AEW Rampage suffers lowest ratings ever after last week's early start time
The opening edition of AEW Rampage for the month of May suffered the lowest ratings in the show's history.
The May 6th edition of Rampage had a special start time of 5:30 PM ET to give way to TNT's coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. The main event saw Jay Lethal beat the debuting Konosuke Takeshita from DDT Pro Wrestling.
In another match, Riho defeated Yuka Sakazaki to qualify for the Women's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Also, Hook had another confrontation with Danhausen after his win against JD Drake.
According to Nielsen via Showbuzz Daily, the May 6 episode only garnered 292,000 viewers on TNT compared to 464,000 viewers last week, a 37.06% drop-off.
Wrestlenomics, meanwhile, stated that last Friday's show generated just 0.11 in the 18-49 category compared to the 0.14 rating for the April 29 episode. This created a 21.52% decline.
patreon.com/wrestlenomics
AEW Rampage, moved to 5:30-6:30pm, Friday on TNT:
292,000 viewers
P18-49: 0.11
Lowest of any Rampage episode since August debut.
WWE Smackdown on Fox, 8-10pm:
1,998,000 viewers
P18-49: 0.46
Up 22% in P18-49 from last week.
📊 patreon.com/wrestlenomics https://t.co/wK0v9fiutV
What to expect on AEW programming for this week?
This week, AEW Dynamite will feature a few quarter-final matches for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. FTR's Dax Harwood will face Adam Cole, Jeff Hardy will meet Darby Allin. In the women's side of matches, Jamie Hayter will go head-to-head against Toni Storm.
CM Punk will be in action against Dark Order's John Silver, while Jungle Boy will challenge Ricky Starks for the FTW Championship. Finally, MJF and Wardlow will have a contract signing, while the Jericho Appreciation Society will give their victory speech.
#AEWDynamite LIVE WED 8/7c TBS!
-#OwenHart Tourney Quarterfinals @DarbyAllin v @JEFFHARDYBRAND, @DaxFTR v @AdamColePro & @jmehytr v #ToniStorm
-#FTW Title @starkmanjones v @boy_myth_legend
-@CMPunk v @Silvernumber1
-@The_MJF & @RealWardlow Contract Signing
-#JAS Victory Speech https://t.co/xqTisYTxaT
As of writing, Rampage has neither any confirmed matches nor a change in timeslot. It remains to be seen which matches are scheduled for this Friday's episode and how AEW will bounce back from the decline in ratings.
What are your thoughts on Rampage's ratings last Friday? Sound off in the comments section below.