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Last night, AEW Dynamite had its "Beach Break" special on TNT. To counter, WWE had Edge, the 2021 Royal Rumble winner, appear on NXT. He teased that he would choose to face NXT Champion Finn Balor at WrestleMania. But surprisingly, the presence of the beloved star didn't help NXT in the ratings battle. AEW Dynamite dominated the evening.
According to Showbuzz Daily, this week's edition of AEW saw a nice increase in its ratings with 844,000 viewers, up from 734,000 last week. On the other hand, NXT saw a surprising decrease this week with 610,000 viewers, which is a big drop from last week's 720,000. Both shows either gained or lost approximately 110,000 viewers from the week before.
Normally, when WWE has main roster talent appear on the black-and gold-brand, the company gets a good bump in viewership. But this week's effort didn't work in WWE's favor.
Ironically, the numbers between the two shows have been fairly close in recent weeks. At the very least, it seems like the gap between the programs had narrowed. But this Wednesday's numbers suggest that AEW still has a significant lead.
AEW Dynamite places third on cable for the evening while WWE NXT just misses the top 50
In the all-important 18-49 demographic, AEW came out on top, as Dynamite's numbers increased from from 0.29 to 0.32. Meanwhile, NXT saw a decrease in the demo from last week, as it went from 0.21 to 0.15.
The bad news continues for the black-and-gold brand, as NXT did not make the top 50 on cable. The show placed 51st for the evening. AEW Dynamite, on the other hand, came in third overall. That's where the company normally finds itself more often than not. Only NBA Basketball and MTV's The Challenge kept AEW out of the top spot on cable last night.
AEW Dynamite featured a highly anticipated six-man tag match that featured Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers against Jon Moxley, PAC, and Rey Fenix. Over on WWE NXT, in addition to Edge's appearance, the show closed with Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher facing Adam Cole And Roderick Strong in a star-studded tag team match.
What did you think of last night's shows? What was your favorite match? Sound off in the comments below.
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