Tag: aew dynamite ratings

Daily Update: Ali Act, Josh Alexander, AEW Dynamite ratings

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Among the topics covered:

  • A look back at the career of Dennis Condrey of Midnight Express fame
  • Update on WrestleMania, both the matches, business update the ticket demand at the present time
  • An updated look at AEW’s All In on 8/30 at Wembley Stadium as well as a look at the Dynasty show and ticket demand for the show
  • Coverage of El Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, CMLL’s second biggest show of the year, with El Satanico’s retirement at 76, The Death Riders appear, the heavyweight title changes hands and Mistico returns
  • A look at the NCAA Division I tournament including a look back 79 years when future pro wrestling legends dominated the heavyweight division and how it ties into the most recent tournament. We also look at the rivalry that could define college wrestling for years to come between a coach and his former pupil, a guy who was in high school in December and wins the NCAA title in March, as well business notes on the show, both attendance and television ratings
  • A look back at Sid Vicious, Badnews Allen and Dennis Rodman’s pro wrestling days
  • Trying to explain the latest controversy in television ratings and how this related to pro wrestling
  • How ratings differ from a sports survey about wrestling fans
  • The most complete look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling television shows over the past week,including competition, demos and comparisons with one year ago, as well as competition in the time slot.
  • Notes on CMLL talent coming to WrestleMania week
  • Major injury to arguably CMLL’s best worker
  • Notes on the 83rd anniversary of pro wrestling in one of its most famous arenas
  • Notes on tentative plans for a major mask vs. mask match
  • Callum Newman and Yuya Uemura tear it up in the New Japan Cup finals
  • Next major New Japan show thoughts with Ospreay’s returnh
  • Tanahashi talks goals to turn the company around
  • Kazusada Higuchi retirement notes
  • Thoughts on Satoru Sayama and his impact on pro wrestling
  • Aja Kongs 40th anniversary show
  • Gable Stevesn and RAF
  • Ted DiBiase Jr acquitted in his case
  • The end of CBS News Radio and what former WCW announcer was an anchor there
  • Notes on the announcing at the orignal When Worlds Collide AAA show
  • Lots of WrestleMania week show notes
  • FantasticaMania comes to the U.K.
  • Update on WBD sale to Paramount Skydance
  • Update on Revolution PPV buys
  • Jeff Jarrett becomes co-owner of a sports franchise
  • Jericho talks about working today
  • More on the Ali Revival Act
  • A list of a lot of PPV buy numbers for UFC
  • Ari Emanuel’s role in getting President Trump to stop the case against Ticketmaster/Live Nation.
  • WWE star training for a bodybuilding contest soon
  • Jesse Ventura rants but his timeline makes sense

This Week’s Back Issue

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Friday Update

— Garrett Gonzales and I are doing our Observer rundown and week in review show later this afternoon. The weekend show with Bryan will be Sunday night this week.

— A very good article with Bob Arum saying what is wrong with the new version of the Ali Act that just passed through the House of Representatives with almost no debate.

— Josh Alexander got the word today that the damage to his knee suffered in the trios title match from Fresno that aired on Sunday was severe enough that he will need major surgery, which takes place Wednesday. There is no time frame for how long he’ll be out of action until after the surgery, but it will be many months.

— AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night did 765,000 viewers and an 0.14 in 18-49. This is even more impressive since the show was expected to take a hit against the New York Yankees vs. San Francisco Giants baseball game head-to-head on Netflix. The show was headlined by Kenny Omega vs. Swerve Strickland to get a title shot at MJF. It is the most viewers for an AEW television show since the show that had the 2024 Blood & Guts match. That was prior to HBO MAX airing the show, so it’s likely this was the most viewers the show has had in several years.

— SmackDown tonight is from Pittsburgh with Giulia vs. Tiffany Stratton, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. the Bella Twins and Kit Wilson vs. Jelly Roll. There were 10,745 tickets out for the show as of earlier today.

— A correction from today’s issue of the Observer. The AEW note regarding Spring BreakThru week and Playoff Palooza is incorrect. Shows in April will not be using those names.

— Orlando Weit, Muay Thai fighter who competed in UFC 2 in 1994, passed away on 3/20 at the age of 60. UFC 2 was on March 11, 1994, and they had a 16 man tournament. Weit won his first fight with devastating knees over Robert Lucraelli, but then lost in just 1:29 to judoka Remco Pardoel

— TNA Sacrifice is tonight from New Orleans:

  • Mike Santana vs Steve Maclin for TNA title
  • Leon Slater vs. Eric Young for X title
  • Arianna Grace vs Lei Ying Lee vs. Dani Luna for Knockouts title
  • Eddie Edwards vs Moose
  • Jeff Hardy & Vincent vs. Cedric Alexander & Briain Myers
  • Mustafa Ali & Tasha Steez vs. Trey Miguel & Jada Stone
  • Elijah & Home Town Man vs. AJ Francis & Frankie Kazarian
  • Mara Sade vs Eleyna Black no DQ
  • Tessa Blanchard vs. Jody Threat
  • BDE vs. Ryan Nemeth
  • As of earlier today they had 1,195 tickets out for the show.

— Arena Mexico tonight has Atlantis Jr. & Esfinge & Neon vs. Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja & Soberano Jr in the main event, plus Averno & Mephisto vs. Templario & Flip Gordon.

— Ian Carey’s odds for pro wrestling matches story for the week:
Betting odds are available for TNA Sacrifice on 3/27. For Sacrifice, Mike Santana is now a -500 favorite against Steve Maclin at +300 in the TNA World Championship match. Santana had opened as a -350 favorite last week. Leon Slater has opened as a -280 favorite against Eric Young at +180 in the X Division Championship match. Moose is a -200 favorite against Eddie Edwards at +150. Frankie Kazarian and AJ Francis are -260 favorites against Elijah and The Hometown Man at +170. In a mixed tag, Mustafa Ali and Tasha Steelz are -175 favorites against Trey Miguel and Jada Stone at +130. Elayna Black is a -165 favorite against Mara Sadé at +120 in a No Disqualification match. In a triple threat match for the TNA Knockouts World Championship, champion Arianna Grace is a -400 favorite against Dani Luna at +250 and Xia Li at +300.

— Odds are also available for two matches scheduled for the 3/27 episode of WWE SmackDown. In what is essentially a pick’em, The Bella Twins are -125 favorites against Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, who are at -115. Giulia is a -260 favorite against Tiffany Stratton at +170 in the Women’s United States Championship match.

— As for the updated odds for WrestleMania, Roman Reigns remains a -500 favorite over CM Punk at +300 in the World Heavyweight Championship match. That line has not moved this week. Liv Morgan’s odds took a hit this week, as she is now a -220 favorite against Stephanie Vaquer at +155 in the Women’s World Championship match. Morgan had been a -500 favorite at most sportsbooks over the past couple of weeks. Rhea Ripley is a -300 favorite against Jade Cargill at +200. Ripley had opened as a – 325 favorite last week. Randy Orton is a -190 favorite against Cody Rhodes at +140 in the WWE Championship match. Orton had opened as a -200 favorite last week. Oba Femi is a -260 favorite against Brock Lesnar at +170. Femi opened as a -350 favorite last week. Becky Lynch has opened as a -500 favorite against AJ Lee at +300 in the Women’s Intercontinental Championship match.

— Maple Leaf Pro is on Triller as a PPV tonight from Windsor, ONT, which is sold out with about 1,000 fans. for ROH/MLP Global Wars:

  • Athena vs. Taylor Rising for the ROH women’s title
  • Luke Gallows & Karl Andeson vs. Gates of Agony vs Bishop Dyer & Kaito Kiymiya vs,. Sheldon Jean & Bryce Hansen to determine the first MLP tag team champions
  • Ricochet vs. Rich Swann
  • Mascara Dorada & Bhupinder Gujjar & Psycho Mike vs. Jay Lethal & Blake Christian & Lee Johnson
  • Rohan Raju vs Stu Grayson for the PWA Championship
  • Red Velvet vs. Alice Crowley for the ROH TV title
  • Eddie Kingston & Ortiz vs. Adam Priest & Tommy Billington
  • Michael Oku vs. Jake Crist vs. Cavernario Bsarbaro vs. Michael Allne Richard Cark vs. Ace Austin vs. Brent Banks
  • Tony Khan is at the show because it’s a combo ROH show.

— UFC tomorrow on Paramount+ is from Seattle starting at 5 p.m. Eastern time:

  • Alexia Thainara (115) vs. Bruna Brasil (115)
  • Ricky Simon (135) vs. Adrian Yanez (135)
  • Navajo Stirling (204) vs. Bruno Lopes (204)
  • Casey O’Neill (124) vs. Gabriella Fernandes (125)
  • Marcin Tybura (248) vs. Tyrell Fortune (259)
  • Chase Hooper (155) vs. Lance Gibson Jr (156)
  • Ignacio Bahamondes (155) vs. Tofiq Musayev (155)
  • Terrance McKinney (156) vs. Kyle Nelson (156)
  • Mansur Abdul-Malik (185) vs. Yousri Beigaroui (186)
  • Julian Erosa (145) vs. Lerryan Douglas (146)
  • Michael Chiesa (170) vs. Niko Price (170)
  • Alex Grasso (126) vs. Maycee Barber (125)
  • Israel Adesanya (186) vs. Joe Pyfer (186)

— PFL runs tomorrow at 10 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN 2 from Pittsburgh:

  • Lazaro Dayuron (135.8) vs. Jacob Thrall (135.4)
  • Alexei Pergando (146) vs. Julio Arce (146)
  • Ariane Lipski da Silva (125.8) vs. Sumiko Inaba (124.6)
  • Dalton Rosta (185.8) vs Impa Kasanganay (185.8)
  • Johnny Eblen (185.8) vs. Bryan Batte (186)
  • Rosta was a regular in AEW a few years back as part of the Paige VanZant, Dan Lambert angle. He didn’t wrestle any matches there but was a regular on the TV.

— RAF runs tomorrow night in Tampa with a main event of Arman Tsarukyan vs. Georgio Poullas stemming from the brawl the two had a few weeks ago. There is one major match in a battle of Olympic gold medalists with Kyle Snhyder vs. 2024 gold medalist Akhmed Tazhudinov.

— Former UFC star Diego Sanchez, who came up with the “Yes” chant that Bryan Danielson saw him do, was sentenced to five years supervised probation after pleading guilty last month of shooting at or from a motor vehicle with no great bodily harm, a fourth-degree felony. He was arrested in July for allegedly leaning out of a car window when he was the passenger and firing a shot into the air while passing by a crash, Police followed him and arrested him. As part of the plea bargain, a charge for negligent use of a deadly weapon was dropped.

— Octagon turns 65 5oday. Charlie Haas turns 54. SoCal Val turns 40. Other birthdays include Cowboy Luttrall, who ran the Florida promotion with Eddie Graham, born in 1906, Handsome Johnny Barend of Hawaii fame, born in 1926, Swede Hanson born in 1933, Gordon Nelson, born in 1930 and Jerry Bryant, born in 1953 (thanks to Tony Richards)

— Insen WrestleFest II on 5/2 in Monroe, MI with Road Dogg, Carlito, Matt Riddle, Jimmy Hart, Angelina Love, Rhino, Trey Miguel and Rich Swann.

AEW Dynamite ratings way up for Revolution fallout

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 730,000 viewers on TBS, up 17.9% from the previous week. It’s the largest audience for the show since June 18th of last year.

Dynamite averaged a 0.13 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 30% from last week and was the second highest rating the show has done in that category since November 12th.

The show went head to head with Tru TV’s coverage of NCAA tournament play-in games which dominated the cable charts as well as CBS’s Survivor, which topped all television in both total viewers and 18-49. The show finished 8th on the cable charts for the night in the key demo.

As compared to the same week in 2025 the overall viewership was up 10.9% while the 18-49 rating was down 31.6%. It’s the 7th week out of the last 8 that the show has had a year over year increase in total viewers.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for AEW Dynamite on TBS as well as the 10 week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 20.8% in overall viewers and 30% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
1/7/20250.08516,000
1/14/20260.08526,000
1/21/20260.08498,000
1/28/20260.09653,000
2/4/20260.15654,000
2/11/20260.12604,000
2/18/20260.12692,000
2/25/20260.1633,000
3/4/20260.12650,000
3/11/20260.09619,000
3/18/20260.13730,000
*10 wk avg0.10604,500

AEW Dynamite ratings down for Revolution go-home show

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

This past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite averaged 619,000 viewers on TBS, down 4.8% from the previous week and the lowest audience for the show since February 11.

Dynamite averaged a 0.09 rating in the 18-49 demo, down 25% from last week and tying the lowest rating for the show since January 21 1hich was before Nielsen adjusted the way they determine ratings using the Big Data+Panel system.

There was tougher than usual sports competition with the World Baseball Classic on FS1 topping the cable ratings with a 0.48 18-49 rating and 1.674 million viewers overall. They were also head-to-head with an NBA game on ESPN and an NCAA game on ESPN 2.

Dynamite tied for 15th overall on the night on the primetime cable charts, much lower than their usual placing.

As compared to the same week in 2025, overall viewership was down 1.4% while the 18-49 rating was down 43.8%.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for AEW Dynamite on TBS as well as the 10 week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 6.3% in overall viewers but down 10% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
12/31/20250.07398,000
1/7/20250.08516,000
1/14/20260.08526,000
1/21/20260.08498,000
1/28/20260.09653,000
2/4/20260.15654,000
2/11/20260.12604,000
2/18/20260.12692,000
2/25/20260.1633,000
3/4/20260.12650,000
3/11/20260.09619,000
*10 wk avg
not including current week		0.10582,400

AEW Dynamite viewership & 18-49 rating notes from this week

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

This past Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 650,000 viewers on TBS, up 2.7% from the previous week and the fourth-highest audience for the show since September 17, 2025.

The episode, which featured three title matches and the Dynamite debut of The IInspiration, averaged a 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demo — up 20% from last week and tying the second-highest rating the show has done in that category since November 12, 2025.

As compared to the same week in 2025, overall viewership was up 8.3% while the 18-49 rating was down 7.7%. It’s the smallest year-over-year drop in the key demo that Dynamite has had since August 2025.

AEW Dynamite ratings: Last 10 Weeks

Listed below are the last ten weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings as well as the nine-week average in both categories as the numbers for the Christmas Eve episode have still not been reported.

This week’s show was up 13.1% in overall viewers and 20% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
12/24/2025Not reportedNot reported
12/31/20250.07398,000
1/7/20250.08516,000
1/14/20260.08526,000
1/21/20260.08498,000
1/28/20260.09653,000
2/4/20260.15654,000
2/11/20260.12604,000
2/18/20260.12692,000
2/25/20260.10633,000
3/4/20260.12650,000
*10 wk avg (doesn’t include current week)0.10574,889

AEW Dynamite viewership & 18-49 ratings drop

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 633,000 viewers on TBS, down 8.5% from the previous week. It’s the second lowest audience for the show since Nielsen adjusted the way they report numbers using the Big Data + Panel method.

Dynamite averaged a 0.10 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 16.7% from last week and is the lowest audience the show has done in that category since January 28th.

Dynamite went head to head with the 50th season premiere of CBS’s Survivor as well as the NBA on ESPN and the NHL on TNT. The show finished 15th on the prime time cable charts on the night.

As compared to the same week in 2025 the overall viewership was up 5.9% while the 18-49 rating was down 44.4%.

Listed below are the last 10 weeks of available overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for AEW Dynamite on TBS, with the numbers for the Christmas Eve episode still not being reported, along with the 9 week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 12.8% in overall viewers but even in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
12/17/20250.08511,000
12/24/2025
12/31/20250.07398,000
1/7/20250.08516,000
1/14/20260.08526,000
1/21/20260.08498,000
1/28/20260.09653,000
2/4/20260.15654,000
2/11/20260.12604,000
2/18/20260.12692,000
2/25/20260.1633,000
*10 wk avg0.10561,333
*not includingcurrent week

AEW Dynamite viewership reaches highest levels since August

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 692,000 viewers on TBS, up 14.6% from the previous week. It’s the largest audience for the show since August 6th of last year.

Dynamite averaged the same 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demo that the show did last week. That ties the second highest rating the show has done in that category since the Grand Slam Mexico show in September.

The show went head to head with coverage of the Winter Olympics on NBC, Peacock and the USA Network but still finished sixth overall in the primetime cable ratings for the night.

As compared to the same week in 2025, the overall viewership was up 22.9% while the 18-49 rating was down 29.4%.

Listed below are the last 10 week of available overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings with the numbers for the Christmas Eve episode still not being reported along with the 9 week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 27.7% in overall viewers and 33.3% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
12/10/20250.09516,000
12/17/20250.08511,000
12/24/2025
12/31/20250.07398,000
1/7/20250.08516,000
1/14/20260.08526,000
1/21/20260.08498,000
1/28/20260.09653,000
2/4/20260.15654,000
2/11/20260.12604,000
2/18/20260.12692,000
“10 wk avg0.09541,778
*not includingcurrent week

AEW Dynamite ratings down against Winter Olympics

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 604,000 viewers on TBS, down 7.7% from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience for the show since January 21st, the week before Nielsen changed the way it measured their ratings under the Big Data + Panel system.

Dynamite averaged a 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 20% from last week, but was the second highest rating the show has done since the November 12th Grand Slam Mexico show.

The show went head to head with coverage of the Winter Olympics on NBC, USA Network, and Peacock, finishing 9th overall in the prime time cable ratings on the night. They were also up against an NBA game on ESPN that was 2nd on cable with a 0.26 18-49 rating.

As compared to the same week in 2025, the overall viewership was up 4.3% while the 18-49 rating was down 25%.

Listed below are the last 10 available weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings as well as the 9 week average in both categories with numbers for the Christmas Eve episode still not being reported. This week’s show was up 14% in overall viewers and 33.3% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
12/3/20250.09496,000
12/10/20250.09516,000
12/17/20250.08511,000
12/24/2025
12/31/20250.07398,000
1/7/20250.08516,000
1/14/20260.08526,000
1/21/20260.08498,000
1/28/20260.09653,000
2/4/20260.15654,000
2/11/20260.12604,000
*10 wk avg0.09529,778
*not includingcurrent week

AEW Dynamite draws best ratings in months

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Wednesday night’s AEW Dynamite episode averaged 654,000 viewers on TBS, up slightly from the 653,000 viewers the show did last week. This marks the largest audience for Dynamite since the Grand Slam Mexico special on September 17 of last year.

In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite drew a 0.15 rating. That’s up 66.7 percent from the prior week and ties the best rating Dynamite has done in that category since August 20. The show finished tied for sixth on the cable charts for the night despite going head-to-head with an NBA game on ESPN that topped the chart with a 0.48 rating in 18-49 and 1.751 million viewers overall.

Beginning on January 26, Nielsen once again revised the way it calculates viewership with the Big Data + Panel rating system. This change has resulted in a noticeable increase for wrestling programs.

As compared to the same week in 2025, Dynamite’s overall viewership was up 8.1 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 11.8 percent.

Listed below are the last 10 available weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for Dynamite, along with the nine-week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 27.2 percent in viewers and 87.5 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

AEW Dynamite ratings —

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
11/26/20250.1512,000
12/3/20250.09496,000
12/10/20250.09516,000
12/17/20250.08511,000
12/24/2025
12/31/20250.07398,000
1/7/20250.08516,000
1/14/20260.08526,000
1/21/20260.08498,000
1/28/20260.09653,000
2/4/20260.15654,000
*10 wk avg0.08514,000
*not including current week

Daily Update: Ava, AEW Dynamite ratings, Powerhouse Hobbs

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site right now. Some of the key stories being covered:

  • Royal Rumble thoughts, odds and direction
  • The business of UFC to Paramount, the numbers that were released, what they mean, and how much revenue does this mean vs. how much they paid for rights
  • Coverage of Saturday Night’s Main Event
  • UFC 324 coverage, the fights, the future and the business
  • The life and times of Kim Wood, football, weightlifting, perception of people, Ken Shamrock and Brian Pillman
  • How Smackdown and NXT did throughout 2025 on Netflix, the ups and the downs
  • The most complete look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling TV shows over the past week, demos, comparisons, drops from last year factoring out why it would and should drop with big data
  • A new record set for most sellouts by a main eventer in a given month
  • Huge CMLL business week and great matches
  • Major shows upcoming
  • Big events coming for New Japan
  • Fantastica Mania coming
  • Mayu Iwatani’s 15th anniversary show
  • Jesse Ventura suggest Minnesota should leave the U.S.
  • Chris Jericho on TV show
  • Jimmy Jacobs talks working for Vince McMahon
  • Mick Foey on his mother’s death
  • Controversial independent angle makes mainstream attention and gets wrestler fired
  • Former WWE champion in talks to become a weekly TV character elsewhere
  • Former WCW attitude era announcer about to come back to wrestling
  • Ticket sales for upcoming WWE, AEW and TNA shows
  • Looking at the AEW business with Triller
  • AEW executive there from the start leaving
  • Issues with spoliation of evidence in UFC case
  • More on the White House show
  • Lots of notes on Zuffa boxing contracts
  • Notes on WWE international deals
  • Injryu updates
  • New AEW & WWE signings

This Week’s Back Issue

FIRST TIME SUBSCRIBERS GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH

Friday Update

Powerhouse Hobbs

— I don’t have much new regarding Simone Johnson (Ava) leaving WWE. She announced that her contract has expired and wasn’t going to sign a new deal earlier today. I guess there is no angle to write her off but it’ll be explained on Tuesday.

— Want to thank everyone for the nice comments about the show on Wednesday and the article on Kim Wood in today’s Observer. We talked a lot more about Wood on today’s show with Alex Marvez, who knew him well from his days covering the Cincinnati Bengals and they remained very close friends.

— AEW Dynamite did 653,000 viewers and an 0.09 in 18-49. It is the most viewers the show has done since Big Data came into being. This number doesn’t include MAX. For live and same day viewing, if you include MAX, it would beat the Raw number of the prior week and could be close to the Smackdown number as well. It’s only a one-week thing and the gains were mostly teenagers (best teenage number for a pro wrestling TV show in recent weeks) and 50+. These numbers aren’t exact but it did about 43,000 in 18-34, 81,000 in 35-49 and 107,000 in 50-54 which obviously makes no sense at all. I wouldn’t react too much to a one-week rating number, but since the focus was on multiple challengers for the world title (Swerve, Andrade, Kenny Omega, Adam Page and Brody King) that would seem to be the reason, but it’s better to wait for a pattern.

— Regarding Powerhouse Hobbs/Royce Keys and the note in the current issue. While AEW did make a big offer for him to come in, a number that just a few years ago would be very high for a pro wrestler, it wasn’t through the roof high and was not at the level of the top ten plus stars in AEW, but it was a very good five-year offer. We don’t know the WWE offer. To clarify, it was not at the level of the biggest stars in the company right now. I don’t know how much he even considered as WWE believed he was coming for some time either way. I think some had the impression he was offered top-of-the-line money and while it would have been pre-wrestling competition a great number, the salary scale throughout the industry has risen because of competition.

— Voices of Wrestling released their poll for the ten best matches of 2025:

  1. Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd 1/5
  2. MJF vs. Mistico 9/19
  3. Adam Page vs. Will Ospreay 5/25
  4. Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley 7/12
  5. Toni Storm vs. Mariah May 3/9
  6. Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 2/11
  7. Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano 4/27
  8. Bandido vs. Konosuke Takeshita 7/11
  9. El Desperado vs. Jun Kasai 6/24
  10. Sareee vs. Syuri 3/10

— Henry Miller, the former sumo and MMA fighter Sentoryu who was popular during the Pride heyday, passed away last night at the age of 56. He had lung issues.

  • — CMLL at Arena Mexico. At this writing the show is not sold out. They raised ticket prices for this one. It’s on Triller starting at 9:30 p.m. Eastern as well as on the CMLL YouTube subscription page.
  • Espiritu & Rey Cometa vs,. Coyote & Polvora
  • Cobarde & Felino Jr. & El Hijo de Stuka Jr. vs. Akuma & Los Gemelo Diablos I & II
  • Jarochita & Skadi & Tabata vs. Persephone & Sanely & Zeuxis
  • Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja & Soberano Jr. vs. Mason Madden & Mansoor & Johnny TV
  • Flip Gordon vs. Barbaro Cavernario
  • Claudio Castagnoli vs. Xelhua for the CMLL heavyweight title
  • Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Neon vs. Difunto & Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. in a non-title match
  • This is the first show with The Sky team all together in seven weeks as it’s Neon’s first match back from a broken shoulder.

— For tomorrow night at Arena  Coliseo in Mexico City, the main event is a non-title four-way with Castagnoli vs. Angel de Oro  vs. Cavernario vs. Euforia plus Johnny TV & Madden & Mansoor vs Barboza & Difunto & Furia Roja  

— Sunday at  Arena Mexico has Madden & Mansoor & TV in the main event against Atlantis Jr. & Gordon & Neon and Xelhua vs.  Euforia.  Puebla on Monday looks to be the strongest sellout chance with Mistico & Dorada & Templario vs. Cavernario & Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr. plus Atlantis Jr. vs. Ultimo Guerrero

  • — The Royal Rumble starts at 2 p.m. tomorrow from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Men’s Royal Rumble
  • Women’s Royal Rumble
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn for WWE title
  • Gunther vs. AJ Styles with Styles career at stake

— We’re looking for reports on these weekend shows:
*NXT in Nashville, TN tonight
*NXT in Birmingham, AL tomorrow
We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]

— We’ll be doing a poll on the Royal Rumble tomorrow so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

— UFC tomorrow night on Paramount from Sydney,Australia starting at 5 p.m. Eastern time:

  • Aaron Tau (129) vs. Namsral Batbayar (126) – Fight canceled due to Tau missing weight
  • Sulangrangbo (135.75) vs. Lawrence Lui (135.25)
  • Keeichiro Nakamura (145.25) vs. Sebastian Szalay (145.75)
  • Sungwook Kim (155.75) vs. Dom Mar Fan (154.75)
  • Kaan Ofli (145.25) vs. Yizha (145.5)
  • Jonathan Micalief (170.5) vs. Oban Elliott (169.75)
  • Jacob Malkoun (185.75) vs. Torrez Finney (185.75)
  • Cameron Rowston (184.5) vs.Cody Brundage (184.75)
  • Junior Tafa (202.25) vs. Billy Elekana (204)
  • Quillan Salkilld (155.5) vs. Jamie Mullarkey (155.5)
  • Tai Tuivasa (265.5) vs Tallison Teixeira (259)
  • Rafael Fiziev (155.5) vs. Mauricio Ruffy (155.25)
  • Dan Hooker (155.75) vs. Benoit Saint Denis (155.75)
  • Alexander Volkanovski (144.5) vs. Diego Lopes (145) for the UFC featherweight title

— Collision is tomorrow at 8 p.m. from Arlington, TX:

  • Mark Briscoe vs. Tommaso Ciampa for TNT title
  • Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron vs. Skye Blue & Julia Hart for AEW women’s tag titles
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Adam Priest for International title
  • Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs. Lio Rush & Action Andretti
  • Darby Allin vs. Clark Connors

— The home that Hulk Hogan lived in in Clearwater Beach, FL, is up for sale for just under $11 million. It’s 5,400 square feet with five bedrooms, with an ocean view, a pool and spa.

— Braun Strowman was released from the hospital today after surgery for an infection in his knee.

— New Japan announced they will be releasing a documentary on Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final match which will be released shortly for free on New Japan World.

— James Curtin/Rockstar Spud/Drake Maverick turns 43 today while Becky Lynch turns 39. Sailor Art Thomas was born 102 years ago today. Rick Harris/BlackBart would have been 78 today. (Thanks to Tony Richards)

–AAA on YouTube tomorrow has:

  • TJP vs. Chris Carter vs. Mini Vikingo vs. Elio LeFleur with the winner getting a cruiserweight title shot at Laredo Kid
  • Lola Vice vs. La Hiedra, winner teams with Mr. Iguana for a mixed tag team challenge against Ethan Page & Chelsea Green
  • La Parka vs. Apollo Crews vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Aerostar, winner goes to the Rey de Reyes finals.

— Last night at Arena Aficion for its 74th anniversary show before a sellout 3,500 fans, Mistico & Bandido b Soberano Jr. & Angel de Oro, Mascara Dorada & Esfinge b Mortos & Difunto, Solar drew Satanico for the Masters title were the top matches.

AEW Dynamite draws best viewership in four months

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 653,000 viewers on TBS, up 31.1 percent from the prior week. This marks the largest audience total for the show since AEW’s Blood & Guts special that took place in September 2025.

In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite drew a 0.09 rating. That’s up 12.5 percent from last week and ties the best rating the show has done in that category since November 26. Dynamite finished tied for 16th on the cable charts while going head-to-head with an NBA game on ESPN that topped the charts with a 0.59 rating in the key demo.

As compared to the same week in 2025, when Nielsen still used its panel-only ratings reporting method, Dynamite’s overall viewership was up 8.1 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 47.1 percent.

Listed below are the last 10 weeks of reported viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for Dynamite, as well as the nine-week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 32.1 percent in viewers but steady in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

AEW Dynamite ratings —

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
11/19/20250.1491,000
11/26/20250.1512,000
12/3/20250.09496,000
12/10/20250.09516,000
12/17/20250.08511,000
12/24/2025
12/31/20250.07398,000
1/7/20250.08516,000
1/14/20260.08526,000
1/21/20260.08498,000
1/28/20260.09653,000
*10 wk avg0.09496,000
*not including current week

AEW Dynamite ratings for January 21 episode

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

The January 21 episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 498,000 viewers on TBS, down 5.3 percent from the previous week. It’s the second-lowest reported audience total for the show since December 3.

Dynamite drew a 0.08 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s the same rating the show did the week before and ties the second-lowest rating Dynamite has ever drawn in that category on a Wednesday night. On the cable charts for the night, Dynamite was tied for 13th while going head-to-head with the NBA on ESPN and the NHL on TNT, which took the first and third spots on the chart.

As compared to the same week in 2025, when Nielsen was still using its old panel-only reporting method, Dynamite’s overall viewership was down 24 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 57.9 percent.

Listed below are the last 10 weeks of available viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for Dynamite (with numbers still not reported for the Christmas Eve episode), along with the nine-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 1.8 percent in viewers and 11.1 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

AEW Dynamite ratings —

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
11/12/20250.15600,000
11/19/20250.1491,000
11/26/20250.1512,000
12/3/20250.09496,000
12/10/20250.09516,000
12/17/20250.08511,000
12/24/2025
12/31/20250.07398,000
1/7/20250.08516,000
1/14/20260.08526,000
1/21/20260.08498,000
*10 wk avg0.09507,333
*not including current week

AEW Dynamite ratings up for first episode of 2026

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

The January 7 edition AEW Dynamite averaged 516,000 viewers on TBS, up 29.7 percent from the New Year’s Smash episode the prior week. This ties the best audience total the show has done since November 12.

Dynamite drew a 0.08 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 14.3 percent from last week’s record low but ties the second-lowest rating the show has ever done in that category on a Wednesday night.

As compared to the same week in 2025, when Nielsen was still using its old panel-only reporting system, Dynamite’s overall viewership was down 16.1 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 52.9 percent.

Listed below are the last 10 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings that are currently available for Dynamite, as well as the nine-week average in both categories. Numbers for the episode that aired on Christmas Eve have not yet been reported. This week’s show was up 3.6 percent in viewers but down 11.1 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

AEW Dynamite does record low viewers for New Year’s Eve episode

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Image: AEW

Last Wednesday’s New Year’s Eve edition of AEW Dynamite averaged 398,000 viewers on TBS, down 22.1% from the last episode to air in its regular time slot two weeks earlier.

That marks the lowest audience Dynamite has ever done on a Wednesday with the only two lower numbers coming when the show was moved to Tuesday.

Dynamite averaged a 0.07 rating in the 18-49 demo, down 12.5% from the December 17 episode. That ties the record low rating the show has done in that category, regardless of day or time slot.

Numbers are still not available for the Christmas Eve Dynamite.

As compared to the same week in 2024 and using Nielsen’s previous ratings reporting method, overall viewership was down 32.3% while the 18-49 rating was down 56.3%. This year’s numbers do not include people watching on HBO Max.

Listed below are the last 10 weeks of available total viewers and 18-49 demo ratings for AEW Dynamite on TBS as well as the nine week average in both categories with the December 24 numbers not available.

This week’s show was down 21.4% in overall viewers and 30% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
10/22/20250.08477,000
10/29/20250.08459,000
11/5/20250.09497,000
11/12/20250.15600,000
11/19/20250.1491,000
11/26/20250.1512,000
12/3/20250.09496,000
12/10/20250.09516,000
12/17/20250.08511,000
12/24/2025Not AvailableNot Available
12/31/20250.07398,000
*9 wk avg0.1506,556

AEW Dynamite viewership up, 18-49 rating steady

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 516,000 viewers on TBS, up 4% from the previous week. It was the highest audience for the show since November 12th.

Dynamite averaged a 0.09 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s identical to last week’s rating and ties the lowest rating the show has done in that category since October 29th.

The show went head to head with a women’s college basketball game on ESPN that topped the cable ratings chart with a 0.18 rating in the 18-49 demo. It also went up against CBS’s Survivor which topped all television with a 0.73 rating in the key demo.

As compared to the same week in 2024, and under Nielsen’s previous ratings reporting system, the overall viewership was down 13.1% while the 18-49 rating was down 47.1%. This year’s numbers do not include viewership on HBO Max.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for AEW Dynamite on TBS as well as the 10 week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 6.3% in overall viewers but down 10% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
10/1/20250.09465,000
10/7/20250.07321,000
10/15/20250.11534,000
10/22/20250.08477,000
10/29/20250.08459,000
11/5/20250.09497,000
11/12/20250.15600,000
11/19/20250.1491,000
11/26/20250.1512,000
12/3/20250.09496,000
12/10/20250.09516,000
*10 wk avg0.10485,200
*not includingcurrent week

AEW Dynamite viewership and 18-49 demo rating down slightly

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

The December 3 episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 496,000 viewers on TBS, down 3.1 percent from the previous week. It’s the second-lowest audience total for the show since October 29.

Dynamite drew a 0.09 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 10 percent from the prior week and ties the third-lowest rating the show has done in that category since October 7.

The only major sports competition on the night was college basketball on ESPN. Parts of two different games aired head-to-head with Dynamite and averaged 844,000 and 928,000 viewers respectively.

As compared to the same week in 2024 (under Nielsen’s old panel-only ratings reporting method), Dynamite’s overall viewership was down 15.4 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 47.1 percent. This year’s numbers also do not including viewership on HBO Max.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for Dynamite, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 0.7 percent in viewers and 10 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
9/24/20250.14638,000
10/1/20250.09465,000
10/7/20250.07321,000
10/15/20250.11534,000
10/22/20250.08477,000
10/29/20250.08459,000
11/5/20250.09497,000
11/12/20250.15600,000
11/19/20250.1491,000
11/26/20250.1512,000
12/3/20250.09496,000
*10 wk avg0.10499,400
*not including current week

Note: The first week on the chart was before Nielsen switched to its new Big Data + Panel system.