AEW Rumors: Early ratings for Dynamite debut revealed

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that early market ratings are available and suggest a strong rating for AEW Dynamite. While the complete rating for AEW on TNT has not been revealed, the trends suggest that it could be anywhere between 1.5 million to 1.7 million viewers.

The show itself was a success and the crowd in attendance was amazing. Dynamite ended strong with Chris Jericho and his new crew, which included Jack Swagger, beating up The Elite. It's fair to say that from a fan perspective, there was a definite buzz when the show ended.

What ratings were executives expecting for AEW Dynamite on TNT?

AEW has been generating buzz since its debut Double or Nothing show back in May. The TV deal caused a sensation when it was announced that they were going to be on TNT, the home of WCW Monday Nitro for several years before the company went defunct in 2001.

According to a report back in July, the expected rating was 400,000-500,000 viewers. This was according to industry insiders, who were basing this on the buzz at the time.

Is the AEW Dynamite debut rating huge?

Meltzer reports that the early rating is based on several indicators. On Oct 1st, there was a preview special on TNT that recorded 631,000 viewers. On Oct 2nd, there was a live show and a taped show (replay show).

According to Meltzer, these are the household ratings for the show in different markets:

Live show:

Chicago: 1.0
Dallas: 0.9
Washington, DC: 0.7
Houston: 0.9
Atlanta: 1.0
Detroit: 1.4
Minneapolis: 0.8
Charlotte: 2.0

Replay show:

Chicago: 0.6
Dallas: 0.1
Washington, DC: 0.2
Houston: 0.4
Atlanta: 0.2
Detroit: 0.8
Minneapolis: 0.2
Charlotte: 0.8

For comparison, this is the percentage increase from each market, from the show on October 1st:

Chicago up 233 percent
Dallas up 200 percent
Washington, DC up 75 percent
Houston up 125 percent
Atlanta up 11 percent
Detroit up 133 percent
Minneapolis up 300 percent
Charlotte up 82 percent

Will this be the final rating for AEW Dynamite?

There is no way of telling what the final number could be. The rating could be lower or higher, depending on how viewers were tuning in and out. If the number skews closer to 1.2 Million viewers, it would be considered a successful debut for AEW Dynamite.