The results of the latest AEW/WWE ratings battle are in

It was an impromptu battle, and still far from an apples-to-apples comparison. But when the baseball gods gave FOX a free Saturday night on Oct. 23, they decided to replay the Crown Jewel fallout episode of WWE SmackDown. That meant it aired opposite the new, live episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT, which for the second straight week had been bumped to Saturday by the network’s hockey coverage.

So it was a replay on a broadcast network vs. fresh live content on cable. And the results (courtesy of Showbuzz Daily) were as mixed as the Fri., Oct. 15 fight between SmackDown and Rampage.

WWE had more total viewers, with SmackDown watched by 632K total people and Dynamite by 575K. AEW scored a higher rating among 18 - 49 year olds, .22 for Dynamite and .16 for SmackDown. So to paraphrase the late Dennis Green, everybody is who we thought they were.

It should also be noted that AEW’s numbers were down from the previous Saturday. Way down. Viewership fell a whopping 28% from Oct. 16. Ratings were off 21%.

Was that all due to a WWE option over on the broadcast networks? No, because there were the usual college football offerings several places, and there was still a baseball playoff game airing on TBS.

Here’s a breakdown of AEW viewership and rating in the 18-49 demo over the last year:

• Oct. 14: 826,000 / .30
• Oct. 21: 753,000 / .30
• Oct. 28: 781,000 / .32
• Nov. 4: 717,000 / .30
• Nov. 11: 764,000 /.30
• Nov. 18: 850,000 / .37
• Nov. 25: 710,000 / .26
• Dec. 2: 913,000 / .42
• Dec. 9: 995,000 / .45
• Dec. 16: 806,000 / .32
• Dec. 23: 775,000 / .32
• Dec. 30: 977,000 / .40
• Jan. 6, 2021: 662,000 / .25
• Jan. 13: 762,000 / .30
• Jan. 20: 854,000 / .36
• Jan. 27: 734,000 / .29
• Feb. 3: 844,000 / .32
• Feb. 10: 741,000 / .29
• Feb. 17: 747,000 / .31
• Feb. 24: 831,000 / .35
• Mar. 3: 934,000 / .33
• Mar. 10: 743,000 / .32
• Mar. 17: 768,000 / .28
• Mar. 24: 757,000 / .30
• Mar. 31: 700,000 / .26
• Apr. 7: 688,000 / .28
• Apr. 14: 1,219,000 / .44
• Apr. 21: 1,104,000 / .37
• Apr. 28: 889,000 / .33
• May 5: 1,090,000 / .42
• May 12: 936,000 / .31
• May 19: 821,000 / .28
• May 28: 526,000 / .20
• June 4: 462,000 / .19
• June 11: 487,000 / .19
• June 18: 551,000 / .20
• June 26: 649,000 / .21
• June 30: 883,000 / .35
• July 7: 871,000 / .33
• July 14: 1,025,000 / .40
• July 21: 1,148,000 / .44
• July 28: 1,108,000 / .45
• Aug. 4: 1,102,000 / .46
• Aug. 11: 979,000 / .35
• Aug. 18: 975,000 / .35
• Aug. 25: 1,172,000 / .48
• Sept. 1: 1,047,000 / .37
• Sept. 8: 1,319,000 / .52
• Sept. 15: 1,175,000 / .44
• Sept. 22: 1,273,000 / .48
• Sept. 29: 1,152,000 / .45
• Oct. 6: 1,053,000 / .37
• Oct. 16: 727,000 / .28
• Oct. 23: 575,000 / .22

For complete results and this week’s Dynamite live blog click here. To read a recap & review of the night’s events click here.