WWE NXT vs. TNA showdown.
WWE
WWE NXT Showdown destroyed AEW Dynamite for the fifth straight time in head-to-head competition. NXT takes on AEW in a head-to-head competition one Tuesday a year, as Dynamite is prioritized by the MLB playoffs. NXT has beaten AEW handily every time, with AEW being at a disadvantage on one unknown night.
NXT drew 625,000 viewers (0.12 in 18-49) for the NXT vs. TNA Showdown Special. This is an increase of 8% compared to the 572,000 last week. AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday drew 321,000 with .07 in 18-49. This is down 31% from last week’s 465,000 and the lowest viewership in AEW Dynamite history. Last year’s Tuesday broadcast of AEW Dynamite drew 329,000 viewers.
WWE NXT Showdown Vs. AEW Dynamite viewers
- WWE NXT Showdown Ratings | 625,000 Total viewers; 0.12 in 18-19
- AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday Ratings | 321,000 Total viewers; 0.07 in 18-49
Viewer data using the old Nielsen panel-only methodology delivered an extremely lopsided win for NXT Showdown, which drew 685,000 viewers (0.14 in 18-49) in the old method, compared to a frighteningly low 301,000 viewers (.07 in 18-49) for AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday.
The new Nielsen Big Data + Panel ratings era is the big story behind these ratings and will continue to be an important story going forward. The rollout of last week’s Big Data ratings has been halted abnormally few viewers for televised professional wrestling broadcasts across the board. Lower ratings for pro wrestling in the Big Data era are causing panic across the industry, but could have a particularly negative effect on AEW.
“Now all of a sudden [TV networks] paying so much money for these numbers that are much lower, that changes the game,” says Dave Meltzer of “Wrestling Observer Radio” (h/t Wrestling Inc.)
“From the CW’s point of view, I don’t see any problems because the reality is that they didn’t pay much for ‘NXT’ to begin with and they don’t have anything else that does the 18-49 number. AEW, it was a big money deal and I think they are most vulnerable because TBS and TNT don’t need it. It’s good to have and the ratings were certainly good enough to justify the money in the original deal, but if you stuff takes away 15%, we don’t know… if the [HBO] If the maximum numbers are very large, it may still be worthwhile even with these lower numbers, but we don’t know for sure what the maximum numbers are.”
NXT’s dominance over AEW in their annual head-to-head battle is a far cry from AEW’s winning ways during the Wednesday Night War. AEW won that war with an impressive 63-10 record in viewership, with two draws and NXT being forced to move back to Tuesday nights. NXT has returned as the most successful show, especially in terms of total viewers over the past year. Since NXT’s move to the CW on October 1, 2024, so has NXT defeated AEW in total viewers in 48 out of 52 weeks.
It’s worth noting that every day in the history of NXT on the CW, the Men’s World Champion has been black. Imagine that.
NXT extending its winning streak in its annual head-to-head war with AEW was already academic, but Tony Khan and co. didn’t even go into battle. NXT built its show around a high-profile NXT vs. TNA storyline, resulting in a Survivor Series-style showdown between Team NXT and Team TNA. Showdown was ended by two elimination matches for women and men respectively.
By the end of the night, TNA defeated NXT 3-2 in five interpromotional matches.
Tony Khan remains scared of WWE
AEW did very little to build up Tuesday’s Dynamite, aside from extending the running time by half an hour. Despite being promoted to Title Tuesday, AEW Dynamite only recorded two title matches in 2.5 hours. Kyle Fletcher defeated Kyle O’Reilly for the TNT Championship. Mercedes Mone defeated Lacey Lane (the former Kayden Carter) in an open challenge for the TBS Championship. With all due respect to Lane, the reveal hardly lived up to the limited hype of “A Local Florida Talent.”
Tony Khan avoiding the smoke of WWE has become a major theme in 2025. AEW has moved several pay-per-views to daytime as an effort to avoid mutual counter-programming of WWE PLEs. This last happened when WWE’s Wrestlepalooza debut on ESPN was set to go up against AEW All Out 2025. Khan promptly moved All Out to daytime.
“We were able to hold on and move and make it work really well for us,” Khan said about AEW avoiding same-day live WWE events. “There will always be tough competition, and in this sport it is a very tough competition, a kind of competition where you have to work very hard 52 weeks a year.”
Tony Khan’s ‘hold and move’ makes sense from a business perspective. Taking on the biggest wrestling promotion in the world is a tall order, and even AEW’s flagship show has failed to beat WWE’s developmental brand over the past five years. But Khan chose WWE and created a dynamic where WWE can determine AEW’s start time at any time. AEW lets WWE bully them out of their own timeslot, and as a result, AEW fans have to fly in at different times. This inconvenience sometimes results in AEW paying Sickos a stick-and-move fee by rescheduling their flights.
WWE reportedly no longer has any counter-programming plans for the remainder of 2025. But given the accuracy of media reports and the ever-changing landscape of professional wrestling, this should be taken with a grain of salt.
WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Head-to-Head Ratings
- October 7, 2025 | WWE NXT 625,000; AEW Dynamite 321,000
- November 6, 2024 | WWE NXT 619,000; AEW Dynamite 523,000
- October 8, 2024 | WWE NXT 874,000; AEW Dynamite 329,000
- October 10, 2023 | WWE NXT 921,000; AEW Dynamite 621,000
- October 18, 2022 | AEW Dynamite 752,000; WWE NXT 656,000
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