The Tuesday Night War has ended, and we have a winner. NXT beat AEW Dynamite head-to-head in the ratings.
NXT averaged 921,000 overall viewers on USA, with AEW Dynamite averaging 609,000 viewers on TBS.
It was NXT’s highest rating since September 2019 and Dynamite’s lowest-rated episode since June 2021.
NXT drew a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demo, with AEW drawing 0.26 in the demo.
AEW was forced to move Dynamite from its regular Wednesday spot due to the MLB playoffs and went straight up against NXT in their usual Tuesday time slot.
Things got interesting throughout the week as both promotions started promoting their shows.
WWE announced the first half-hour of NXT would be commercial-free. A few days later, AEW announced Dynamite’s first half hour would also be commercial-free.
AEW also added a Buy-In pre-show airing on social media 30 minutes before Dynamite, with Eddie Kingston defeating Minoru Suzuki to retain the ROH and NJPW Strong Titles.
WWE hot-shotted NXT by adding John Cena, Cody Rhodes, Paul Heyman, Asuka, and Undertaker, with surprise appearances from LA Knight, Shotzi, and Jade Cargill, who WWE recently signed away from AEW.
Many expected WWE to win, but not by such a wide margin. However, some feel WWE should have drawn one million viewers with their star-studded lineup.
The key takeaways as to why the shows drew their respective ratings can be found in their commercial-free first half hour.
WWE opened NXT with Cody Rhodes, a weapon once deep in the arsenal of AEW, who is now fighting for the very opposition he once opposed.
Cody announced the return of the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag team tournament, revealed he was the guest general manager for the evening, and made an NXT Title match between champion Ilja Dragunov and Dominik Mysterio.
LA Knight was announced as the special guest referee for the NXT title match, followed by John Cena arriving at the building, hyping the main event between Carmelo Hayes and Bron Breakker.
Asuka beat Roxane Perez, remaining unbeaten in her old stomping grounds. The Brawling Brutes & Tyler Bate defeated Gallus in a “Pub Rules” match. The action was fast and furious going into NXT’s first commercial break at the twenty-seven-minute mark.
AEW kicked off Dynamite with TNT Champion Christian Cage in the production truck, hyping the Bryan Danielson/Swerve Strickland #1 contenders match, with the winner facing Christian for the title Saturday on Collision.
Christian briefly mentioned Adam Copeland’s in-ring debut in the main event against Luchasaurus.
Danielson beat Strickland in an excellent match, and next was a Samoa Joe video package stating his intentions to go after the AEW World Championship.
Next up, Powerhouse Hobbs beat Chris Jericho in an upset that was well constructed from beginning to end. Jericho came out first, followed by Hobbs, as those unfamiliar with the California native would be drawn in by his massive physique, making it hard to change the channel.
Hobbs dominated Jericho, delivering six spinebusters. Jericho came back with a Codebreaker and went for the Walls of Jericho, looking as if the veteran would score a come-from-behind win.
Nope.
Hobbs powered out of the hold, hit three forward slams, and pinned Jericho clean in the middle of the ring. Jericho putting over Hobbs on a night where a lot of new fans were potentially watching was the right call.
At this point, we’re thirty-four minutes into AEW’s commercial free half hour. A video showed an injured Adam Cole mowing an injured Roderick Strong’s lawn.
Orange Cassidy beat Rey Fenix to regain the title international title. It was the typical AEW-style match with high-flying and elaborate spots.
“Timeless” Toni Storm’s backstage interview was followed by the first commercial break, forty-seven minutes into the broadcast.
WWE shorted viewers three minutes with NXT’s commercial-free promise. However, they spent that time convincing the audience to watch their show. All efforts were geared towards hyping up the main matches that were coming up later while presenting some good action.
AEW gave fans seventeen extra commercial-free minutes. The first twenty-four minutes were spent hyping a match for their Saturday show Collision. The remaining twenty-three minutes focused on the present and future with little mention of the evening’s top bouts.
NXT’s singular focus versus Dynamite’s multi-prong approach was the difference maker. Dynamite is AEW’s A-show, while NXT is WWE’s third brand.
AEW’s linear narrative between three shows demands the promotion of upcoming matches and storylines. NXT is the development show where WWE can load up without effecting Raw and SmackDown.
WWE presented an action-packed NXT show that didn’t make the audience think about what was happening everywhere else. AEW used Dynamite to point viewers here, there, everywhere.
Dynamite put on the better pro wrestling show, but NXT also put on a great show.
Carmelo Hayes rubbing shoulders with John Cena and the Undertaker was a genuine pleasure to see. Danielson/Strickland was excellent, and so was Jay White/Hangman Page.
NXT, in its original format, highlighting the stars of tomorrow, has never topped AEW in the ratings. WWE feared them enough to pull out all the stops.
Regardless of which promotion got the better ratings, it’s the combined audience of 1,530,000 viewers who won the Tuesday Night War.
RingsideLogic.com 