AEW Match Brings Viewers To More Than 1 Million, Backstage Talk On COVID-19 Hurting AEW Momentum
This week's AEW Dynamite match between The Young Bucks and The Butcher & The Blade reportedly did huge numbers for the company.
It was noted on Twitter by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the match, which was won by The Young Bucks, topped more than 1 million viewers for the quarter.
AEW President & CEO Tony Khan responded to Meltzer's tweet and confirmed that the Falls Count Anywhere match drew more than 1 million total viewers for the final 5 minutes of the bout. Khan noted that Dynamite hit 1,018,000 viewers from 8:55pm ET until 9pm ET. 502,000 of those viewers were in the key 18-49 demographic.
"Yes, #AEWDynamite was over a million total viewers for the final 5 minutes of the @youngbucks v. Butcher & Blade Falls Count Anywhere match, from 8:55pm ET to 9pm ET with 1,018,000 viewers total and 502,000 in the key 18-49 year old demographic! Thank you to everyone who watched!," Khan wrote.
You can click here for our full ratings breakdown for Dynamite vs. WWE NXT this week.
On a related note about AEW buzz, Florida news reporter Jon Alba of Spectrum Sports 360 noted on Twitter that he's talked to people in AEW and they all are agreeing that the company's momentum was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in a big way. Word from within AEW is that if the Rochester, NY and Newark, NY shows planned for back in March would have happened as planned, then the company would be doing much bigger numbers.
The Rochester Dynamite show had been scheduled for March 18, as the go-home episode for the big "Blood & Guts" show on March 25 in Newark. The special "Blood & Guts" edition of Dynamite was set to feature the big match between The Elite and The Inner Circle.
"Talked to a few in #AEW about this, and they all say the same thing: If the Rochester and Newark (Blood & Guts) shows went off as planned, #AEWDynamite would be doing big time numbers right now. Felt like a lot of the momentum was stalled. Show was excellent this week," Alba wrote.
AEW later announced that the Rochester show has been re-scheduled for November 11 of this year, from the Blue Cross Arena. The Newark show was pushed back to February 24, 2021, from the Prudential Center.
Below are the related tweets:
Yes, #AEWDynamite was over a million total viewers for the final 5 minutes of the @youngbucks v. Butcher & Blade Falls Count Anywhere match, from 8:55pm ET to 9pm ET with 1,018,000 viewers total and 502,000 in the key 18-49 year old demographic! Thank you to everyone who watched!
? Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) July 24, 2020
Talked to a few in #AEW about this, and they all say the same thing:
If the Rochester and Newark (Blood & Guts) shows went off as planned, #AEWDynamite would be doing big time numbers right now. Felt like a lot of the momentum was stalled. Show was excellent this week.
? Jon Alba (@JonAlba) July 24, 2020