Update: The post was updated after its initial posting to include quarter-hour viewership information.
This past Saturday night, at AEW Worlds End, MJF lost the AEW World Championship to Samoa Joe. Following the loss, he was confronted by The Devil, who revealed himself to be his former friend Adam Cole. Cole was flanked by his new Undisputed Kingdom members Wardlow, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, and Roderick Strong. Friedman’s loss was not a huge surprise to many fans, as he had penned an emotional editorial days before the event detailing the pain he was in and how tired his body was. Now that he is no longer champion, he is reportedly weighing whether to rehab his severely injured shoulder or undergo surgery, which could take him off AEW Dynamite and other AEW programming for several months.
Wrestlenomics reports that last night’s post-Worlds End episode of AEW Dynamite, which did not feature Friedman, who has routinely drawn eyeballs during the quarter-hours he is on screen, drew an average overall audience of 801,000 viewers, with a .26 P18 – 49 rating. This is down 5% in average overall and 16% in P18 – 49 viewership from the week before. Compared to the average audience from the previous four episodes of Dynamite, it was down 3% overall and 7% in P18 – 49 viewership.
The highest average overall audience and P18 – 49 viewership came in the first quarter-hour and featured a Big Bang Theory episode as its lead-in. It drew an average overall audience of 1,063,000 viewers, with about 441,000 of those in the P18 – 49 demo. It included the in-ring Undisputed Kingdom promo segment, as well as the melee involving Bullet Club Gold and The Acclaimed.
The second-highest average overall and P18 – 49 viewership came in the second quarter-hour. It drew around 858,000 viewers, with about 370,000 of those in the P18 – 49 demo. It featured a video vignette for Eddie Kingston, a Daniel Garcia promo, and the beginning of the match between AEW Intercontinental Champion Orange Cassidy and Dante Martin.
With an average overall viewership of 690,000 viewers and about 284,000 of those in the P18 – 49 demo, the eighth and final quarter-hour saw the lowest viewership for the episode. It featured Swerve Strickland taking on Daniel Garcia. The five-minute overrun for the finish of the match saw a slight bump to 713,000 overall viewers, with about 303,000 in the P18 – 49 demo.