AEW Dynamite was the top show on cable Wednesday night featuring the return of Jon Moxley after a nearly three-month hiatus.
The January 19th edition of the show from D.C. averaged 1,032,000 viewers and approximately 570,000 (0.44) in the 18-49 demographic, according to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics and Showbuzz Daily.
It was Dynamite’s highest audience since moving to TBS and largest since October 6th. The 18-49 figure was Dynamite’s best since September 29th. Overall viewership grew 6.5 percent and the demo rose by 13 percent compared with last week’s numbers.
According to Thurston’s breakdown, Dynamite edged past Raw in the 18-49 demographic by 8,000 viewers. Raw averaged 562,000 in the demo against the NFL wild-card game between the L.A. Rams and Arizona Cardinals this past week.
Beyond the 18-49 demo, Dynamite topped WWE Raw in males 18-49 (357,000 to 329,000), adults 35-49 (377,000 to 344,000) and males 35-49 (241,000 to 203,000).
Raw beat Dynamite in females 18-49 (233,000 to 213,000), 18-34 (219,000 to 192,000) and females 35-49 (141,000 to 137,000) with figures available through Wrestlenomics’ viewership spreadsheet.
Dynamite won the night on cable topping both NBA games on ESPN. It went head-to-head with the earlier game between Charlotte and Boston that averaged 1,060,000 viewers and 0.38 in 18-49. The game beat Dynamite in males 18-49, males 12-34, and 50+ but AEW was ahead in the other demos recognized by Showbuzz Daily.
Top three segments were Moxley (0.48), Mixed tag (0.47) and Cody Rhodes (0.45).
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) January 20, 2022
Dynamite was promoted around the returns of Jon Moxley and Cody Rhodes as well as separate matches involving CM Punk and Sting and a mixed tag involving Adam Cole & Britt Baker against Orange Cassidy & Kris Statlander.
The major increases from last week included Dynamite’s female 18-49 demo growing 26 percent while women 35-49 was spiked by a 44 percent increase, which more than offset a decline of 13 percent among males 35-49. Dynamite also experienced a small gain among the 50+ demo from 0.35 to. 0.37.
In Canada, the show declined from last week’s numbers averaging 89,000 viewers and 54,300 in the 25-54 demo on TSN 2. There was significant sports competition with both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors playing games. Last week, Dynamite averaged 126,900 and 67,800 in 25-54.
The ‘Steroid Trials’ episode of Dark Side of the Ring aired on TSN 2 immediately after Dynamite and averaged 72,100 and 46,600 in 25-54.
Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics and the POST Wrestling network will host his ‘Live Ratings Talk’ at 5:30 p.m. ET on the Wrestlenomics YouTube channel.
