Dynamite falls short of one million viewers again

The ratings and viewership data are in for last night’s (Aug. 18) episode of AEW Dynamite.

Per ShowBuzzDaily, Dynamite netted 975,000 viewers for a .35 rating point in the 18-49 demographic. The numbers are nearly identical to last week’s results of 979,000 and 0.35 in these respective metrics. Dynamite ranked in 4th place on cable in the demo rating last night.

The big attractions on this episode were Sting’s first match on TNT in over 20 years, the culmination of the Five Labours of Jericho, and the Young Bucks defending the tag team titles against Jurassic Express. It wasn’t quite enough to propel Dynamite back above the one million viewer mark, probably because The Blade did not wrestle on the card.

Pro wrestling fans are eagerly awaiting CM Punk’s assumed return to pro wrestling this Friday night (Aug. 20) on AEW Rampage. If Punk does show up in AEW, then next week’s ratings should look very different compared to the last two episodes.

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

• Aug. 22, 2020: 755,000 / .31
• Aug. 27: 813,000 / .29
• Sept. 2: 928,000 / .36
• Sept. 9: 1.02 million / .37
• Sept. 16: 886,000 / .34
• Sept. 23: 835,000 / .32
• Sept. 30: 866,000 / .33
• Oct. 7: 753,000 / .31
• 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

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