All eyes have been on All Elite Wrestling since Sunday, and that was exemplified on AEW Dynamite. Wednesday’s broadcast was the first new AEW programming since the now infamous AEW All Out press conference, which featured AEW World Champion CM Punk going on an unscripted and uncensored rant directed at Colt Cabana, “Hangman” Adam Page, Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks. Punk’s comments brewed a backstage fight that pitted himself and trainer Ace Steel against Omega and the Bucks, which culminated in Omega getting bitten and Nick Jackson being struck with a chair. The specifics of this situation are still developing, but the immediate consequences are that all men involved have been suspended except for Punk and Steel, who will either be suspended or let go from the company.
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This off-camera drama bled into AEW storylines, as Punk’s AEW World Title and The Elite’s AEW Trios Titles were vacated at the beginning of Dynamite. The next AEW World Champion will be crowned at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam in two weeks, while Death Triangle defeated Best Friends and Orange Cassidy to claim the AEW Trios Titles.
All the drama and implications surrounding this broadcast of Dynamite was enough to get many to tune in. Brandon Thurston reports that the September 7th edition of AEW Dynamite drew 1.035 million viewers while also garnering a 0.38 rating in the 18-49 demographic. It landed at the #2 for the night on cable, only coming behind Real Housewives. This viewership is the best for Dynamite since the March 23rd episode while the 18-49 rating is the strongest since June 1st, which was the post-AEW Double or Nothing episode.
As noted by Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc., AEW’s year-over-year viewership is down 21.5% from 2021’s September 8th AEW Dynamite, which featured the first appearances of Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole on AEW television. That show did 1.319 million viewers, which is the second-highest viewership in AEW history.
The viewership boost comes at a crucial time for AEW, as it eyes a TV renewal with Warner Brothers Discovery this fall. AEW’s television deal does not expire until 2023, but the promotion is seeking to extend it before it runs out. Time will tell if AEW sustains its seven figure audience throughout the coming months.
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on AEW’s deal with Warner Brothers Discovery.
