The inaugural AEW Battle of the Belts special averaged over 700,000 viewers while competing against the NFL.
The Saturday night special on TNT averaged 704,000 viewers with approximately 355,000 (0.27) in the 18-49 demographic, per Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics and Showbuzz Daily.
Battle of the Belts was up against the Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles that was simulcast on ABC and ESPN. The network telecast drew 13.7 million viewers and 2.04 in 18-49 while ESPN’s coverage attracted 6,507,000 viewers and 1.98 in 18-49 with kickoff beginning at 8:13 p.m. ET and preceded by pre-game coverage.
The Hallmark Channel also had a big movie with “The Wedding Veil” that averaged 3,394,000 and a massive 2.50 in 50+. However, in 18-49 the movie was only slightly ahead of AEW with 0.29.
Battle of the Belts did higher than Rampage the night prior, which averaged 588,000 and 0.24 in 18-49 while also outperforming the Christmas Night edition of Rampage that did 589,000 and 0.26 and was also broadcast on a Saturday night.
The show was promoted around three title matches including Dr. Britt Baker vs. Riho for the women’s championship and Sammy Guevara facing Dustin Rhodes to crown an interim TNT champion.
In Canada, the show was not promoted very well in advance with some stating the program didn’t appear on their guide until the day of the show. The live airing averaged 35,000 viewers on TSN 2 and a replay later that did averaged 14,000.
