Saturday night’s episode of AEW Collision averaged 421,000 viewers on TNT, down 16.1% from last week when they had the benefit of the NBA All Star Skills competition as a lead-in. It was up 8.8% from two weeks ago in the normal time slot.
Collision averaged a 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 42.9% from last week, but up 20% from two weeks ago. It was the second highest rating in that category so far in 2025.
The show ranked 5th on night in the cable ratings according to Wrestlenomics.
As compared to the same week in 2024, the show was up 9.4% in overall viewers and 9.1% in 18-49. This does not include viewers simulcasting on the MAX streaming service.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings as well as the 10 week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 19.7% in overall viewers and 9.1% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.
Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 563,000 viewers on TBS, down 2.8 percent from last week. It’s the lowest viewership total for the show since November 27.
Dynamite drew a 0.17 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 6.3 percent from last week’s number but ties the third-lowest rating the show has done in that category since the November 27 episode, which was Thanksgiving Eve.
Neither the overall viewership nor 18-49 rating include viewers streaming the show on Max.
There was no major sports competition with both the NBA and NHL on a break from regular season games.
As compared to the same week in 2024, Dynamite’s overall viewership was down 32 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 41.4 percent.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for Dynamite, as well as the 10 week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down eight percent in overall viewers but steady in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
AEW is returning to Boston this April for a live Dynamite episode and Collision taping.
Dynamite will take place live from MGM Music Hall in Boston on Wednesday, April 16. AEW will then be back at the same venue the next night (Thursday, April 17) for a Collision taping. MGM Music Hall is a concert venue located next to Fenway Park and has a listed capacity of 5,009 before production configuration.
A ticket pre-sale will begin this Thursday (February 20) at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
If the Collision episode airs in its regular Saturday time slot that week, it will be going up against the first night of WWE WrestleMania 41.
This is AEW’s first time back in Boston since TD Garden hosted the Big Business edition of Dynamite in March 2024, which featured hometown star Mercedes Mone making her AEW debut. TD Garden previously hosted Dynamite Blood & Guts in July 2023. Prior to that, AEW’s Boston shows were held at Agganis Arena.
Wednesday night’s pre-taped edition of AEW Dynamite averaged 579,000 viewers on TBS, down 4.3 percent from last week. It’s the lowest audience total for the show since Christmas night this past December.
Dynamite drew a 0.16 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 5.9 percent from last week and ties the lowest rating the show has done in that category since November 27. Neither the 18-49 rating nor the overall viewership include viewers streaming the show on Max.
The show went head-to-head with the usual NBA and college basketball competition as well as the opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament that aired on TNT.
As compared to the same week in 2024, Dynamite’s overall viewership was down 28.6 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 46.7 percent. The latter number is Dynamite’s worst decline for an episode where both years aired in the regular time slot since June 19, 2024.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 ratings for Dynamite, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 5.5 percent in viewers and 11.1 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
Wednesday night’s AEW Dynamite episode averaged 605,000 viewers on TBS, almost the exact same as the 604,000 viewers the show did last week. It’s the second-lowest audience total the show has drawn since January 1.
In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite drew a 0.17 rating. That’s identical to last week’s rating and ties the second-lowest number the show has done in that category since November 27. Neither the viewership total nor 18-49 rating includes people streaming the show on Max.
The show went head-to-head with an NBA game on ESPN that averaged a 0.36 rating in 18-49. Dynamite ranked fifth on cable for the night in the demo.
As compared to the same week in 2024, Dynamite’s overall viewership was down 24.8 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 39.3 percent.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for Dynamite, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was almost identical in both viewership and 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite on TBS averaged 604,000 viewers, down 7.8% from the previous week and the lowest audience for the show since January 1st.
Dynamite finished sixth on the primetime cable charts with a 0.17 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 10.5% from last week and ties the second lowest rating in that category the show has done since November 27th.
The overall viewership and 18-49 demo rating does not include people who watched the show on the Max simulcast.
The only major sports competition was an NBA game on ESPN which did 1.129 million viewers and a 0.34 rating in the 18-49 demo to top the cable charts. Cable news shows were also part of the aforementioned top six.
As compared to the same week in 2024, overall viewership was down 26.2% while the 18-49 rating was down 34.6%.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall Dynamite on TBS viewership and 18-49 demo ratings as well as the ten-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 0.9% in overall viewers and 5.6% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.
– Garrett and I will be doing our weekly news review show and discussing the stories in the current issue of the Observer later today. Our weekend show will be Sunday night this week.
What are the issues with AEW and what can be done to fix some of them easily
A look at Wednesday’s show and the different issues regarding the big picture
Why WWE doesn’t get hurt when it does the same things listed as mistakes when AEW does them
Where AEW actually stands in television
Preview of Saturday Night’s Main Event, Royal Rumble and business notes
UFC 311 coverage of the show changed at the last minute
A look at TNA’s Genesis PPV, its relationship with WWE and its first live TV shoot
Game Changer Wrestling returns to the Hammerstein
What happened with PCO and why
2024 Awards ballot
The most detailed look at the ratings over the past week including Raw on Netflix
New CMLL marketing gimmick
Stardom comes up with new booking concept and debuts it this past week
Dragon Gate comes to the U.S.
Japanese promotions try to present united front
Notes on first live TNA TV show in eight years
Britt Baker update
Ricky Starks update
Grand Slam Australia update
Notes on new AEW dates
Major issue long-term for AEW younger talents
Advanced ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEW shows
International TV ratings and streaming numbers
More on Dana White and boxing
Chris Weidman retires
Craig Piligian announced for UFC Hall of Fame
One of the most popular fighters from 15 year ago cut by UFC
Lots more on WrestleMania
Corey Graves update
We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback already on the lead story.
– SmackDown is tonight in Austin, TX. The only stuff announced is LA Knight vs. Tama Tonga, Motor City Machine Guns vs. Pretty Deadly, and a Cody Rhodes interview. They were 2,500 shy of capacity with 9,700 tickets out as of last night.
– El Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, which is CMLL’s traditional second biggest show of the year, was announced for 3/21 at Arena Mexico. The finals of the tournament for the vacant CMLL women’s tag team championship (the one Tessa Blanchard held with Lluvia) will be on that show.
– Nikki Garcia (Bella) is in talks with WWE about wrestling again.
– Conor McGregor in an interview with The Schmo said that the fight with Logan Paul fell through due to UFC not approving of the fight. McGregor is still under a UFC contract. He had talked about the fight for weeks but nobody took it seriously because UFC would have to approve it and Dana White continually said that it’s not happening.
– AEW’s show on Wednesday night, not factoring in the MAX numbers, was the highest rated show on TBS as best we can tell over the prior 17 days. We don’t get every rating but for prime time it was. As far as prime time goes, it would have been the second highest rated show of the year on the station at 0.19.
– TNA is taping television in San Antonio tonight.
– We’re looking for reports this weekend on both SmackDown tonight (stuff off the air like dark matches or Speed matches) and from the TNA tapings with results, finishes and highlights to [email protected].
– Renato Moicano was on the Show Me The Money podcast and said he got paid an extra more than $950,000 to take the fight with Islam Makhachev on short notice last weekend. Moicano was listed as making $250,000 for the match, but that would not include bonuses.
– There is no UFC show this weekend with the next show on 2/1. The biggest MMA event this weekend is PFL in Dubai UAE, with the main card on MAX airing at 11 a.m. Eastern
Renat Khavalov (136) vs. Cleiver Fernandes (135.9)
Ibragim Ibragimov (146) vs. Kenny Mokhonoana (147) – Mokhonoana missed weight by one point
Akhmed Magomedov (145.7) vs. Nathan Kelly (145.6)
Vadim Nemkov (242.4) vs. Tim Johnson (264.2)
Usman Nurmagomedov (154.9) vs. Paul Hughes (155) for the Bellator lightweight title
– The GFL is doing its draft tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch and DAZN. It’s a team format with six coaches and managers picking fighters over 20 rounds.
– Dominick Reyes vs. Nikita Krylov in a light heavyweight bout takes place on the 4/12 UFC PPV show that is believed to be taking place in Miami.
– The former Titan Towers, that WWE was no longer using, was sold to MB Financial Group for $3.75 million with the idea of turning it into apartment buildings.
– Leon Slater has been announced for the wXw 16 Carat Gold tournament in March.
– The Scioto Valley Guardian has a story on Dillon Hines, the son of Bobby Fulton, and issues a lot of talent have had with him in shows he’s helped put together in Chillicothe, OH. Rob Van Dam in particular has talked about issues on his podcast. Hines has said he will be getting out of wrestling in March.
– Former WWE performer/wrestler Danille Moinet (Summer Rae) is doing media at Super Bowl week in New Orleans. She’s working as a broadcaster for the BYB Extreme promotion which does Bare Knuckle fighting which airs on FUSE TV, Fight Network in Canada and Bein Sports.
– Penta was officially announced for the 3/10 Raw in Madison Square Garden.
Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 655,000 viewers on TBS, down 3.5 percent from last week. It’s still the second-highest viewership total for the show since November 13.
Dynamite drew a 0.19 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 5.6 percent from last week and ties the best rating the show has done in that category since the November 20 episode.
The show went head-to-head with an NBA game on ESPN that topped the cable charts with a 0.37 rating in 18-49 and averaged 1.172 million viewers overall.
The Dynamite totals do not include people who were watching on Max.
As compared to the same week in 2024, the show’s overall viewership was down 21.7 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 29.6 percent.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for Dynamite, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 7.3 percent in overall viewers and 5.6 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
The biggest attended shows in combat sports of 2024
Who drew the most big crowds of the year
What companies drew the biggest crowds
Amazing UFC PPV gates
The biggest pro wrestling drawing card by the year from 1916 to 2024
The biggest enduring drawing cards of all-time and where the modern stars rank with the historical stars
Updating all the Vince McMahon legal issues, from the SEC findings, the criminal investigation an the lawsuits, plus several things that have happened regarding the Grant chase this past week and who are with Vince for his start of a new company
WWE and NBC book Saturday Night’s Main Event head-to-head with All In Texas
The history of this tactic, and an estimate of how much revenue it would cost AEW
WWE on Netflix, what episode one did for business, trying to figure out what the numbers mean, time of show and more
WWE & TNA make deal
New Japan Battle in the Valley coverage
The arenas in the U.S. that have held pro wrestling for the longest amount of time
Bret Hart talks his favorite wrestler and the life of Sweet Daddy Siki
What is up with Corey Graves
Death of Ray Richard
The most detailed look at the TV ratings over the past week and key takes
Blue Panther vs. Hechicero
Athena tours Stardom
New Japan big shows coming up
Thoughts on the death of Bob Uecker
VOW best wrestlers of 2024
More on the AEW show in Brisbane, Australia
Lots more on AEW ratings declines and where
Darby Allin update
Ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEw shows
International TV ratings and streaming numbers
Conor McGregro sued again in a sex case
PFL drops the Bellator name, releases Bellator’s biggest star and cuts tournament prize money in half
Lots of new stuff from GFL
WWE sets more business records
Notes on the next Saturday Night’s Main Event
Paul Heyman talks booking
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
On social media, DDP posted photos with Trick Williams and said fans can expect big things from Williams whenever he joins the main roster:
Last night I was at @WWENXT & ran into one of my favorite performers @_trickwilliams!
A little over a year ago I was doing an interview and I was asked who I thought would be the next #NXT Superstar to cross over to the main #WWE roster and make a serious impact. I said it would be Trick! Nothing has changed I think you can expect big things when my man crosses over
When asked about rumors of New Orleans hosting WrestleMania in 2026 and Indianapolis getting the event in 2027, a spokesperson for Mayor Sadiq Khan told the Daily Star that he remains determined to bring WrestleMania to London:
London has great pedigree in hosting the biggest international sporting events from around the globe.
The Mayor remains determined to bring even more sports from around the world to London, including the first international WrestleMania hosted by the UK, and continues to discuss future opportunities.
The Mayor wants to cement London’s reputation as the undisputed sporting capital of the world, as we work together to build a better London for everyone.
The pre-sale for individual-night WrestleMania 41 tickets began on Ticketmaster today. “ALLWWE” is one of the pre-sale codes that works.
Dragon Lee posted a video on his Instagram stories saying the reason he hasn’t been around in WWE lately is because he and his wife are preparing for the imminent birth of their new daughter. Lee is the men’s WWE Speed Champion and is scheduled to defend the title soon against either Chad Gable or Chris Sabin.
On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Kurt Angle looked back on his 2019 match against Chad Gable and praised Gable as a performer:
It was okay, but Chad made me look good. Chad is incredible. He’s a very talented kid, and I’m just glad that they’re utilizing him properly. I know because he’s undersized a little bit, they didn’t know what to do with [him]. But this kid could be a World Champion and be very marketable. I mean, especially with the gimmick he has right now with the whole USA thing and the ‘You Suck’ and everything, he’s like my son. [He should have been your son]. Yeah, he should have been, exactly. But Vince McMahon had other ideas having Jason Jordan be my son, which was ridiculous, but that was cool.
Tony Khan tweeted this afternoon that, due to travel issues, some wrestlers have not arrived for tonight’s AEW Dynamite in Knoxville, Tennessee yet. Card changes will be made if necessary: “With winter weather, most of our team is here, but some are still battling icy roads + canceled flights! Like pandemic era, I’ll make changes if necessary to ensure you see a great show tonight!”
During a virtual signing for K&S WrestleFest, Elijah (former WWE wrestler Elias) said he’d love to return to WWE in the future and isn’t writing off the possibility. He thinks there is a lot left for him to do in the company:
Elias can and could and should do so much more in WWE. They only scratched the surface with my capabilities. I had a lot of great moments, some incredible guys to go up against.
MLW announced that the House of Duran (Cesar Duran, Salina de la Renta, Jesus Rodriguez & D’Oro) will appear at SuperFight 2025 in Atlanta on Saturday, February 8.
Ticket packages for GCW’s The Collective will be available starting this Friday (January 24) with individual tickets then going on sale next Friday (January 31).
Former NXT UK wrestler Sam Gradwell will be out of action for 6-9 months after undergoing surgery for a torn ACL that he suffered in 2024: “I bloody love ACL Reconstructions. Quitting them cold Turkey after this one though. See you in 6-9 months Wrestling.”
Wednesday night’s Maximum Carnage edition of AEW Dynamite averaged 679,000 viewers on TBS, up 10.4 percent from last week. It’s the best TV viewership total for the show since October 2, though no data has been made available for Dynamite’s Max simulcast since that began at the start of 2025.
Dynamite drew a 0.18 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 5.9 percent from last week and ties the second-highest rating the show has done in that category since November 20.
The episode was headlined by a rare televised AEW World Championship match between Jon Moxley and Powerhouse Hobbs, featured Kenny Omega’s first AEW match since December 2023, and also included the first-ever women’s Casino Gauntlet Match.
As compared to the same week in 2024, Dynamite’s overall viewership was down 23.8 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 45.5 percent, so the television audience is skewing much older. With the show simulcast on Max it’s likely — but not known for sure — that those viewers would be younger than on traditional television.
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 show was up 14.2 percent in viewers but steady in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
On his What Happened When podcast, Tony Schiavone explained why he was absent from AEW Dynamite last week.
Schiavone wasn’t on AEW commentary last Wednesday but returned over the weekend for Collision. Dave Meltzer reported that a family situation caused Schiavone to miss the Dynamite episode — and Schiavone confirmed on his podcast that his absence was planned and was due to his wife Lois undergoing hip replacement surgery. She got out of the hospital last Wednesday after having surgery done on Tuesday.
“She’s actually moving quite well now. But it’s slow, it really is,” Schiavone said. “They do not do rehab, physical therapy, for a hip. They just tell you to walk. So the recovery time, I guess, is based on how much you get out and you move. And she’s been, you know, hasn’t really been getting out, but she’s been moving. She’s been going up the steps, she’s been going down the steps, to the bedroom, she’s been putting herself into the bed. And you got to swing the hips to get in.
“So I don’t know what the recovery time is. But as far as pain management is concerned, I’m thinking that the pain has been subsiding and she’s been able to cut down on the meds. So I would think maybe in the next couple of weeks she would be much, much better pain-wise. As far as getting around-wise, I’m not sure.”
Ian Riccaboni filled in for Schiavone on Dynamite commentary last week. Schiavone’s absence led to fan speculation that he was being punished for a tweet he had sent out about NJPW commentator Chris Charlton, but that was not the case.
Charlton is on indefinite hiatus from NJPW commentary after anti-AEW comments he made during Wrestle Dynasty, which took place at the Tokyo Dome on January 5 and featured wrestlers from NJPW, AEW, Stardom, CMLL, and ROH.
“Hey [Chris Charlton] speaking for all of us in AEW, GFY. And speaking for all of us who have been around you, take a shower once in a while,” Schiavone tweeted before deleting the post.
Wednesday night’s AEW Dynamite episode averaged 615,000 viewers on TBS, up 4.6 percent from last week. It’s the largest audience total for the show since December 18 and is the second-largest number for Dynamite since November 20.
In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite finished sixth on the primetime cable charts with a 0.17 rating. That’s up 6.3 percent from last week but ties the second-lowest rating the show has done in that category since November 27.
These numbers do not include any data from Dynamite’s simulcast on Max.
The show went head-to-head with one of the biggest NBA regular season games of the year between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers, which topped the cable charts with 1.87 million viewers overall and a 0.59 rating in the 18-49 demo. Cable news coverage of the wildfires in Southern California also meant that those stations had more viewers than normal.
As compared to the same week in 2024, Dynamite’s overall viewership was down 22.8 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 41.4 percent, so the audience skewed a lot older. That could be evidence that the Max simulcast is steering younger viewers to the streaming app.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for Dynamite on TBS, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 3.2 percent in overall viewers as compared to the recent averages, but the 18-49 rating was down 5.6 percent.
A family situation caused Tony Schiavone to miss Wednesday night’s edition of AEW Dynamite.
Schiavone was not on commentary for last night’s show from Clarksville, Tennessee. Ian Riccaboni and Matt Menard called Dynamite alongside Excalibur, who said that Schiavone was “on assignment.” The absence led to fan speculation that Schiavone had been punished for a now-deleted tweet he sent out earlier this week aimed at NJPW commentator Chris Charlton, but Dave Meltzer says that is not the case. Schiavone missed the show because of a family situation but should be back soon.
“He wasn’t on the show tonight, and it’s nothing big or anything like that,” Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio. “When he wasn’t there, I started getting all these people going like, ‘Oh my God, did he get suspended for that [tweet]?’ But it was just a family situation. He’s fine, he’ll be back, you know, I presume on Saturday. It’s not anything to be alarmed over. It was just a family situation, he missed one show. So that’s the situation there.”
Meltzer reported on Monday that Charlton is on “indefinite hiatus” from NJPW due to negative comments he made about AEW on commentary during Wrestle Dynasty at the Tokyo Dome, which featured wrestlers from NJPW, AEW, Stardom, CMLL, and ROH.
In response to Charlton’s comments, Schiavone tweeted the following before deleting it: “Hey [Chris Charlton] speaking for all of us in AEW, GFY. And speaking for all of us who have been around you, take a shower once in a while.”
AEW Collision is taking place live from Athens, Georgia this Saturday (January 11).
The AEW women’s division is set to compete in its first-ever Casino Gauntlet Match.
Tony Khan has confirmed that the first-ever women’s Casino Gauntlet Match will take place on Dynamite next week (Wednesday, January 15). The winner earns an AEW Women’s World Championship shot against Mariah May at Grand Slam Australia next month.
NEXT WED, 1/15! Cincinnati, OH Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS + MAX#MaximumCarnage Women's Casino Gauntlet Match
The Women's Casino Gauntlet winner will face the AEW Women's World Champion at Grand Slam Australia!
In the Casino Gauntlet Match, two competitors start and then new entrants are added at regular intervals. The match ends when the first fall is scored, so it is better to enter early than late. The later participants may never get a chance to enter the match.
Grand Slam Australia is being held in Brisbane on Saturday, February 15. We’ll see if this Casino Gauntlet sets up a rematch between Toni Storm and May for Storm’s homecoming. After dropping the AEW Women’s World Championship to May at All In last year, Storm went missing from AEW programming and then returned with an amnesia gimmick where she believes she’s a rookie.
The Casino Gauntlet stipulation has been utilized before for the men’s and tag team divisions. A men’s Casino Gauntlet Match is happening on Dynamite this week with the winner earning an AEW World Championship shot against Jon Moxley on the January 15 Dynamite.
Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio is hosting the January 15 Dynamite episode, a special show named Maximum Carnage. Here is the updated lineup:
AEW Dynamite Maximum Carnage (Wednesday, January 15) —
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defends against men’s Casino Gauntlet Match winner
Hook vs. Christian Cage
Women’s Casino Gauntlet match for AEW Women’s World Championship shot at Grand Slam Australia
The New Year’s night episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 588,000 viewers on TBS, up 2.4% from the previous week. It’s the third highest audience for the show since November 20th.
Dynamite finished 6th on the primetime cable charts and ninth overall on television, with a 0.16 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 11.1% from last week and is the lowest rating the show has done in that category since November 27th. This was the first episode of AEW Dynamite simulcast on the Max streaming service and these numbers do not include those viewers.
The show aired head to head with the ending of the Rose Bowl as well as the hour long post game show which topped all television with over 6.5 million viewers and a 1.78 rating in the 18-49 demo.
As compared to the first show of 2024, the overall viewership was down 26.6% while the 18-49 rating was down 38.5%.
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 down 2.1% in overall viewers and 11.1% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.
