Major absences of CM Punk & Bryan Danielson hit AEW as this week's Dynamite ratings plummet to their lowest of 2022
The ratings for the June 15th Road Rager edition of AEW Dynamite have been released. The all-elite flagship suffered a momentous drop in ratings, producing 761k as opposed to last week's 939k. The key demo rating also dropped from 0.34 to 0.28.
AEW Dynamite this week opened with a Hair vs Hair contest between Ortiz and Chris Jericho. This was the the latest entry in the saga between the Jericho Appreciation Society and Eddie Kingston, Santana, Ortiz, and the Blackpool Combat Club. With help from the returning Sammy Guevara, Jericho secured the victory and Ortiz was forced to shave his head.
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jon Moxley later came face-to-face ahead of their Interim AEW World title match at Forbidden Door. Jericho once again appeared to interrupt, running down both competitors and sending the rest of the JAS to the ring to attack Mox and Tanahashi.
Lance Archer and El Desperado also emerged on behalf of Suzuki-Gun. Jericho confirmed Minoru Suzuki would be teaming with him and Sammy Guevara against Eddie Kingston, Shota Umino and Wheeler Yuta.
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AEW Dynamite last night on TBS:
761,000 viewers
P18-49: 0.28
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This week's viewership endured a landslide as the promotion recorded their lowest total of 2022 thus far. AEW has been hit with an injury crisis, with the likes of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson currently out. A large portion of this week's fall ratings can be attributed to the NHL Stanley Cup Final which drew 4.2 million viewers in it's own right.
What did fans make of the AEW Dynamite ratings?
One thing that's certain with the Dynamite ratings is that fans will always have something to say. This week was no different, as fans suggested reasons for the sudden drop in ratings.
Of course, the Stanley Cup Final was pointed out by fans as the primary reason for the freefall. However, there were those who felt that the absences of stars such as MJF, Bryan Danielson and CM Punk had their own detriment to viewership.
@BrandonThurston No Punk, no Danielson, no MJF
@BrandonThurston @The_MJF You need to come back and save @AEW
@BrandonThurston I’m assuming the Stanley cup did a great rating? 🤷🏻♂️
@BrandonThurston when punk is gone and the MJF angle has no follow-up, no one has a reason to watch AEW
let’s be honest, the real reason we started watching them anyways was because of cm punk, MJF kept us watching, now both are gone and we don’t care anymore
@BrandonThurston Maybe the Forbidden Door stuff isn't clicking with more casual audience members.
A select group of fans speculated that fans had limited interest in the NJPW cross-over, ahead of their collaborative event Forbidden Door. Whichever the case, it will be interesting to see how Dynamite bounces back next week.