Tag: wrestling ratings

AEW Dynamite ratings down for Full Gear go-home show

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Wednesday’s Full Gear go-home edition of AEW Dynamite averaged 491,000 viewers on TBS, down 18.2% from the previous week and their lowest audience for the show since October 29th.

A one-hour AEW Collision, immediately following Dynamite, averaged 322,000 viewers. That’s down 19.5% from the previous time the show followed Dynamite and the lowest it’s done when airing on a Wednesday night.

Dynamite averaged a 0.10 rating in the 18-49 demo, down 33.3% from last week but was also the second-best rating the show has done in that category since October 15. Collision averaged a 0.07 rating, down 36.4% from the last Wednesday airing. Dynamite finished 9th on the cable charts while Collision finished 18th.

The audience retention for the third hour was 65.6% in total viewers and 70% in 18-49. That’s down from the 74.9% and and 100% that the show did last month when it followed Dynamite.

As compared to the same week in 2024 and using Nielsen’s former rating reporting system, the overall viewership was down 23.3% while the 18-49 rating was down 50%. This year’s numbers do not include people watching 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 episode was down 6.4% in overall viewers and 9.1% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

Beginning on October 1st, Nielsen started using the Big Data + Panel reporting system which has resulted in a severe decline in most wrestling show’s ratings.

DateAEW 18-49AEW total viewers
9/10/20250.13584,000
9/17/20250.14667,000
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
11/19/20250.10491,000
*10 week average*0.11524,200

*Not including current week

WWE NXT gets ratings increase for Gold Rush week one

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Week one of Gold Rush 2025 earned WWE NXT a noticeable ratings increase.

Tuesday’s NXT special averaged 650,000 viewers on The CW, an improvement of 17 percent from last week. The episode aired live from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City and featured several title matches, including Jacy Jayne defeating Tatum Paxley to regain the NXT Women’s Championship.

Gold Rush drew a 0.11 rating in the 18-49 demo, which is up 57 percent from last week. In both overall viewership and the key demo, these are the best numbers for NXT since October 14.

The top-rated show on all of television on Tuesday night was ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, averaging more than seven million viewers and drawing a 1.50 rating in 18-49. There was sports competition from college basketball, the NBA, and the college football playoff rankings show.

Gold Rush will conclude next Tuesday when part two airs on The CW. Spoilers for that episode can be found here.

The chart below shows a look at NXT’s ratings over the last 11 weeks. It should be noted that Nielsen switched to its new Big Data + Panel reporting system at the start of October, which has resulted in across-the-board decreases for wrestling programming. The CW issued a statement this week calling the drops for NXT “inexplicable.”

DateWWE NXT 18-49WWE NXT total viewers
9/9/20250.14654,000
9/16/20250.17737,000
9/23/20250.17707,000
9/30/20250.10572,000
10/7/20250.12625,000
10/14/20250.12690,000
10/21/20250.07525,000
10/28/20250.07527,000
11/4/20250.08528,000
11/11/20250.07554,000
11/18/20250.11650,000

CW addresses ‘inexplicable’ drop in WWE NXT ratings under new Nielsen system

Posted on by Josh Nason

Count The CW among those frustrated about the new way that Nielsen is measuring TV ratings, especially when it comes to WWE NXT.

The outlet released a statement to Wrestlenomics that was in a feature piece Thursday regarding the new “Big Panel + Data” approach Nielsen rolled out in September. That new method has seen WWE NXT ratings dip noticeably in addition to other pro wrestling shows that air on traditional cable TV.

In the statement, a spokesperson said they have expressed to Nielsen “our deep frustration with the way it handled the process, communication, and methodology behind its Big Data rollout.”

Wrestlenomics noted that according to sources, NXT has measured 9% lower in total viewership on average under the new method with demo dips of 27% in 18-49 and 29% in 25-54.

From The CW statement:

“The sudden and substantial discrepancy in WWE NXT viewership reported by Big Data, relative to long-established viewing patterns, is inexplicable and lacks credibility. Further, a comparison with data from all other measurement products (including others from Nielsen itself) exposes a fundamentally flawed methodology in Big Data. We are disappointed by Nielsen’s lack of cooperation, transparency, and accountability with its network partners as we work to resolve this issue.”

As noted on this site and elsewhere, weekly viewership numbers for WWE SmackDown (USA on Fridays) and both AEW Dynamite (TBS on Wednesdays) and AEW Collision (TNT on Saturdays) have also seen significant dips with the new method while other sports programming has not, leaving analysts confused as to why. The changes have not affected major sports like the NFL and Major League Baseball which saw huge spikes during this year’s playoffs.

From Wrestlenomics’ viewership data, SmackDown has been down 14% under the new way with Dynamite down 9% and Collision down 6% in total viewers. Both Dynamite and SmackDown have also experienced double digit demo drops while Collision’s are in the 2-7% range.

From our Dave Meltzer on the new methodology:

“Nielsen now combines data from its traditional panel homes with information from internet-connected smart TVs, set-top boxes, and other devices. The updated methodology also accounts for viewing in public settings like bars and restaurants, which was a significant factor that was previously difficult to measure. Formerly, most of the data came from 40,000 to 45,000 Nielsen homes. Now there is data coming from more than 45 million homes and 75 million devices and will provide far more data.”

WWE SmackDown ratings up, best viewership in four weeks

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.158 million viewers on USA Network, up 1.5 percent from the previous week. It’s the best audience total for the show since October 17.

SmackDown drew a 0.27 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 3.8 percent from the November 7 episode and is the highest rating the show has done in that category since October 24. SmackDown finished second on cable and fifth overall on TV in the key demo for the night.

There was head-to-head competition from college football games on Fox and ESPN, with those games and the pre-show for the Fox game taking the top three spots on the charts. CBS’ Sheriff Country was the only other program to beat SmackDown.

As compared to the same week in 2024, using Nielsen’s old panel-only reporting method, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 6.2 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 15.6 percent. That episode in 2024 had lower-than-usual numbers due to taking place on the same night as Netflix’s Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing special.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down three percent in viewers and 12.9 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Beginning on October 1, Nielsen started using the Big Data + Panel reporting method which has resulted in severe ratings declines for most wrestling shows.

AEW Dynamite sees huge ratings increase for Blood & Guts

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 600,000 viewers on TBS, up 20.7% from the previous week. It’s the largest episode for the show since Nielsen started using their new ratings reporting system.

Dynamite finished 6th on the prime time cable charts with a 0.15 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 60% from last week and is the largest rating the show has done in that category since August 20th.

The show went head to head with an NBA game on ESPN that topped the 18-49 ratings chart as well as cable news channels which were way up due to Jeffrey Epstein coverage.

As compared to the same week in 2024, and with Nielsen’s former ratings measurement system, the overall viewership was down 9.9% while the 18-49 rating was down 31.8%. 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 as well as the 10 week average in both categories. Beginning October 1st, Nielsen started using the Big Data + Panel system which has resulted in a severe decline in most wrestling ratings particularly in the 18-49 demo. This week’s show was up 17.3% in overall viewers and 50% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

WWE NXT viewership up, 18-49 demo rating down

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Tuesday night’s WWE NXT episode averaged 554,000 viewers on The CW, an increase of 4.9 percent from last week. It’s the best audience total for the show since October 14.

In the 18-49 demo, NXT drew a 0.07 rating. That’s down 12.5 percent from last week and ties the lowest rating NXT has ever done in that category. NXT finished last on network television with less than half of what the next-lowest show did in the key demo, though The CW is generally a lower-rated station than the other major networks.

The show went head-to-head, as it will all season, with the NBA on NBC, which was second on network TV to ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. The NBA broadcast drew a 0.42 rating in 18-49 and averaged 2.237 million viewers overall.

As compared to the same week in 2024 (under the previous Nielsen panel-only reporting method), NXT’s overall viewership was down 12.2 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 56.3 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for NXT, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 10.9 percent in viewers and 41.8 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Starting on October 1, Nielsen began using the new Big Data + Panel measurement system. The change has resulted in severe declines for most wrestling shows, particularly in the 18-49 demo.

WWE NXT ratings up slightly this week

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Tuesday night’s WWE NXT episode averaged 528,000 viewers on The CW, a slight increase from the almost identical number (527,000) the show did last week. This marks the best audience total for the show since October 14.

In the 18-49 demo, NXT drew a 0.08 rating. That’s up 14.3 percent from last week and is also the highest rating the show has recorded in that category since the October 14 episode.

The show went head-to-head with an NBA game on NBC, as well as cable news coverage of the 2025 U.S. elections which dominated the cable charts for the night.

As compared to the same week in 2024, when Nielsen was still using its panel-only ratings measurement system, NXT’s overall viewership was down 14.7 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 52.9 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for NXT, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 16 percent in overall viewers and 33.3 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Beginning on October 1, Nielsen switched to its new Big Data + Panel measurement system that has resulted in severe declines for most wrestling television shows, particularly in the 18-49 demo.

AEW Collision ratings down, ties record low 18-49 number

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Saturday night’s Fright Night episode of AEW Collision averaged 217,000 viewers on TNT, down 4.8 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience total for Collision since September 20, when it aired in the afternoon prior to the All Out pay-per-view.

In the 18-49 demo, the show drew a 0.03 rating. That’s down 25 percent from last week and matches the lowest rating Collision has ever done in that category regardless of date or time slot.

Collision went against big competition from sports and other wrestling. Game seven of the MLB World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays was the highest-rated baseball game in seven years, ranking first on television with 24.8 million viewers and a 5.85 rating in the 18-49 demo. There was also a slate of college football games, along with Collision going against WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event on Peacock.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under Nielsen’s old panel-only ratings system, Collision’s overall viewership was down 37.8 percent while its 18-49 rating was down 66.7 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for Collision, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 23.5 percent in viewers and 50 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Starting on October 1, Nielsen began using the Big Data + Panel ratings measurement system, which has generally resulted in lower-than-usual ratings for most wrestling programming but has not affected Collision as much as others.

WWE SmackDown draws record low ratings on Halloween

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s Halloween edition of WWE SmackDown averaged 933,000 viewers on USA Network, down 18.7 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience total the show has ever done on USA Network and lowest overall number for SmackDown since an episode that was moved to FS1 in November 2023.

SmackDown drew a 0.20 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 31 percent from the prior week and is also the lowest rating the show has done on USA. Other than a clip show on New Year’s Eve 2020, it’s the lowest rating SmackDown has ever done on any network.

Along with airing on Halloween (traditionally a bad night for wrestling shows), SmackDown went head-to-head with game six of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. The baseball game averaged 17.4 million viewers on Fox alone — in addition to airing on other platforms — and drew a 3.28 rating in the 18-49 demo, topping all of television in both categories.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under Nielsen’s old panel-only measurement system, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 34.7 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 52.4 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 24 percent in viewers and 39.4 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Starting on October 1, Nielsen switched to the new Big Data + Panel ratings measurement system, which has resulted in lower-than-usual ratings for most wrestling shows.

AEW Dynamite ratings down against World Series

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 459,000 viewers on TBS, down 3.8% from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience the show has ever done on a Wednesday night.

Dynamite averaged a 0.08 rating in the 18-49 demo. That ties what the rating was in that category last week and is also the record low for the show on a Wednesday, beating only the 0.07 when the show moved to Tuesday and went head to head with NXT.

The show went head to head with Game 5 of MLB’s World Series which topped all television with 14.567 million viewers and a 3.02 rating in the 18-49 demo on FOX. Dynamite finished 7th on the prime time cable charts, also going head to head with an NBA game on ESPN that averaged 1.28 million viewers and topped that chart with a 0.38 18-49 rating.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under Nielsen’s former ratings measurement system, the overall viewership was down 26.9% while the 18-49 rating was down 57.9%. This year’s numbers do not include people watching on HBO Max.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for AEW Dynamite on TBS. It’s important to note that Nielsen switched to the new Big Data + Panel ratings measurement system that has had a negative effect on ratings for most pro wrestling shows. This week’s episode was down 13.5% in overall viewers and 33.3% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

WWE NXT ratings steady against World Series game four

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Tuesday night’s WWE NXT episode averaged 527,000 viewers on The CW, almost identical to the 525,000 viewers the show did last week. It’s the second-lowest audience NXT has done since Nielsen switched to its new Big Data + Panel ratings measurement system.

NXT drew a 0.07 rating in the 18-49 demo, the same number as the show did last week. It ties the lowest rating NXT has ever done in that category.

The episode went head-to-head with game four of the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, which topped all of television with 14.87 million viewers across several Fox platforms and a 3.05 rating in 18-49 on the main Fox network. It was the second-highest viewed World Series game four in the last nine years.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under the old panel-only system, NXT’s overall viewership was down 10.4 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 50 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for NXT, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 18.4 percent in viewers and 46.2 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Nielsen began its new measurement system in October, which has generally resulted in much lower ratings for wrestling TV shows.

AEW Collision ratings down against NXT Halloween Havoc

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Saturday night’s AEW Collision episode averaged 228,000 viewers on TNT, down 43 percent from the previous week (which aired after AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night). The viewership number is down 20.3 percent from the last time Collision aired in its regular time slot on October 11.

In the 18-49 demo, Collision finished 12th on the prime time cable charts with a 0.04 rating. That’s down 63.6 percent from the October 15th episode following Dynamite and down 33.3 percent from the October 11 broadcast. This ties the third-lowest rating the show has ever done in that category.

The show had much stronger than usual competition which included WWE NXT’s Halloween Havoc airing head-to-head on Peacock as well as the MLB World Series on Fox and college football on various cable and network channels.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under the old panel-only Nielsen ratings system, Collision’s viewership was down 29 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 55.6 percent. This year’s numbers do not include viewers on HBO Max.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for Collision, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. It should be noted that Nielsen started using its Big Data + Panel ratings measurement system at the start of October, but Collision’s numbers have not been negatively affected as much as other wrestling shows. This week’s episode was down 21.1 percent in viewers and 33.3 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown demo rating up despite World Series competition

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.147 million viewers on USA Network, a drop of three percent from the previous week. Despite that, this is the second-largest audience total the show has done under Nielsen’s new Big Data + Panel measurement system.

SmackDown topped the cable charts, and finished third overall on television, with a 0.29 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 3.6 percent from last week and is the best rating the show has done in that category since September 26, which was under the previous system.

The show went head-to-head with game one of MLB’s World Series, which drew the second-highest ratings of the last seven years for a World Series opening game. Fox averaged 12.5 million viewers for the broadcast and did a 2.53 rating in 18-49 airing head-to-head with Smackdown. The baseball pre-game show finished second on the charts with 7.244 million viewers and a 1.30 rating.

As compared to the same week in 2024, under the old ratings measurement system, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 19.1 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 32.6 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 8.6 percent in viewers and 12.1 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: numbers before October 1 are using the previous method of calculating ratings.

WWE NXT draws record low ratings for CW episode

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Tuesday night’s WWE NXT — the go-home show for Halloween Havoc — averaged 525,000 viewers on The CW, down 23.9 percent from last week. It’s the lowest viewership the show has ever done on that network and the lowest overall for NXT since July 30, 2024.

In the 18-49 demo, NXT drew a 0.07 rating. That’s down 41.7 percent from last week and is also the lowest rating the show has done on The CW. Overall, it ties the lowest rating NXT has ever done on any station, matching the number it did on February 8, 2022 when the show aired on SyFy due to USA Network broadcasting the Winter Olympics.

It should be noted that these record lows come under Nielsen’s new “Big Data + Panel” measurement system, which was introduced at the start of October and has generally meant a steep decline from what wrestling shows had been doing previously.

NXT went head-to-head with opening night of the NBA season, which did the best numbers that league has drawn for its opener in the last 15 years. The first NBA game on new broadcast partner NBC averaged 5.096 million viewers and drew a 1.39 rating in the 18-49 demo.

As compared to the same week in 2024, which was with the old Nielsen panel-only system, NXT’s overall viewership was down 25.2 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 56.3 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for NXT, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s episode was down 21.2 percent in overall viewers and 50 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings up for Crown Jewel fallout episode

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Last Friday’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.180 million viewers on USA Network, up 15 percent from the previous week. It’s the best audience total the show has done since Nielsen switched to its new “Big Data + Panel” ratings system at the beginning of October.

SmackDown drew a 0.28 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 27 percent from the October 10 episode and also marks the highest number for SmackDown since Nielsen made its switch to the new system.

On a night with heavy sports competition — including two MLB Championship Series games, as well as college football on both Fox and ESPN — SmackDown finished ninth on television in the key demo.

As compared to the same week in 2024, using the old measurement system, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 14.2 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 33.3 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 8.5 percent in overall viewers and 20 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

Note: Prior to October, ratings were calculated under the old panel-only method. Since the switch, wrestling ratings have generally been lower than they were previously.