'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Last night, NXT ran unopposed in their normal timeslot because AEW Dynamite was bumped by the NBA. So most fans expected that NXT would win the ratings war this week. Instead, the black-and-gold brand saw a surprising viewership drop. Meanwhile, AEW Dynamite's numbers also went down, but they were still more than enough to win this round of the Wednesday Night War.
Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling News Observer was one of the first sources to break the news, and Showbuzz Daily offers an extensive breakdown of the ratings. Alvarez tweeted that 775,000 viewers tuned into this week's episode of AEW Dynamite. NXT, on the other hand, saw a surprising drop with 698,000 viewers.
Both shows' numbers were down this week. 806,000 viewers watched AEW Dynamite the previous week while NXT drew 766,000 fans last Wednesday night. AEW likely won't be alarmed with this "loss," as they were at a disadvantage. For NXT, this defeat is somewhat disappointing. Wednesday night was seemingly a chance to earn a fairly easy victory. Instead, the show's viewership decreased.
Despite the 10 p.m. timeslot, AEW Dynamite was the number five show on cable last night in the 18-49 demo
In the prioritized 18-49 demographic, AEW once again came out on top. And the number actually stayed even from last week's 0.32 rating. Meanwhile, NXT also stayed consistent with last week's demo number (0.19.) Both companies being able to keep their demo number stable from one week to the next should be seen as a positive for both shows.
In more good news for both companies, both AEW and NXT once again made the top 50 on cable. NXT placed 40th for the evening while AEW Dynamite came in fifth overall on the night. AEW only ranked behind NBA basketball, college football, and former WWE wrestler Lio Rush's appearance on the popular MTV show, "Challenge: Double Agent."
The newest episode of WWE NXT opened with a Street Fight for the NXT Tag Team Championship, where Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch defended the titles against Drake Maverick and Killian Dain. In the main event, Adam Cole faced The Velveteen Dream.
On AEW Dynamite, Top Flight took on Chris Jericho and MJF of the Inner Circle. Plus, The Young Bucks defended the AEW World Tag Team Championship against The Acclaimed. The show also featured an appearance from Sting.
Next week, AEW Dynamite will kick off its special New Year's Smash event, so the company might hope for a decisive win over NXT on Wednesday night.
