Wrestling TV Ratings: AEW Main Event Does Show Low, RAW Down Big From 2020
(Photo Credit: WWE)
The ratings for all the wrestling shows were down last week and were likely impacted by the impeachment trial coverage of Donald Trump, which started last Tuesday. The numbers this week should give a better idea to how much the trial hurt the ratings.
Below is a look at the ratings for all the wrestling shows tracked by Nielsen for the week ending February 12, 2021, along with the most watched news show that aired that night to see how much it might have affected the audience:
As we previously reported, AEW Dynamite and NXT both experienced drops thanks to news coverage of the second impeachment of Donald Trump. Dynamite defeated NXT with 741,000 viewers and a 0.29 rating (376,000 viewers) compared to NXT’s 558,000 viewers and 0.12 rating (159,000 viewers).
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has a detailed look at the numbers including a quarter by quarter breakdown. News coverage had 19 of the top 20 highest-rated shows of the day. As a result, Dynamite was down to #21 among non-news shows, Dynamite was #2 behind MTV’s
Challenge Double Agent, managing to beat NBA games and the NHL. NXT dropped all the way to #62.
Dynamite was down 12.2% in viewers, 7.8% in 18-49 and up 7.1% in 18-34. So the numbers were down but the audience skewed younger. NXT was down 8.7% in viewers and 19.3% in 18-49, so the audience skewed older. Dynamite had four times what NXT did in men 18-34, almost double in women 18-34, over double in men 35-49 and double in women 35-4
Edge once again appeared on this week s Monday Night Raw, recapping everything that went down on WWE programming for him over the past week. After winning the Royal Rumble match Edge confronted WWE Champion Drew McIntyre on Raw (right before Sheamus betrayed him), NXT Champion Finn Balor & Pete [.]
As we previously reported, AEW Beach Break defeated NXT in the ratings yet again, and improved on last week’s numbers by 90,000 viewers. Dynamite had 844,000 viewers and a 0.32 rating (408,000 viewers) compared to NXT’s 610,000 viewers and 0.15 rating (197,000 viewers). NXT finished just outside of the top fifty (at #51), so some of the numbers are not available. Head-to-head prior to NXT’s overrun, they had 609,000 viewers and 195,000 in 18-49. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has a detailed ratings breakdown for both shows.
Dynamite placed third, beating the NBA head-to-head (701,000 viewers, 0.23 rating) on ESPN and the NHL game on NBC Sports Network (633,000 viewers, 0.18 rating). It was only behind MTV’s