The NXT and AEW showdown from Tuesday saw NXT win the night in terms of overall viewership and key demographics.
With their first head-to-head battle since the same time last year, NXT pulled out all the stops including appearances by John Cena, The Undertaker, Cody Rhodes, and Paul Heyman.
The result was 921,000 viewers and 396,000 (0.30) in the 18-49 demographic and was the third most-watched episode of NXT to ever air on the USA Network. This represented a 7% bump in viewers and a 37% increase in the demo from last Tuesday’s show.
AEW countered on its unfamiliar night with Title Tuesday including Adam Copeland’s first match with the promotion and multiple titles matches. The show averaged 609,000 viewers and 346,000 (0.26) in the 18-49 demographic. The combination of the NXT competition and the unfamiliar night led to Dynamite dropping 24% in viewership but only a 5% decrease in the demo. (Data courtesy: Wrestlenomics.com)
NXT ranked #5 among sports programming on Tuesday behind two MLB playoff games and the start of the NHL season with Chicago vs. Pittsburgh on ESPN. AEW Title Tuesday ranked #7. Both wrestling shows aired against the Baltimore Orioles vs. Texas Rangers, which ranked first with 4,139,000 viewers and 0.88 in the demo on Fox. (Sports TV Ratings)
NXT won across the board with the 18-49 demographic seeing the WWE side top AEW with males (266,000 to 246,000) and females (130,000 to 100,00).
NXT averaged 155,000 among adults 18-34 while AEW attracted 137,000 in the demo. The narrowest category was among women in this demo where NXT edged out Dynamite with 44,000 to 42,000 for AEW.
Adults 35-49 saw NXT average 241,000 to 209,000 for Dynamite with NXT topping AEW in males with 155,000 to 152,000 in another close race.
Last year’s head-to-head battle on Tuesday, October 18 saw AEW average 752,000 viewers and 339,000 (0.26) in the demo while NXT did 676,000 viewers and 239,000 (0.18) in the demo.
Wrestlenomics reported on the quarter-hours where NXT won every segment in overall viewers and peaked with 991,000 viewers for the opening quarter featuring Cody Rhodes, Dominik Mysterio, Rhea Ripley, and Ilja Dragunov against AEW’s opening with Christian Cage and Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland at 731,000 viewers, which was AEW’s highest quarter of the show.
In the 18-49 demographic, AEW only won the quarter from 8:30 – 8:45 p.m. ET with the ending of Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Chris Jericho, Adam Cole’s video with Roderick Strong and The Kingdom, and the start of Orange Cassidy vs. Rey Fenix with 400,000 viewers compared to NXT’s 360,000 for the Pub Fight and Becky Lynch/Lyra Valkryia video package.
The high point in 18-49 for NXT was 433,000 for the second quarter with Asuka vs. Roxanne Perez and the start of the Pub Fight while AEW peaked with the third quarter mentioned above.
NXT had an eight-minute overrun with the ending of Carmelo Hayes vs. Bron Breakker and The Undertaker’s appearance that added 11% in viewers from the last quarter and 13% in the demo.
AEW aired until 10:14 p.m. ET with five minutes unopposed for the ending of Adam Copeland vs. Luchasaurus and added 8% in viewers from the prior quarter but dropped 2% in the demo.
In Canada, Dynamite averaged 127,400 viewers and 56,500 in the 25-54 demographic and ranked #5 among sports programs on Wednesday behind three NHL games and the MLB playoffs. Dynamite was up by 7.5% in viewers and increased by 1% in the demo from last Wednesday. It was Dynamite’s most-watched episode in Canada since August 30.
NXT did air on Sportsnet 360 until Midnight ET with the show streaming live on Sportsnet Now, which we don’t have data from.
