It was a very one-sided night in the latest WWE and AEW head-to-head.
November 25th 2023 will be remembered as the night that CM Punk made his WWE return at Survivor Series. It was also the night that Randy Orton made his return to the company after more than 18 months away. With an Orton return definite and a Punk return very much a possibility, wrestling fans tuned in en masse to catch the latest Premium Live Event.
Speaking at the press conference after Survivor Series, Triple H touted the success of the event, both financially and in terms of overall viewership, which only grew as the night went on:
“Tonight was the highest-grossing Survivor Series in history. As a matter of fact, the highest-grossing event here with the exception of WrestleMania [22]. It was neck and neck with WrestleMania but that is something special here. 37 years of Survivor Series, to be the biggest one ever. Sponsorship is up 25% from last year, then the viewership, just spectacular tonight. We opened up the show with the Women’s WarGames match. Right out of the gate by far the largest viewership of all time and it just grew throughout the evening. We don’t have the final numbers yet but we will, and this one was a whopper.”
While many will remember this event as the day that Punk made his return after nearly a decade away, it was not the only wrestling to take place that night.
Going head-to-head with WWE programming, AEW aired both Rampage and Collision alongside Survivor Series on Saturday night. As has been the case in 2023, Collision has suffered greatly in the ratings when going head-to-head against their biggest rival.
How Much Were AEW’s Ratings Affected By WWE?
AEW Rampage saw an average audience of 233,000 for the show, down 43% from the 2022 Rampage audience. Meanwhile, Collision averaged out at 294,000 this week, which was a slight rise from the November 17 show which averaged at 270,000 viewers.
Collision countered Survivor Series by focusing on the blue league in the Continental Classic.
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