Chris Jericho - Orange Cassidy Segment Draws Record Low Quarter, More AEW Vs. NXT Ratings Notes

As previously reported, NXT scored their biggest victory over AEW Dynamite this past Wednesday.

NXT averaged 786,000 viewers, which was up 5.4% from the week prior and was their second best number of the year, behind only the February 19th show. It scored a 0.19 rating in the 18-49 demo, which is on the higher end of what the show has been doing in the demo since the pandemic. However, the 18-49 demo was down 5% from last week's 0.20, and the gains in viewership this week were in 18-34 as well as 50+.

AEW Dynamite did 633,000 viewers, which was down 18% from the week prior and was the lowest audience for the show in history. It also scored a 0.22 rating in 18-49, which was their lowest rating ever in the demo. They were down in all demos from the week prior.

NXT topped Dynamite by 24% in total viewers, the largest margin for an NXT win in history. AEW Dynamite still beat NXT in the 18-49 demo, however it was by the smallest margin this year. NXT only holds one victory over Dynamite in 18-49 so far, which was on December 18, 2019.

NXT won every quarter except for the second, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Meltzer added on Wrestling Observer Radio that Dynamite actually opened with 744,000 viewers, which was a decent opening, however lost viewers in every quarter except for the ending of the FTR vs. SCU match.

The main event on NXT between Keith Lee, Finn Balor and Johnny Gargano was the big hit on Wednesday night. While Dynamite won in 18-49 overall, NXT won the final two quarter hours in the demo, despite AEW featuring Chris Jericho (their biggest ratings draw), Matt Hardy and Orange Cassidy during those quarters. The NXT main event beat the Jericho – Cassidy segment that closed Dynamite by 54%, 852,000 viewers to 552,000. The Jericho – Cassidy segment was down 26% from the first quarter and was the lowest quarter in the show's history.

In the 18-49 demo, AEW opened with 379,000 viewers, but was down 37% to 238,000 viewers for the final segment.

Dynamite was in 17th place for the night in 18-49 (8th among non-news shows), while NXT was in 26th place (12th among non-news shows).

This week's Dynamite will feature week one of Fyter Fest, while NXT will present week one of The Great American Bash.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

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