Despite an overall strong debut in a vacuum for Collision and a Dynamite number of over 900,000, AEW won’t be able to celebrate its television ratings this week.
Week 2 of Collision, the pro wrestling company’s newest television program, saw a 27-percent dip in its audience. After debuting to 816,000 viewers, its second installment drew an average of 595,000 viewers, according to Showbuzz Daily and Wrestlenomics. It’s not unsurprising that the number took a fall, as the second week after a premiere will usually see falls before the audience eventually finds its way.
Speaking of that, Dynamite ratings also took a hit from last week. Before Forbidden Door 2 and off the back of Collision’s debut, the AEW flagship drew 902,000 viewers. This week, the show pulled in 809,000 viewers, so nearly a dropoff of 100,000.
However, Dynamite’s concerning number this week is in the P18-49 demographic. Those who have tracked AEW TV ratings over the past few years have highly touted and made meaningful that demographic. So the 0.24 they drew on Wednesday night can be qualified as a huge concern. It’s the lowest mark that the show has scored in that demographic in over three years. The last time they pulled a low demographic rating in that category was June 24, 2020, while the show was at Daily’s Place and not attended by paying fans.
Interestingly, the NHL Draft won the night on a low-watched night on cable. The NHL Draft scored a 0.25 in the P18-49 demographic, according to Showbuzz Daily. Real Housewives of OC also matched the 0.24 Dynamite score on Bravo.
Week-to-week, it’s hard to really key in on anything, especially as Collision finds its audience and its way. But off the back of Forbidden Door, the Dynamite rating is a disappointment. Scoring your lowest number in your key demographic in three years can also be considered a disappointment. Main players might have been absent, but as its competition keeps skyrocketing, AEW will have to try harder to score better ratings. One can only hope that Week 3 of Collision, taped in advance, does better than it did in Week 2. And hopefully, Dynamite numbers go up. But Wednesday night’s show wasn’t particularly received well, and it seems like most viewers weren’t thrilled either.
[ShowbuzzDaily, stats cited by Wrestlenomics Patreon]
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022