There have been a lot of different professional wrestling organizations over the years that have tried to soar to the heights of the WWE. For a while, it seemed like WCW might be the company to do it. For 84 consecutive weeks, the WCW beat the WWE in ratings, but eventually McMahon was able to come out on top and buy them out. That was in 2001.
It wasn’t until 2019, when AEW came into the picture, that pro-wrestling fans started enjoying some healthy competition, and AEW has now got the viewership, and the consistently growing ratings to prove that it means business. Sure, it helps that a few high-profile wrestlers from the WWE “jumped ship” to AEW and are putting on consistently great shows, but it looks like Tony Khan’s business model is working. So, will that be the case for their Friday night Rampage programming?
What are the viewership ratings for AEW ‘Rampage’?
If you’ve been following AEW, then you will probably know Dynamite has managed to consistently beat out the WWE’s development brand, NXT, every Wednesday night for a very, very long time.
While many would state that’s due to the fact Dynamite is AEW’s “Tier 1” programming and NXT is basically “Division 3” for WWE pro-wrestlers, it’s still a huge feat for an organization that first debuted in January of 2019.
Article continues below advertisement
Source: YouTube
AEW has managed to keep a consistently growing audience base even throughout the pandemic (a tall order for sports entertainment) to the point where they were able to expand to putting on shows two nights a week.
No one knew how fans would react to Rampage airing on Friday nights, at the same time as WWE’s Smackdown! programming, but the numbers are in and they are more than favorable.
Article continues below advertisement
Unlike Dynamite, which airs head-to-head against NXT, Rampage actually begins on TNT right after Smackdown! wraps up on FOX. Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics reported that Rampage‘s debut show brought in a whopping 740,000 average total viewers, scoring a .30 rating in the core 18-49 demographic.
Article continues below advertisement
Smackdown! fared better, but mind you, it’s on network television and has already been established viewing on Friday nights. Plus, it’s a more recognizable brand: It drew 2,084,000 pairs of eyeballs with 746,000 viewers in the 18-49 category.
At the inaugural Rampage show, viewers saw Christian Cage defeat Kenny Omega for the IMPACT World Championship, which is the first time Christian has been crowned champ since beating Randy Orton in 2011.
Article continues below advertisement
Article continues below advertisement