Horrendous Update for Tony Khan as AEW Dynamite Fails Miserably Hours After the $21.4B UFC & WWE Merger

The biggest news in the sports entertainment industry came out a few days ago. UFC’s parent company Endeavor took over WWE at a staggering $ 9.3 billion. Now WWE along with UFC is a part of the TKO group which stands at a massive $21.4 billion. These numbers are not just intimidating but also a sign of danger for the competitors of both entities.

The first one to face the wrath of this merger was none other than Tony Khan. AEW’s weekly show Dynamite faced the consequences of the newly formed conglomerate that they are now competing with.

Dynamite failed to make a blast

The most recent edition of AEW Dynamite unfolded at Cincinnati’s Heritage Bank Center, boasting a lineup filled with top-tier wrestling talent. Yet, the most glaring aspect of the show was the disappointing turnout in the crowd. Despite a card full of major AEW wrestlers, Dynamite’s arena remained half-empty. One fan took to Twitter to point it out.

This isn’t the first instance of AEW Dynamite grappling with a lackluster attendance. Over recent months, the promotion has witnessed a decline in the number of fans showing up at some of their events.

 Hangman Page, Jon Moxley, and Toni Storm were present in the lineup. Exciting matches were the order of the day, with the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament final pitting Roderick Strong against Samoa Joe. Meanwhile, Page went toe-to-toe with ‘The Machine’ Brian Cage. Toni Storm also secured her shot at the Women’s World Championship title by triumphing in a four-way battle.

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Interestingly, AEW’s ‘All In’ extravaganza at Wembley Stadium managed to attract a significantly large crowd for them. However, their weekly shows are struggling to maintain the same level of fan enthusiasm within the arena. Apart from their audience turnover at stadiums, viewership and ratings are in a fix too.

AEW Dynamite’s drop in viewership

The viewership and ratings of the AEW Dynamite episode held in May were an alarm for Tony Khan.  According to ShowBuzzDaily, the show drew in 776,000 viewers and achieved a 0.28 rating in the 18-49 age group, securing the eighth spot in cable demo ratings for the night. However, it’s worth noting that this marks a notable decrease in viewership compared to its 2019 episodes.

The first-ever episode of AEW Dynamite saw a viewership of 1.409 million viewers. These numbers were maintained for a couple of weeks after its debut. This is the first time since October 18, when Dynamite aired on a Tuesday, that the viewership has dipped below the 800,000 mark. The last time Dynamite saw fewer than 800,000 viewers on a Wednesday night was on June 15, 2022. The September 6th episode of AEW Dynamite saw a TV viewership of 887,000 viewers. 

With the merger of UFC and WWE forming TKO, the conglomerate has bigger plans. This might put Tony Khan’s AEW in a situation that might be difficult for him to deal with.

What do you think about Dynamite dropping viewers?

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