Dave Meltzer Breaks Down WWE NXT Vs. AEW Wednesday Ratings Performance

This past Wednesday, "AEW Dynamite" and "WWE NXT" went head-to-head one more time. as the WWE brand shifted its show to Wednesday in light of the U.S. Presidential Election, and took the opportunity to air a special ECW-themed episode. Unfortunately for AEW fans, their show ended up "losing" the battle in terms of viewership, and in the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter," Dave Meltzer attempted to answer why this happened.

Meltzer noted that both shows were hurt by all the news coming out the day after the election, and the Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics NBA game. "'AEW Dynamite' did its second lowest Wednesday in its history at 523,000 viewers with an 0.16 (216,000 viewers) in 18-49 and an identical 0.10 in 18-34," Meltzer wrote. He further declared that AEW should have won due to having the advantage of being in it's regular slot, but that "NXT" having a special event gave them a strong showing, while "Dynamite" just had a normal show. Meltzer, however, noted that "NXT" had the broadcast network advantage in this case, again emphasizing how "NXT" advertising as a special show ended up making the difference.

"In the end, both were hurt by the other. 'NXT' would have likely done better with the theme, and AEW would have been down from usual with the heavy news and sports," Meltzer added. "AEW should not have lost on their night in 18-49." Meltzer then pointed to the negative stigma against AEW, explaining that the promotion needs to change how they use star power, and that they're currently in a rebuilding phase. Meltzer also noted that great matches won't be able to save AEW. "They badly need a promotion and P.R. make over or they could become early '90s WCW."