Following the news that All Elite Wrestling will be coming to the United Kingdom in 2023, a new report has revealed that television ratings for Dynamite are higher than ever.
A total of 201,000 UK wrestling fans watched Dynamite on October 28th, which was headlined by Jon Moxley defending his AEW World Title against Penta El Zero Miedo. This is an all-time record for the show since it began airing on ITV4. For comparison, the October 14th episode of the show attracted only 148,000 viewers according to a new report from Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, meaning an impressive viewership growth of 35% in just two weeks.
New Time Slot Brings Record Ratings For AEW Dynamite.
The surge in new viewers seems to have come from Dynamite’s time slot change on ITV4. Previously, Dynamite was airing anytime between 10:30 pm to 11:55 pm, never truly settling into a permanent time slot. However, the move to 9pm seems to have worked wonders for viewership.
Meanwhile, Rampage did 99,000 UK viewers on the 25th of October. This is of course a significantly lower television rating than Dynamite, but one that follows the trend of AEW ratings in the United States, with Rampage consistently bringing in less than half of the audience that Dynamite sees.
AEW’s popularity growth overseas couldn’t come at a better time for the group, having recently announced that they will be touring the UK in 2023. Though several of their roster members are very seasoned in competing in front of UK audiences, this will be the promotion’s first-ever time in the area.
No further details for the tour have been announced yet, though all eyes seem to be pointing towards a show at Craven Cottage in West London. This is the home of Fulham FC which is owned by Tony Khan’s father Shad Khan. Tony Khan revealed his wishes to have an AEW show at Craven Cottage in an interview just last year noting:
“I want to bring AEW to Craven Cottage, very much so and Craven Cottage is very special to me.”
Now with their increased viewership and a permanent time slot on ITV4, AEW could be set for success with captivating the UK audience and turning them into ticket buyers.