AEW Dynamite Ratings Take a Dive: What’s the Deal?
Folks, AEW Dynamite hit a ratings iceberg this week, drawing just 502,000 viewers—its lowest ever for the usual timeslot. That’s a 26% drop from the previous week, with the key 18-49 demographic slipping by 30%. So, what went wrong? Did the wrestlers forget their moves? Did the audience discover the joys of knitting instead? Let’s break it down.
Lead-In Letdown: From Big Bang to Black Panther
According to Fightful Select, the usual lead-in for AEW Dynamite is “The Big Bang Theory,” which typically brings in a solid 200k-250k viewers in its final quarter hour. This week, however, the lead-in was Marvel’s “Black Panther,” which, despite being a blockbuster, drew a mere 85k viewers in its final quarter hour. It seems Wakanda wasn’t forever, at least not on this network slot. Sources within AEW believe the missing viewers were those who usually trickle in from the Big Bang’s bang-up ratings.
Warner Bros. Discovery Weighs In: Blame It on the Weather and Sports
Warner Bros. Discovery had their own theories. They described it as a “very odd week” overall. They cited the Juneteenth holiday, Olympic trials, college baseball’s World Series, and even some amazing weather in the northeast. Apparently, viewers chose sunny picnics and home runs over suplexes and powerbombs. Fightful’s sources in WBD painted a picture of a perfect storm of distractions, but hey, at least it wasn’t raining on AEW’s parade—just everywhere else.
Demographic Dilemma: The Meltzer Analysis
Dave Meltzer of “The Wrestling Observer” chimed in, pointing out a significant drop in the 35-49 age group, typically a stable demographic for AEW. Interestingly, the 18-34 age group, often blamed for AEW’s rating woes, actually increased from the previous week. Meltzer waved off the Juneteenth holiday as a major factor but noted Kendrick Lamar’s live concert streamed on Amazon Prime could have played a role. This point didn’t come up in Fightful’s chats with WBD and AEW, but social media sure had a lot to say about it.
So, What’s Next for AEW Dynamite?
Despite the plunge, AEW Dynamite isn’t throwing in the towel. Every wrestler knows that sometimes you get pinned, but the real champs get back up and fight harder. With this week’s fluke behind them, AEW and WBD are looking ahead, ready to grapple with whatever comes next.
Stay tuned, folks. The ratings game is just as unpredictable as a ladder match.