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WWE and AEW weekly ratings discussion

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Lee Morris

Lee Morris

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Oct 28, 2017
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GravaGravity said:
Late but I'm suprised NXT didn't get more of a boost on the back of a strong mania and thier own PPV
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Once we have more data I'd love to see a deep down on the post (not) takeovers episodes of NXT 2.0 on peacock and the post NXT 2.0s of special episodes of NXT on regular TV. I think the slim amount of data has shown TV specials give more of ratings bump.
 
Dirtyshubb

Dirtyshubb

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Oct 25, 2017
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While their overall ratings may be down, their demo numbers are actually still performing well and the only period that is better for them was around the peak of the Punk debut. Looking at the trend graph you can see they are still on average performing great.

Considering dynamite still routinely is ranked in the top 3/5 and is often only beaten by big sports events or a major news story, I don't think there is much need to be concerned just yet.
 
Rivenblade

Rivenblade

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Nov 1, 2017
37,120
For comparison...

Dynamite on April 8th, 2020 (692,000, 0.26, 32nd)
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Dynamite on April 7th, 2021 (688,000, 0.28, 5th on the night)
2021-Apr-07-WED-Final-Cable.png


Yes, they also had NXT as competition, but still some impressive growth if we're looking at the same week over the past two years.

Also worth noting they have slightly grown their female demo during this timeframe as well.
 
Lee Morris

Lee Morris

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Oct 28, 2017
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Also steady ratings are actually somewhat of a positive. Due to 7% of the cable audience reducing each year. Year over year even ratings are still a bit of a win. Smackdown and Dynamite are both growing to my eyes. They rest aren't.
 
Violence Jack

Violence Jack

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Y'all are reading way too much into one Cody Rhodes Raw appearance considering it was their annual biggest episode of the year. 2nd on the night is still amazing, and I don't know why that overall number matters all that much.
 
Heynongman!

Heynongman!

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Oct 25, 2017
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Violence Jack said:
Y'all are reading way too much into one Cody Rhodes Raw appearance considering it was their annual biggest episode of the year. 2nd on the night is still amazing, and I don't know why that overall number matters all that much.
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Yeah I anticipate a lot of convenient ignoring of the fact that the Raw after Mania always pops a big number. Hell, people tried to claim Cody leaving was the reason Dynamite was down that week - conveniently ignoring the big sports game(s?) for that night, as if Cody had a tangible number of people watching Dynamite only for him. Nothing ever surprises me around ratings talk anymore haha.
 
Lee Morris

Lee Morris

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Oct 28, 2017
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Fhtagn said:
The novelty of Cody going to WWE is a draw for sure. Will it last? We'll see.

It's also post-WM season, where the number was going to pop no matter what.
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The person and the novality of him being the first have made it a big thing.

To the 2 above posters, I think it's a little unfair to say the raw after mania is the reason Cody seems inflated. If you at the 2 quarter hours his promo were in. They were absolutely massive and there was a sizeable drop off after that. Whether he continues to be a draw is something we'll have to wait and see but he indisputably was a massive draw this week.
 
Serpens007

Serpens007

Well, Tosca isn't for everyone
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Just a reminder that the two highest segments in viewership were Cody and Owens. Both of them were a draw, what's in doubt is if it'll last
 
Heynongman!

Heynongman!

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Oct 25, 2017
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Lee Morris said:
The person and the novality of him being the first have made it a big thing.

To the 2 above posters, I think it's a little unfair to say the raw after mania is the reason Cody seems inflated. If you at the 2 quarter hours his promo were in. They were absolutely massive and there was a sizeable drop off after that. Whether he continues to be a draw is something we'll have to wait and see but he indisputably was a massive draw this week.
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I won't argue that Cody is pumping the numbers for his segments, and while I do believe no one was watching Dynamite just for Cody - I do think a lot of people are watching Raw just for Cody. But the Raw after Mania does always do big numbers - so it's going to be a "let's wait and see" thing for me.
 
Violence Jack

Violence Jack

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Lee Morris said:
The person and the novality of him being the first have made it a big thing.

To the 2 above posters, I think it's a little unfair to say the raw after mania is the reason Cody seems inflated. If you at the 2 quarter hours his promo were in. They were absolutely massive and there was a sizeable drop off after that. Whether he continues to be a draw is something we'll have to wait and see but he indisputably was a massive draw this week.
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Yes he was, for this week. New wrestlers showing up in WWE/AEW that were well known elsewhere always brings in viewers, but for a short time. That coupled with the fact that it was Raw after Mania meant it was going to be a big number. But once the newness wears off, that rating is more likely than not to drop back down like it usually does post-Mania. I'd bet that KOs segment was high because people wanted to see if Austin would make another appearance.
 
ManNR

ManNR

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Feb 13, 2019
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All I know is that AEW has drawn me back into the world of pro wrestling for the first time since the early 2000s. I've always kept up with general rumblings of the industry but am really kicking myself now for missing out on the height of RoH and all the great promotions outside of the "WWE Universe" like NJPW.

I bought an FTR t-shirt today for goodness sake!
 
Rivenblade

Rivenblade

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ManNR said:
All I know is that AEW has drawn me back into the world of pro wrestling for the first time since the early 2000s. I've always kept up with general rumblings of the industry but am really kicking myself now for missing out on the height of RoH and all the great promotions outside of the "WWE Universe" like NJPW.

I bought an FTR t-shirt today for goodness sake!
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That's awesome! They pulled me back in, too. AEW has been incredibly refreshing since coming onto the scene. They've got areas for improvement for sure, and I haven't loved everything they've done, but when almost every show starts at a 6.5 or 7/10, you know you're watching something special.

I've bought 3 AEW shirts since 2020. Might get an FTR one down the road.
 
Dirtyshubb

Dirtyshubb

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Considering the stacked dynamite and the Texas deathmatch on rampage, I think there is a good chance both increase on last week's numbers.

Hopefully it convinces TK to keep doing what he is doing because the product has been fantastic overall and people are getting more invested again.
 
Rivenblade

Rivenblade

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Dirtyshubb said:
Considering the stacked dynamite and the Texas deathmatch on rampage, I think there is a good chance both increase on last week's numbers.

Hopefully it convinces TK to keep doing what he is doing because the product has been fantastic overall and people are getting more invested again.
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It's weird because even the shows where some people feel AEW is coasting, I still generally love. No doubt last week felt really special, and this week does too, though. For people who are already dialed in, periods like these feel incredibly special instead of just great/awesome. Like, I loooved the run-up to Punk's debut last summer. Some truly special shows during that run. This one feels different and even better. I love it.
 
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Bigkrev

Bigkrev

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Oct 25, 2017
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Dirtyshubb said:
Considering the stacked dynamite and the Texas deathmatch on rampage, I think there is a good chance both increase on last week's numbers.

Hopefully it convinces TK to keep doing what he is doing because the product has been fantastic overall and people are getting more invested again.
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It's got a timeslot move to 7pm eastern and 4pm pacific this week due to the NBA Playoffs. That's a better slot for the East Coast (but it is a different slot), but an awful one for the West Coast
 
Rivenblade

Rivenblade

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Bigkrev said:
It's got a timeslot move to 7pm eastern and 4pm pacific this week due to the NBA Playoffs. That's a better slot for the East Coast (but it is a different slot), but an awful one for the West Coast
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Yeah, last time they were in this timeslot, they did no better or worse than they had been doing. In the high 400ks. I fully expect between 550k and 650k for this week. This week is also Good Friday, so it could be a weird number one way or another.
 
Dirtyshubb

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Rivenblade said:
It's weird because even the shows where some people feel AEW is coasting, I still generally love. No doubt last week felt really special, and this week does too, though. For people who are already dialed in, periods like these feel incredibly special instead of just great/awesome. Like, I loooved the run-up to Punk's debut last summer. Some truly special shows during that run. This one feels different and even better. I love it.
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Yeah I agree with you. The one thing I would say though is that AEW for the last few weeks have been doing a better job of using recaps to refresh peoples memories of what's been happening with the stories so I'm hoping that it's helping to make things feel connected and that they keep doing it.

It's been one of my complaints for a long time. I get that WWE goes Extremely overboard with them but AEW was on the other end and barely did then so keeping up to date with what's happening could be hard even for dedicated fans unless you listen to everything Excalibur says diligently.
Bigkrev said:
It's got a timeslot move to 7pm eastern and 4pm pacific this week due to the NBA Playoffs. That's a better slot for the East Coast (but it is a different slot), but an awful one for the West Coast
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Oh yeah, I forgot about that since I'm in the UK and just watch the following day on Fite.
 
Anth0ny

Anth0ny

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Oct 25, 2017
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I think the winning formula for Rampage is 4.5* matches every week

You'd think such a thing on a weekly basis is impossible… but look at that AEW roster. Then factor in New Japan talent potentially coming over more frequently. There's a storyline reason for putting Suzuki vs Joe on Dynamite (giving Joe the ROH TV Title win), but that's the kind of buzz worthy match perfect for a pretaped Rampage.
 
Rivenblade

Rivenblade

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Dirtyshubb said:
Yeah I agree with you. The one thing I would say though is that AEW for the last few weeks have been doing a better job of using recaps to refresh peoples memories of what's been happening with the stories so I'm hoping that it's helping to make things feel connected and that they keep doing it.

It's been one of my complaints for a long time. I get that WWE goes Extremely overboard with them but AEW was on the other end and barely did then so keeping up to date with what's happening could be hard even for dedicated fans unless you listen to everything Excalibur says diligently.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that since I'm in the UK and just watch the following day on Fite.
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Don't think it's controversial to say that AEW could learn a lot from WWE. Video packages and recaps are certainly two things they would benefit from. Even replay packages after matches, which they do do at times, can help make a match stick in your head a bit more.

As you said, they've been doing them more often, which is great. They clearly don't do as many because the shows are already jam-packed with the amount of talent they have, though.
 
Dirtyshubb

Dirtyshubb

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Anth0ny said:
I think the winning formula for Rampage is 4.5* matches every week

You'd think such a thing on a weekly basis is impossible… but look at that AEW roster. Then factor in New Japan talent potentially coming over more frequently. There's a storyline reason for putting Suzuki vs Joe on Dynamite (giving Joe the ROH TV Title win), but that's the kind of buzz worthy match perfect for a pretaped Rampage.
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I think while great matches can draw people in, a bigger thing is to make it feel connected to dynamite more. Things like Starks/Hobbs Vs Lee/Swerve being announced for Dynamite after them regularly continuing the story on rampage helps to make it feel worthwhile.

It's an issue I have sometimes as I know you are likely to get good to great matches on rampage, the results often feel predictable and you don't get a lot of story progression in terms of promos and post match shenanigans etc.
Rivenblade said:
Don't think it's controversial to say that AEW could learn a lot from WWE. Video packages and recaps are certainly two things they would benefit from. Even replay packages after matches, which they do do at times, can help make a match stick in your head a bit more.

As you said, they've been doing them more often, which is great. They clearly don't do as many because the shows are already jam-packed with the amount of talent they have, though.
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Yeah it's a tough balancing act but I think they have done a good job the last few weeks in showing enough recaps/promos/backstage stuff to help break up the show and make things more worthwhile and meaningful.
 
Rivenblade

Rivenblade

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Dirtyshubb said:
I think while great matches can draw people in, a bigger thing is to make it feel connected to dynamite more. Things like Starks/Hobbs Vs Lee/Swerve being announced for Dynamite after them regularly continuing the story on rampage helps to make it feel worthwhile.

It's an issue I have sometimes as I know you are likely to get good to great matches on rampage, the results often feel predictable and you don't get a lot of story progression in terms of promos and post match shenanigans etc.

Yeah it's a tough balancing act but I think they have done a good job the last few weeks in showing enough recaps/promos/backstage stuff to help break up the show and make things more worthwhile and meaningful.
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Yeah, Rampage sometimes does feel like "just matches," but I've loved so many of those episodes too. I preferred Rampage to Dynamite for almost all of January and part of February this year. It does help to make the shows feel connected, though. I'll be curious to see what Rampage looks like the week after this one. I know Tony said he would make "the next two weeks" of Rampage special, meaning last week's and this week's, but I hope this is more of a long-term commitment to making AEW's TV shows more connected and equally important.
 
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Dirtyshubb

Dirtyshubb

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Rivenblade said:
Yeah, Rampage sometimes does feel like "just matches," but I've loved so many of those episodes too. I preferred Rampage to Dynamite for almost all of January and part of February this year. It does help to make the shows feel connected, though. I'll be curious to see what Rampage looks like the week after this one. I know Tony said he would make "the next two weeks" of Rampage special, meaning last week's and this week's, but I hope this is more of a long-term commitment to making AEW's TV shows more connected and equally important.
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Yeah don't get me wrong, I have really enjoyed rampage too and it has consistently had good to great matches. But it does often feel like a better version of Dark etc at times in that you can watch it in a silo but it doesn't always feel like it goes anywhere.

I believe TK said he was going to start getting rampage back to its roots, so trying to make it feel more important and considering they had a major payoff this week with Yuta getting accepted into the BCC or hangman's title match, hopefully it's a good sign.

If he consistently does it I can easily see them regularly getting back to and staying in the 600s unless something major happens elsewhere.
 
Superpupperbabysassy

Superpupperbabysassy

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Oct 29, 2017
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Rivenblade said:
Don't think it's controversial to say that AEW could learn a lot from WWE. Video packages and recaps are certainly two things they would benefit from. Even replay packages after matches, which they do do at times, can help make a match stick in your head a bit more.

As you said, they've been doing them more often, which is great. They clearly don't do as many because the shows are already jam-packed with the amount of talent they have, though.
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I agree with this. WWE overuses these as well. They should be done for big feuds and angles. WWE uses these for Madcap Moss promo's.
 
Anth0ny

Anth0ny

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Oct 25, 2017
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down from last years' post-post mania raw, which was in front of no fans (did 1.907m and a 0.61)


we're back in business boys



also, nba play-in starts tonight. should kill dynamite, smackdown and rampage this week, and raw starting next week
 
Rivenblade

Rivenblade

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Anth0ny said:
down from last years' post-post mania raw, which was in front of no fans (did 1.907m and a 0.61)


we're back in business boys



also, nba play-in starts tonight. should kill dynamite, smackdown and rampage this week, and raw starting next week
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Read in the comments that Better Call Saul premier is also next Monday during Raw, along with 2 NBA playoff games, so yeah, probably gonna take a hit. I'd love for Dynamite to be up tomorrow, but doubt it with two NBA play-in (when did this become a thing?) games at 7:30pm and then at 9:30pm. Hornets/Hawks, Spurs/Pelicans. (Who TF are the Pelicans?)
 
Anth0ny

Anth0ny

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Rivenblade said:
Read in the comments that Better Call Saul premier is also next Monday during Raw, along with 2 NBA playoff games, so yeah, probably gonna take a hit. I'd love for Dynamite to be up tomorrow, but doubt it with two NBA play-in (when did this become a thing?) games at 7:30pm and then at 9:30pm. Hornets/Hawks, Spurs/Pelicans. (Who TF are the Pelicans?)
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play-in started last year. none of these teams are a huge draw, but evidently (stares at NCAA) americans fucking love best-of-one, win or go home tournaments, so I could see these games doing a lot better than they have any right to.
 
Rivenblade

Rivenblade

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Raw still massacred everything else on TV last night. Would be surprised if it's not in the 1.7s or 1.6s next week with the NBA playoffs, though. Get that demo back to .39, baby!
2022-4-11-Mon-FinalCable-LSD.png
 
Serpens007

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Rivenblade said:
Raw still massacred everything else on TV last night. Would be surprised if it's not in the 1.7s or 1.6s next week with the NBA playoffs, though. Get that demo back to .39, baby!
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Jesus this is still pretty fucking solid. I'm sure it'll keep dropping until "normal" ratings, but it kept a good chunk of last week's watchers.
 
Anth0ny

Anth0ny

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I just want to see WWE's viewership continue to dwindle, while AEW's continues to be up year over year

those streams gotta cross eventually
 
Serpens007

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Anth0ny said:
I just want to see WWE's viewership continue to dwindle, while AEW's continues to be up year over year

those streams gotta cross eventually
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Me too but, uh, AEW's ratings has stagnated since months ago. I want AEW to surpass WWE on merit of their own growth rather than WWE's fall. It's a marathon as someone once said though...
 
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