NXT gains viewers but not enough to top AEW

Did anyone else notice AEW Dynamite was on a boat this week?

For the third straight week of live head-to-head shows, AEW has gotten the better of NXT. Last night (Jan. 22) NXT closed the gap slightly, but not nearly enough to take home the win.

In fact last Wednesday night 1,640,000 pro wrestling fans tuned into AEW or NXT. And this week 1,640,000 pro wrestling fans tuned in on Wednesday, with just the numbers shifting between AEW and NXT every so slightly.

Per Showbuzz Daily, AEW brought in 871,000 total viewers for a .35 rating point in the all important 18-49 year old demographic. NXT saw improvements with 769,000 total viewers for a .24 rating point in the 18-49 demo.

It should also be noted that spoilers for this week’s taped episode of Dynamite, on a boat, were widely available on Wednesday morning.

Overall, Dynamite checked in at the number eight spot on the night, while NXT on USA came in at number 35.

Here’s a breakdown of AEW viewership and rating in the 18-49 demo through 17 weeks:

• Oct. 2: 1.4 million / .68
• Oct. 9: 1.02 million / .46 on TNT, plus 122K from Tru TV simulcast for total viewership of approximately 1.14 million
• Oct. 16: 1.01 million / .44
• Oct 24: 963,000 / .45
• Oct 30: 759,000 / .34
• Nov. 6: 822,000 / .35
• Nov. 13: 957,000 / .43
• Nov. 20: 893,000 / .39
• Nov. 27: 663,000 / .26
• Dec. 4: 851,000 / .32
• Dec. 11: 778,000 / .28
• Dec. 18: 683,000 / .25
• Dec. 25: N/A
• Jan. 1: 967,000 / .36
• Jan. 8: 947,000 / .36
• Jan. 15: 940,000 / .38
• Jan. 22: 871,000 / .35

Here’s a breakdown of NXT’s audience and ratings share of the same demographic through 19 weeks:

• Sept. 18 (one hour on USA): 1.18 million / .56
• Sept. 25 (one hour on USA): 1.01 million / .40
• Oct. 2: 891,000 / .32
• Oct. 9: 790,000 / .22
• Oct. 16: 712,000 / .20
• Oct. 24: 698,000 / .21
• Oct 30: 580,000 / .18
• Nov. 6: 813,000 / .30
• Nov. 13: 750,000 / .25
• Nov. 20: 916,000 / .30
• Nov. 27: 810,000 / .24
• Dec. 4: 845,000 / .29
• Dec. 11: 778,000 / .24
• Dec. 18: 795,000 / .27
• Dec. 25: 831,000 / .22
• Jan. 1: 548,000 / .15
• Jan. 8: 721,000 / .19
• Jan. 15: 700,000 / .21
• Jan. 22: 769,000 / .24

Total viewership for Wednesday night checked in at 1,640,000 pro wrestling fans.

As NXT inches a little bit closer, will the momentum from Royal Rumble weekend be enough to carry WWE past AEW next Wednesday night?

Check out both our Dynamite live blog, review & video highlights and our NXT live blog, review & video highlights, in case you missed any of Wednesday Night War chapter 16.