NXT outdraws AEW in ratings and total audience, AEW finishes ahead in key demos and ranks among top five cable shows in final Wednesday battle

NXT Takeover “Stand & Deliver: Night 1” outdrew AEW Dynamite on TNT in total viewership and rating, but AEW remained ahead in the key demos.

NXT on USA drew 768,000 live and same-night viewers on USA Network, up 114,000 from last week’s 654,000. That total does not include viewership on the Peacock simulcast, so more people watched live than that number indicates.

AEW Dynamite drew 688,000 live and same-night viewers on TNT, down 12,000 fron last week’s 700,000 total. AEW hyped a Mike Tyson appearance on social media earlier in the week.

NXT outdrew AEW in cable rating (the percent of homes with access to TNT and USA who tuned into the shows) by a 0.54 to 0.47 margin. Last week, AEW outdrew NXT by a 0.55 to 0.49 margin. The two shows tied at 0.55 two weeks ago. NXT last outdrew AEW in the cable rating on Feb. 24 and Feb. 17.

In the key 18-49 demographic, AEW drew a typical 0.28 rating, right between last week’s 0.26 and the prior week’s 0.30. NXT drew a 0.22 rating, a notch above last week’s 0.21, and the best they’ve done in quite a while. The prior three weeks drew 0.14, 0.13, and 0.18 in that demo.

Among the 18-49 male demogrpahic, AEW outdrew NXT by a 0.38 to 0.24 margin. In the 18-34 male demo, AEW outdrew NXT by a 0.15 to 0.10 margin.

While NXT and USA can celebrate and tout that they won the final ratings and viewership battle, AEW and TNT can boast that they finished no. 5 among all cable shows on Wednesday, behind only two NBA games on ESPN, MTV’s “Challenge: Double Agent” and Bravo’s “Housewives of New Jersey” programs. NXT finished no. 11, barely missing out on a top ten finish; NXT drew 0.22 and the no. 10 show on TLC drew a 0.23.

It’s a fitting end to the head-to-head battle between the shows, giving both companies and networks a bragging point. NXT utilized the “Takeover” branding to elevate their final Wednesday night show, and AEW produced a Mike Tyson appearance to try to secure a win.