AEW Dynamite: April 21 episode viewership and ratings revealed as Darby Allin defends the TNT title

Last night's episode of AEW Dynamite heavily focused on the future of the promotion instead of relying on main event talent like The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Cody Rhodes. Did this strategy affect the viewership numbers and ratings?

According to Showbuzz Daily, this week's edition of AEW Dynamite brought in 1.104 million viewers, down from last week's 1.219 million. AEW faced stiff competition from the season finale of MTV's The Challenge and a special two-hour edition of The Masked Singer on FOX. Dynamite managing to stay over one million should be seen as a good sign moving forward.

AEW: 1.104 million18-49: 0.37

— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) April 22, 2021

AEW Dynamite once again placed second overall on cable Wednesday

When it comes to the all-important 18-49 demo, AEW Dynamite also saw a drop from last week from 0.44 to 0.37. While not as strong as last week, it's still a good number.

Last week, AEW Dynamite took the second spot on cable for Wednesday among the key 18-49 demo. This was one of the best positions they have hit lately. This week, AEW once again took the second spot on cable for the day. Only the season finale of MTV's The Challenge: Double Agent prevented AEW from taking the top spot on cable yesterday. With the show ending, AEW stands a strong chance of taking the number one spot on cable next week.

Tonight I didn’t fail, I learned... Thank you so much @shidahikaru ! So much respect for you ❤️ I’ll pick myself up and I’m coming for you again! Literally the hardest match I ever had 💕 https://t.co/EqxqqSGXOM

— TAYNARA MELO (@TayConti_) April 22, 2021

This week's episode of AEW Dynamite opened with Hangman Adam Page going one-on-one with Ricky Starks of Team Taz. The middle of AEW Dynamite featured a fantastic women's match as Hikaru Shida defended her title against Tay Conti. The show closed with Darby Allin defending the AEW TNT Championship against Jungle Boy.

What did you think of AEW Dynamite last night? What was your favorite match or segment? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.