WWE NXT Destroys Historically Low AEW Dynamite For 5th Straight Time

WWE NXT Showdown destroyed AEW Dynamite for the fifth straight time in head-to-head competition. NXT faces off with AEW in head-to-head competition one Tuesday a year due to Dynamite being preempted by the MLB playoffs. NXT has defeated AEW handily every time with AEW at a disadvantage on an unfamiliar night.

NXT drew 625,000 viewers (0.12 in 18-49) for its NXT vs. TNA Showdown special. This is up 8% from 572,000 last week. AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday drew 321,000 with .07 in 18-49. This is down 31% from 465,000 last week and the lowest viewership in the history of AEW Dynamite. Last year’s Tuesday broadcast of AEW Dynamite drew 523,000 viewers.

WWE NXT Showdown Vs. AEW Dynamite Viewership

• WWE NXT Showdown Ratings | 625,000 Total viewers; 0.12 in 18-19
• AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday Ratings | 321,000 Total viewers; 0.07 in 18-49

Viewership data using the old Nielsen panel-only methodology yielded an extremely lopsided victory for NXT Showdown, which garnered 685,000 viewers (0.14 in 18-49) under the old method compared to a scary low 301,000 viewers (.07 in 18-49) for AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday.

The new Nielsen Big Data + Panel ratings era is the big story behind these ratings and will continue to be a major story moving forward. Last week’s rollout of the Big Data ratings ceded abnormally low viewership for pro wrestling broadcasts on television across the board. Lower ratings for pro wrestling in the Big Data era spell panic for the entire industry, but it could have a particularly adverse effect on AEW.

“Now all of a sudden [TV networks] are paying that much money for these numbers that are much lower, that changes the game,” said Dave Meltzer of the “Wrestling Observer Radio” (h/t Wrestling Inc.)

“From a CW standpoint, I don’t see any problems because the reality is they didn’t pay a lot for ‘NXT’ to begin with and they got nothing else that’s doing the 18-49 number. AEW, it was a big-money deal and I feel they’re the most vulnerable because TBS and TNT, they don’t need it. It’s good to have and the ratings were certainly good enough to justify the money in the original deal but when you take that stuff down 15%, we don’t know … if the [HBO] Max numbers are real big then it still may be worth it, even with these lower numbers but we don’t know what the Max numbers are for sure.”

NXT’s dominance over AEW in their annual head-to-head tilts is a far cry from AEW’s winning ways during the Wednesday Night War. AEW won that war with an impressive 63-10 record in viewership, with two ties and NXT was forced to retreat to Tuesday nights. NXT has rallied back as the more successful show, particularly in total viewership over the past year. Since NXT’s move to the CW on October 1, 2024, NXT has defeated AEW in total viewership in 48 out of 52 weeks.

It’s worth mentioning that every single day in the history of NXT on the CW, the men’s world champion has been Black. Imagine that.

NXT extending its win-streak in its annual head-to-head war with AEW was already academic, but Tony Khan and co. did not even put up a fight. NXT built its show around a high-profile NXT vs. TNA storyline resulting in a Survivor Series-like Showdown between Team NXT and Team TNA. Showdown was book-ended by two women’s and men’s elimination matches, respectively.

By night’s end, TNA edged NXT 3-2 in five interpromotional matches.

Tony Khan Continues To Fear WWE

AEW did very little to build up Tuesday’s Dynamite outside of extending its runtime by half-an-hour. Despite being promoted as Title Tuesday, AEW Dynamite only booked two title matches in 2.5 hours. Kyle Fletcher defeated Kyle O’Reilly for the TNT Championship. Mercedes Mone defeated Lacey Lane (the former Kayden Carter) in an open challenge for the TBS Championship. With all due respect to Lane, the reveal hardly matched even the limited hype of “A local Florida talent.”

Tony Khan ducking the smoke from WWE has become a major theme in 2025. AEW has moved multiple pay-per-views to the daytime as an effort to avoid head-to-head counterprogramming from WWE PLEs. This most recently happened when WWE’s Wrestlepalooza debut on ESPN was scheduled to go head-to-head with AEW All Out 2025. Khan promptly moved All Out to the daytime.

“We’ve been able to stick and move and make it work really well for us,” Khan said about AEW avoiding same-day WWE live events. “There’s always going to be tough competition, and in this sport, it’s very tough competition, a kind of competition that makes you work really hard 52 weeks a year.”

Tony Khan “sticking and moving” is understandable from a business standpoint. Going head-to-head with the biggest wrestling promotion in the world is a daunting task, and even AEW’s flagship show has failed to beat WWE’s developmental brand head-to-head in the past five years. But Khan kowtowing to WWE created a dynamic where WWE can control AEW’s start time anytime they please. AEW lets WWE bully them out of their own timeslot, and as a result, AEW fans must fly in at different times. This inconvenience sometimes results in AEW Sickos paying a stick-and-move fee by rescheduling their flights.

WWE reportedly has no more counterprogramming plans for the remainder of 2025. But given the accuracy of dirtsheet media reports and the ever-changing landscape of pro wrestling, this should be taken with a grain of salt.

WWE NXT Vs. AEW Dynamite Head-To-Head Ratings

• October 7, 2025 | WWE NXT 625,000; AEW Dynamite 321,000
• November 6, 2024 | WWE NXT 619,000; AEW Dynamite 523,000
• October 8, 2024 | WWE NXT 874,000; AEW Dynamite 329,000
• October 10, 2023 | WWE NXT 921,000; AEW Dynamite 621,000
• October 18, 2022 | AEW Dynamite 752,000; WWE NXT 656,000