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The ratings for the go-home edition of AEW Dynamite ahead of the Forbidden Door pay-per-view have been released. The Wednesday night flagship climbed back up after last week's decline in viewership, drawing 878k as opposed to 761k. The key demo rating also enjoyed an improvement from 0.28 to 0.34.
AEW Dynamite featured a main event between Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi against the duo of Chris Jericho and Lance Archer. There were also three major debuts as the company continues to set the scene for this weekend's Forbidden Door pay-per-view. Moxley and Tanahashi will collide at the event for the Interim World title, but they secured the win whilst on the same team last night.
Bryan Danielson kicked off the night by confirming that he would be unable to compete at Forbidden Door and Blood & Guts but that he had found a replacement. While the newcomer remained unknown thanks to a coy American Dragon, Zack Sabre Jr. emerged to stare down his original Forbidden Door opponent, making his debut in the promotion.
Silas Young made his debut against Hangman Page, who secured the victory prior to an ambush from Jay White and Adam Cole. It was then that a signature coin drop marked the debut of the Rainmaker, Kazuchika Okada, as the NJPW star came to the rescue.
This week's viewership marked a recovery from their previous week's rating, where they drew their worst total viewership of 2022. The flagship once again had the NHL Stanley Cup final to contend with, perhaps explaining the trend of lower ratings as of late. AEW are also without several of their marquee stars, including MJF and CM Punk.
What did fans make of this week's AEW Dynamite ratings?
This week's ratings, like any other, sparked debate among fans. One user thanked Christian Cage for the improvement in the ratings, comparing his scathing first promo as a heel to that of WWE Superstar Edge earlier this year.
Check out a handful of reactions below:
There were also those who theorised that ratings had been harmed by New Japan's involvement ahead of Forbidden Door. One user even went as far as to say that AEW should move on from the collaboration and bring back estranged star MJF.
Despite a mixed fan reaction to the cross-over, AEW's partnership with NJPW has brought a lot of attention to Tony Khan's promotion. It will be interesting to see how the ratings are impacted following the pay-per-view this Sunday.
Poll : Are you enjoying AEW's collaboration with NJPW?
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