Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston Names Most Important Metric For Pro Wrestling Success

When it comes to the economics of professional wrestling, few sources have proven as knowledgeable as Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics. In a conversation with Wrestling Inc. Senior News Editor Nick Hausman, Thurston revealed the figure that he believes is most important in determining the success of a show, and it's not the actual rating.

"[It's] the rank," Thurston said. "That's the most straightforward way to understand this, in that, where does this show rank on its night in 18-49 among all the other shows that were on, on that day?"

Thurston went on to explain why the ranking is more important than the rating itself. "If it's still ranking highly, it's still a really valuable program. The value of telecasts on traditional TV, it's an exponential trend," Thurston stated. "By that, all the value is in the really, really highly viewed top programs. And less and less and less of the value is in anything below the top 10 or top five."

Because network and cable viewers have steadily declined, especially over the last decade, judging a series by the number of viewers has become less effective, though it is still a worthwhile metric. However, it is increasingly valuable to instead know how well a show compares to other shows airing on the same day, hence the importance of the ranking.

With all that in mind, it's safe to say that the wrestling industry is in a good place right now. Both "AEW Dynamite," "WWE Raw" and "WWE SmackDown" consistently rank in the top 10 for their respective evenings, even with "WWE Raw" seeing massive competition in the form of Monday Night Football. "WWE NXT" and "AEW Rampage," however, could both be performing better.