Update On WWE Vs AEW Ratings Battle In US & Abroad

WWE business has been trending in a positive direction for several months, with TV ratings and live attendance up year over year. Last week's "SmackDown" in particular, showed how much the Bloodline storyline is connecting, with a massive ratings increase for the celebration of Roman Reigns's 1,000 days as champion coming off of the Jimmy Uso turn at Night of Champions. At the same time, AEW's ratings and attendance are generally down year over year. Some new details on each company's standing at the moment came together in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

All three weekly WWE shows are up year over year in the key demographic (the one most valued by advertisers) of adults aged 18 to 49, with "Raw" on a 19-week streak, "SmackDown" on a 22-week streak, and "NXT" being up year over year 22 of the last 26 weeks. AEW, however, is seeing the opposite results. "Dynamite" is on a streak of being down year over year for 26 weeks and "Rampage" down 24 of the last 26 weeks. 

In the United Kingdom, ratings for AEW programming have fallen dramatically since the April 5 announcement of the All In show at Wembley Stadium. Though "Dynamite" has had difficulty sustaining 100,000 or more viewers since the week of the Wembley announcement, the viewership had been inconsistent for a few months. The real decline appears to have started in January, as "Dynamite" went down from comfortably hovering in the 150,000 to 200,000 viewer range most weeks to a range that was generally about 85,000 to 155,000.