Wrestling Wars

Pro Wrestling: Ratings news and overview

October 2023

WWE NXT @WWENXT bests AEW Dynamite in Tuesday night friendly wrestling ratings war

Wresting fans were the big winners, and to the victor goes the spoils and bragging rights.

The loaded up NXT episode averaged 921,000 viewers.

WWE NXT was a strong victor over AEW Dynamite.

NXT averaged 921,000 viewers across the USA Network, up 7.5% from last weeks episode. It's the biggest audience total for the show since September 25, 2019, which was the second week that NXT aired via the USA Network.

AEW Dynamite averaged 609,000 viewers on TBS (formally Turner Broadcasting Systems). Down 23.9% from last week and is the lowest viewership total the show has done since June 18, 2021. That episode was moved to Saturday due to NBA playoff coverage. This is the lowest viewership Dynamite has ever done when airing head-to-head against NXT.

NXT drew a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 36.4% from last week. It's the 4th-highest rating in the history of the show, trailing only the first three weeks that NXT aired on USA.

Dynamite did a 0.26 rating in 18-49. That's down 7.1% from last week and is the lowest rating the show has done since June 28.

As compared to the same week in 2022, NXT was up 25 percent in overall viewers and up 100% in 18-49. Dynamite was down 38.1% in overall viewers and down 18.8% in 18-49.

Comparing to one week last year when both shows aired head-to-head on Tuesday night, NXT was up 36.2 percent overall and up 66.7 percent in 18-49. Dynamite was down 19& in overall viewers but steady in 18-49.

So that's the the head to head, current and historicial numbers.

A bigger picture the sustainability of the pro wrestling industry and the leading promotions. The WWE has been in business for over half a century. AEW since January 1, 2019 (announced via 'Being The Elite').

Background:

AEW is the brainchild of Tony Khan who is a lifelong fan of pro wrestling and the son of one of the world's most successful and wealthy businessmen, Shahid Khan.

Shawn Michaels is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative, responsible for both creative and development at NXT.

The WWE is part of the TKO Group.

Vince McMahon is Executive chairman and Ari Emanuel is CEO.

Nick Khan is the President of WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), a publicly traded global media company.

Prior to joining WWE, Khan was the Co-Head of Television at CAA where he represented the biggest names and entities in sports media negotiating billions of dollars in media rights deals.

Khan joined WWE in 2020 and helped lead the company to record revenue and profitability in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Khan began his career as a practicing attorney.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque is the Chief Content Officer of WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO).

As Chief Content Officer, Levesque oversees the Company’s Creative Writing, Talent Relations, Live Events, Talent Development and Creative Services departments.

Kevin Dunn, Executive Producer & Chief, Global Television Distribution

Kevin Dunn, a fixture at WWE for more than 30 years, can trace his roots in the television industry to his early childhood. His father, Dennis Dunn, served as Executive Producer of Intermedia Productions, a program producer and syndicator first commissioned by Vince McMahon, Sr. to handle all WWE production beginning in 1972. After learning the ropes of the TV business at his father’s knee and through more formal education at Towson State University, Dunn was hired full-time by Vince McMahon, Jr. in 1984. He functioned as an associate producer of all domestic WWE programming from 1984-1987. During this period, Dunn had the rare opportunity to hone his producing and directing skills on some of the landmark telecasts in wrestling history. He was an integral part of the production team which brought a radical concept called WrestleMania from the drawing board to reality. This event not only signaled the dawn of the modern wrestling era, but it also served as a benchmark for the later development of the entire pay-per-view industry.

Andrew Schleimer serves as Chief Financial Officer, TKO since September 12, 2023. He has also served as Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Endeavor since February 2021. He will also continue serving as Chief Financial Officer of UFC, having served in that position since September 2016. From July 2014 to September 2016, Mr. Schleimer served as the Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Digital Turbine, Inc. (Nasdaq), a provider of end-to-end solutions for mobile technology companies to enable advertising and monetization functions.

Wrestling fans and wrestlers have traditionally enjoyed wrestling wars (for ratings, talent and out of the ring excitment, while rival promoters look to lure the world's greatest talent to their promotion.

Whether the wrestling wars are a real competion depends upon who one asks. They are essentially in the same line of business. WWE's been at in much longer and has far developed media, marketing and historicial connections and fanbase. AEW is somewhat of a challenger brand but has yet to fully capitalize on their vast resources and talent.

The wrestling war provides extra opportunities for wrestlers, wrestling management and well as more fodder for those who report and watch the unique form of sports entertainment (a phrase coined by super promoter Vince McMahon).

Fortunes can be made and lost in and around the pro wrestling industry as one time WCW (World Championship Wrestling) and short-term WWE exec Eric Bischoff can attest to. Bischoff runs a popular wrestling podcast, '83 Weeks' (83 weeks largely on top of the pro wrestling world) , where he breaks down the industry ups, downs and news bytes, drawing upon his vast experience with more than his fair share of both hits and misses. Bischoff has proclaimed he wants to see both promotions do well, as well as see the industry thrive as a whole.

Some fans of wrestling engage in tribalism, which sees them sometime engage in unhealthy and sometimes disrespectful interactions, be it with other fans or even wrestlers and promoters. Some fans and others around the industry can attract nicknames such as "marks" - not understanding the industry very well. When fans, wrestlers and industry players make too many serious mistakes that can attract "heat", meaning they become not well liked or thought of. In exteme cases wrestlers can be "black-balled from working for the larger promotions.

Wrestling in the U.S exploaded in popularity after the 1861–1865 Civil War, with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they often struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so the wrestlers quietly began "faking" their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or who needed to share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked the stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury as a general rule, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked.

Not a real sport, it is widely understand that most pro wrestlers at an elite level are in fact some of the world's greatest athlete, along with their cousins, mixed martial artists, who compete in promotions such as the UFC, ONE Championship and PLF. Some wrestlers enjoy careers in both disciplines, but that would account to a very small percentage of performers.

The WWE's Vince McMahon is widely regarded as the most successful pro wrestling promoter of all time.

News

WWE NXT results, Oct. 10, 2023: The Undertaker delivers a Chokeslam to Bron Breakker to cap off an unforgettable NXT! (WWE.com)

Video

The Undertaker, John Cena, Cody Rhodes & more on the biggest NXT ever: NXT highlights, Oct. 10, 2023

Video

Top 10 WWE NXT moments: WWE Top 10, Oct. 10, 2023

Video

Rated-R Superstar Adam Copeland makes his in-ring debut against Luchasaurus! | 10/9/23, AEW Dynamite (All Elite Wrestling YouTube)

The Rated R Superstar Makes His In-Ring Debut! | AEW Control Center: Title Tuesday, 10/10/23 (All Elite Wrestling YouTube)

Pro Wrestling

“The subtle message, whether it’s intentional or not. Is. Going to WWE is a step up. Going to AEW is a step-down. It just is what it is. It’s just perception is reality. It is. And what is that? What is that message? First of all, who does that message land on the most? Who’s most affected by that message, and guys like MJF? Not everybody that’s in has the potential of ever seeing the inside of a WWE arena unless they buy a ticket to go watch. Some. Okay. Some. MJF is one of them. There are probably others. Sammy Guevara. Perhaps Ricky Starks. Perhaps. and there may be others, but of the 178 people on that roster, you’re talking about a handful of people that really have the potential of going there. Many of them have already been there and spent decades of their career there. So it’s just what it is. It may hurt to hear it for some people, but it’s true. That’s the message that matters the most. So when Ricky Starks or an MJF their deals are coming up, and they look at what happened to Cody. They look at what happened with Jade. Assuming it goes well, and I’m pretty sure it will. That’s when that message matters. The rest of it doesn’t go to so much of the talent. It really won’t matter because they’re not going to be in that position. But the people who are or will be or think they will be are going to hear that message loud and clear.” - Eric Bischoff via 83 Weeks

News

Wrestling war moves to videogaming, eSports arena! Enter NWA themed RetroMania to tackle WWE 2K20; AEW hot on the trail with Omega's Japanese based gaming connections says Media Man agency

AEW to release videogame headlined by Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley and Cody Rhodes

AEW Games Official Website

Rumours of N64 No Mercy connection with Japanese game developer Syn Sophia

Media Man agency expresses interest to assist global campaign; United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand et al; Target audience, positioning and website traffic perfect match

Web Is Jericho helping keep potential customers up to date in gaming, pop culture and wrestling news exclusives

Web Is Jericho - Talk Is Jericho primed to give report when the time is right

Profiles

Sports Sports Betting Television Wrestling Business Gaming Entertainment Pop Culture Steaming

Advertising Promotions

The AEW top brass are well aware of the significant demand for a quality All Elite Wrestling themed game. Keep checking the AEW official website and Facebook for more details.

Close followers of the AEW promotion will be aware of the promotions history in the gaming world, namely Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks attending the CEO Gaming conference.

News

Music themed Facebook launched by Media Man Group; Inspired by Rolling Stone, MTV and Chris Jericho's 'Web Is Jericho'

Chris Jericho launches Web Is Jericho - August 2019

Media Man Group Ramps Up Gaming, iGaming, eSports, Sports Betting, Poker and Daily Fantasy Sports Coverage With Extra Social Media Channels; Facebook, YouTube, Twitter et al

Kenny Omega to perform at New Japan Show on June 29 at CEO Gaming in Daytona Beach, Florida - May 2018

Social Media expansion continues for Media Man Group; Facebook pages for Magazine, Technology, Bloggers, Europe, Drinks, Boxing, Asia Pacific, Streaming and more

NWA wrestlers to be featured in RetroMania Videogame - November 2019

eSports, videogames, gaming, casinos (land based and online) will be key drivers of Bitcoin and Blockchain says Media Man agency

All Elite Wrestling poised to become game-changer - 26th January 2019