NXT defeated AEW Dynamite in the final ratings battle of 2019, registering 795,000 to All Elite's 683,000, according to regular aggregator ShowBuzzDaily.
This represents a 17,000 lift for a black-and-gold brand episode offering Shayna Baszler Vs Rhea Ripley and Adam Cole Vs Finn Bálor for the NXT Women's and Men's Championship respectively, and a drop-off of 95,000 for a Dynamite sold on the promise of a Young Bucks Tag Team Title clash and Chris Jericho's 10-minute challenge against Jungle Boy.
Both shows slipped in the overall cable ratings due to blanket coverage of Donald Trump's impeachment by most cable news networks, but a combined total of nearly 1.5m suggests fewer folk abandoned wrestling than those that did during major sporting events earlier this year.
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As interesting (as usual), was the demographic breakdown. For the first time since the ratings war began, NXT topped AEW in the all-important 18-49 demographics, scoring an 0.27% total audience share to AEW's 0.25%.
This is the last battle between the brands until January 8th. Neither show will air live on Christmas Day, with AEW returning to action on January 1st a week ahead of NXT.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years.
As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 70,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast.
He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
