketball game of North Dakota State vs. Oral Roberts drew 135,000 viewers on ESPN2, the College basketball game of Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Merrimack drew 122,000 viewers on ESPN2, the College basketball game of Gonzaga vs. St. Mary’s drew 869,000 viewers on ESPN, Curse of Oak Island drew 2,586,000 viewers on History Channel, 1000-lb Sisters drew 1,314,000 viewers on TLC, and Real Housewives of New Jersey drew 790,000 viewers on Bravo.

In terms of key demographic viewership, NXT had 222,000 viewers. Meltzer reported that the male/female viewership split was 143,000 male viewers and 79,000 female viewers for a split of 64.4% in favor of males.

In terms of yearly comparisons, NXT was up 1.8% in overall viewership and up 26.1% in key demographic viewership. Meltzer reported that NXT’s 18-34 viewership was up 150% compared to the same week last year.