WWE NXT Barely Beats AEW Dynamite With Cinematic Main Event Between Gargano And Ciampa

WWE NXT scored its first ratings win over AEW in 2020 with a broadcast of NXT TakeOver that featured matches originally scheduled for the April 4 NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay. The event was subsequently canceled due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.

NXT barely edged AEW Dynamite by 1,000 viewers as AEW’s 2020 win-streak came to an end amid a show dominated by pre-taped vignettes and filler.

AEW Dynamite drew an average viewership of 692,000 up 1% from 685,000 last week. Dynamite came in at No. 32 in the Top 150 original cable telecasts among the 18-49 demographic.

WWE NXT garnered 693,000 viewers, up 17% from 590,000 last week, coming in at No. 51 in the 18-49 demo. This marks the fourth consecutive week NXT has not placed in the 18-49 Top 50.

AEW Dynamite vs. WWE NXT: Wednesday, April 8, 2020

• AEW Dynamite Total Viewership—692,000
• AEW Dynamite Rating in 18-49 Demo—.26, No. 32
• WWE NXT Total Viewership—693,000
• WWE NXT Rating in 18-49 Demo—.19, No. 51

WWE NXT was shaping up to do the better number as AEW Dynamite—headlined by a quarterfinal match between Cody and Shawn Spears in the TNT Championship tournament—aired several video packages throughout.

Among the many pre-taped vignettes were two hype videos in anticipation for next week’s AEW World Championship match between Jake Hager and Jon Moxley. Pre-taped videos are typically a ratings killer, as evidenced by NXT posting a record-low 542,000 viewers for a show that consisted exclusively of pre-taped vignettes.

This week, however, NXT continued to air NXT TakeOver in piecemeal fashion compared to AEW’s magazine style production. Io Shirai won a six-woman Ladder Match to become No. 1 Contender for Charlotte’s NXT Women’s Championship, while in the night’s main event, Johnny Gargano received help from wife Candice LeRae to defeat Tommaso Ciampa. The longtime rivals brawled in a one-hour, cinematic showdown billed as “One Final Beat.”

Between the buildup and its top championship at stake, AEW will look to return to its winning ways with an advertised No Holds Barred between the aforementioned Hager and Moxley for the AEW Championship. NXT has several high-profile matches, and even a tournament, advertised, but as of this writing no details have been revealed as to when they will take place.

Upcoming AEW Dynamite Debuts, Matches and Segments

• Lance Archer vs. Colt Cabana—Quarterfinal Match in the TNT Championship Tournament*
• Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin—Quarterfinal Match in the TNT Championship Tournament
• Dusty Rhodes vs. Kip Sabian—Quarterfinal Match in the TNT Championship Tournament
• Elite Deletion

Upcoming WWE NXT Debuts, Matches and Segments

• Io Shirai vs. Charlotte Flair—NXT Women’s Championship
• Debuts of Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux
• Tournament to Decide the Interim Cruiserweight champion
• Velveteen Dream vs. Adam Cole