AEW had its first quarterly special on Saturday with their very first Battle of the Belts. Everyone was anticipating the release of the ratings for this show. And the results were quite good for TNT and AEW.
AEW’s Battle of the Belts was viewed by 704,000 people and it did .27 in the 18-49 demo, which is over 355,000 people. The show was 11th on the night on cable behind multiple NFL games. Many were unsure how the show would do considering this was the first time AEW has been on the same night as the NFL. As many know Tony Kahn does not want to compete against his own product as he is an owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
AEW Battle of the Belts on TNT, Saturday @ 8-9pm:
704,000 viewers
P18-49: 0.27 (355,000)For comparison, Rampage the night before did 588,000 and a 0.24. Dynamite on TBS Wednesday had 1.01 million viewers and a 0.43 demo rating.
📊 More demos & analysis: https://t.co/1SscdBCpr8
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) January 11, 2022
However, if this is an indication, AEW has found something with these Saturday night shows. Especially in the 8-9 pm range or the 9-10 pm range. Think about this the night before AEW Rampage is on at 10 pm and was viewed by 588,000 people and did .24 in the 18-49 demo. The last time AEW was on a Saturday night was the Christmas edition of Rampage which saw 589,000 viewers and did a .26 in the 18-49 demo.
Around FPC
WWE: WWE Once Again Chooses To Go Back To Brock Lesnar
WWE: Time To Bid Farewell To The Black and Gold Era of NXT
AEW: Has AEW Made The TNT Championship Meaningless With Latest Title Change
NFL: PfgVIBE’s 2021 NFL Predictions: Team and Individual Picks
NHL: NHL Power Rankings: Maple Leafs Atop At The Quarter Mark
PODCAST: Crossbody of Work Episode 87: Mickie James
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For a one-hour show, this was very good. Three very good matches with titles on the line. Though did not feel like a special, it felt more like a better version of Rampage, people love watching wrestling on Saturday nights. The show opened hot with the Interim TNT Championship between Sammy Guevara and Dustin Rhodes. If you have seen the match, do yourself a favour and watch it. This segment was viewed by 582,000 people.
The other matches on the card featured FTW champion Ricky Starks putting the title on the line against Matt Sydal. In the main event of the night, Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D defended the AEW Women’s Championship against Riho.
Overall a very good week if you are a fan of AEW.
