AEW Collision, Battle Of The Belts Ratings Report: 1/13/24

"AEW Collision" has been no stranger to football competition, going up against college football since September and most recently the NFL. But last Saturday gave "Collision," and the latest incarnation of "AEW Battle of the Belts," its toughest competition to date, as the shows went head to head against a first-round playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins.

Unsurprisingly, the game took its toll, particularly in the coveted 18-49 demographic. Wrestlenomics reports that "Collision" drew 400K total viewers and 0.10 in 18-49. The good news for "Collision" is the show held up well in total viewership, decreasing less than 1% from last week's 402K total viewers. In 18-49, however, viewership slid 23%, a decent fall from last week's 0.13. Both numbers were the lowest "Collision" had drawn since November 25.

Unsurprisingly, "Collision" drew its best numbers before the start of Dolphins vs. Chiefs, with the opening segment featuring the start of Adam Copeland vs. Lee Moriarty drawing 497K viewers and 0.13 in 18-49. QH2, featuring the rest of the Copeland-Moriarty match, would dip 416K and 0.10, and the show would largely fluctuate around those numbers for the rest of the way. The low point in total viewership would occur in QH7, when the start of FTR and Daniel Garcia vs. House of Black drew 353K viewers, while 18-49's low point occurred in QH3, which drew a 0.08. 

Despite the lower-than-usual overall number for the demo, "Collision's" 18-49 numbers did remain steady in the final hour of the show, ranging between 0.10 and 0.12 in QH6, the second highest number during the show. Despite the slow start, the main event also increased in the final QH, finishing with 383K total viewers, an increase of 8% from QH7.

The news was similarly a mixed bag "Battle of the Belts," which drew 351K total viewers and 0.09 in the 18-49 demo. While 18-49 numbers held up well from "Collision," total viewership dropped nearly 13%, with only the opening segment of "Battle of the Belts" topping any QH during "Collision." Even worse, the special drew its lowest rating in its history, dropping below the 397K from the last "Battle of the Belts" special in October.

As noted, "Battle of the Belts'" best QH was the start of the show, where the AEW World Tag Team Championship street fight between champions Ricky Stark and Big Bill and Le Sex Gods (Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara) drew 405K total viewers, and 0.10 in 18-49. The conclusion of the match in QH2 would drop to 347K total viewers, a 14% drop, followed by QH3, featuring the end of Julia Hart vs. Anna Jay, which drew only 315K total viewers, the low point between both "Collision" and "Battle of the Belts."

If there was any good news to take away from the special, it was in the 18-49 demo, which, similar to the final hour of "Collision," remained relatively steady. Though never equaling the start of the show, QH's 2, 3, and 4 were a 0.09, 0.08, and 0.09 respectively, with QH4, featuring Orange Cassidy vs. Preston Vance, actually increasing 15%. The slight positives extended to total viewership, which drew 336K, a 7% increase from the show's low in QH3.