Hot off the heels of AEW Dynasty in St. Louis, All Elite Wrestling returned to the hallowed turf of Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida for the first episode of "AEW Dynamite" in the lead-up to Double or Nothing 2024. The company has a new world champion in Swerve Stricklandanda new TBS Champion in Willow Nightingale, but how many fans tuned in for the first stop on the road to Las Vegas?
According to Wrestlenomics, the April 24 edition of "AEW Dynamite" averaged a total of 683,000 viewers, marking a 10% decrease from the April 17 edition of the show. Not only was this a decrease in average viewership, but this was also the lowest average an episode of "AEW Dynamite" has earned since the January 6, 2021 episode of the show, excluding episodes that were pre-empted. On top of this, the number in the key 18-49 demographic also took a hit this week as the show managed a 0.23, a 12% decrease from the 0.26 number the show earned the previous week.
The low rating can be at least partially attributed tothe strong sports competition happening on the same day, with "Dynamite"ranking sixth overall for the night, placing behind the two NBA play-off games on TNT, two NHL Stanley Cup play-off games on ESPN, and an episode of Inside the NBA on TNT, with the two NBA games drawing a combined total of 5,670,000 viewers. The episode also, atypically, aired live on the West Coast three hours earlier than its usual delayed time slot.
Fans who did tune in to see "AEW Dynamite" got to see Jon Moxley defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Powerhouse Hobbs, Swerve Strickland defeat Kyle Fletcher, Will Ospreay earn a shot at the AEW International Championship for Double or Nothing, and The Elite viciously attack company President Tony Khan.
