AEW bests NXT, but continues to lose viewers

Would the fallout from Worlds Collide and Royal Rumble 2020 have any impact on the Wednesday Night War?

To the surprise of pundits, no momentum from a busy wrestling weekend carried over to Wednesday night’s AEW or NXT’s telecasts. Both shows did around their averages, but both Dynamite and NXT on USA were down from last week.

Per Showbuzz Daily, AEW netted 828,000 viewers for .34 rating point in the always and forever important 18-49 demographic. NXT checked in with 712,000 viewers for a .22 rating point in the extremely crucial 18-49 demo.

What might have been a down night for cable TV overall saw AEW come in at third overall, while NXT landed in the number 37 spot.

Here’s a breakdown of AEW viewership and rating in the 18-49 demo through 18 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
• Jan. 29: 828,000 / .34

Here’s a breakdown of NXT’s audience and ratings share of the same demographic through 20 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
• Jan. 29: 712,000 / .22

Total viewership for Wednesday night checked in at 1,540,000 pro wrestling fans.

One month into 2020, what do you make of the AEW and NXT’s cable TV trends?

Check out both our Dynamite live blog & review and our NXT live blog, review & video highlights, in case you missed any of Wednesday Night War chapter 17.