NXT Almost DOUBLES AEW Dynamite's Audience In Head-To-Head Ratings Battle (WWE News)
Nothing to cheer about for Tony Khan as AEW flagship sinks to record low.
WWE's NXT brand absolutely demolished AEW's flagship show Dynamite in a head to head battle this past Tuesday night. Comparatively, NXT pulled an average of 625,000 viewers next to AEW's 321,000. Yes, that's almost double the number of people tuning into WWE's product compared to Tony Khan's, and that won't sit well on the All Elite side at all.
NXT's Showdown special with TNA's roster led to a 9.3% increase on last week's effort, according to reports in The Wrestling Observer. The Observer also noted that AEW Dynamite slipped by as much as 31% and posted the lowest overall audience in the history of the show. Again, that'll surely come as a major blow to Khan - he was once able to trumpet occasional wins over WWE's third brand, but it seems those days are very much over.
The Observer also said that Nielsen's new “Big Panel + Data” measurement system (which they started using several weeks ago now) has caused "nearly universal, severe declines" on both the WWE and AEW sides. To put it plainly, both promotions are taking a hit on general viewership numbers under the new system.
AEW clearly has it worse though. Much worse. 321,000 is the kind of low rating Rampage was posting before it was cancelled by Khan and company. They cannot be happy with that.
It's also worth noting that AEW stacked their 'Title Tuesday' edition of Dynamite knowing that WWE would do the same whilst drafting in TNA wrestlers. Unfortunately for Tony, that didn't make a difference. More people tuned in to see moments like Matt and Jeff Hardy winning the NXT Tag-Team Titles.
A rethink may be essential on the AEW side heading into 2026.