"AEW beat RAW in the demo" - Twitter goes berserk as Dynamite suffers abysmal ratings for New Year's Smash episode

Fans have offered their reactions to the last AEW Dynamite ratings of 2022.

This week's New Year's Smash show featured a TNT championship main event between Wardlow and Samoa Joe. The bout was their first singles collision, having first worked together as 'WarJoe'. Wardlow later lost the belt to Joe in a three-way also involving Powerhouse Hobbs at Full Gear.

There were questions over whether or not Wardlow could be up for the challenge after he sustained a knee injury throughout the night after being attacked. He battled through the pain and looked at some stage like he could recapture his title. But eventually, Joe managed to outlast his challenger via referee stoppage.

Given that it was the last Dynamite show in 2022, fans could be forgiven for thinking there would be a blockbuster show reflected in the ratings. However, the show recorded just 876k average viewership and a 0.28 rating in the key 18-49 demo. Last week's stats were 957k and 0.30 respectively.

There was a sentiment of disappointment among fans who had expected better. Some took the "glass half full" approach, pointing out the fact that the show did better in the demo than Monday Night RAW.

Ratings have been a sore spot among fans as of late. The in-ring quality of the product is not being disputed, but the general feeling is that the show lacks must-watch angles and stories.

What happened during this week's AEW Dynamite?

Bryan Danielson and Ethan Page opened AEW Dynamite in singles action. The American Dragon picked up the win via referee stoppage after an intense physical contest. Bryan will surely look forward to a potential showdown with AEW World Champion MJF.

Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli represented the Blackpool Combat Club in tag team action against Top Flight. The pair picked up the win to keep the BCC momentum going into 2023.

Hook then dispatched Baylum Lynx in less than a minute. The Best of Seven Series between The Elite and Death Tringle continued into match six, under Falls Count Anywhere stipulations.

The Death Triangle could have closed out the series with another win but Kenny Omega scored the pinfall to leave the score 3-3 heading into match seven. Match seven will see the trios tag titles suspended above the ring in 'Escalera de la Muerte'. TayJay defeated the team of Willow Nightingale and Ruby Soho and then in the main event Samoa Joe retained against Wardlow.