AEW Rampage bounced back from last week’s all-time low on October 15.
According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, 578,000 viewers watched the show on Friday night, and Rampage scored a 0.24 rating in the 18 to 49 demographic, which ranked fourth among all cable shows. Both of these numbers are substantial increases from last week’s respective figures of 502,000 viewers and a 0.17 rating.
There are a few important factors beyond these numbers; WWE SmackDown aired on FS1, and it went head-to-head with AEW for the first half of the latter program. Thurston notes that SmackDown and Rampage seemingly tied in the 18 to 49 demographic. But based on the rankings, WWE might have edged AEW. Plus, a special Buy In show on AEW’s YouTube channel at 9 p.m. EST served as a lead-in to Rampage.
Additionally, the Pro Wrestling Torch reports that AEW Rampage beat SmackDown in the 18 to 49 male demographic by a score of 0.34 to 0.32
Last Friday's #AEW Rampage drew 578,000 total viewers, above 502K prior week. Smackdown drew 866,000 on FS1. AEW and #WWE tied in 18-49 demo (0.24), 18-34 male demo (0.20). AEW *beat* WWE in 18-49 male demo 0.34 to 0.32
— Pro Wrestling Torch (@PWTorch) October 18, 2021
AEW President and General Manager Tony Khan commented on the news by saying that he didn’t ask for a head-to-head fight with SmackDown, but he happy to engage in it:
I’m only estimating but this suggests to me that we probably did pretty well in the yet-to-be-released head-to-head ratings from 10pm-10:30pm, a fight that I didn’t ask for or start, but one for which I was more than willing to show up and in which I was thrilled to participate.
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) October 18, 2021
Update: Thurston later reported that SmackDown barely edged out Rampage in the primary 18 to 49 demographic; 314,000 viewers watched SmackDown while 313,000 tuned in to Rampage.
In another update, the Pro Wrestling Torch reported that Rampage beat SmackDown in the 18 to 49 demographic when the two shows went head-to-head for half an hour, 328,000 viewers watched Rampage, and 285,000 viewers tuned in to SmackDown.
LET’S GO @AEW FANS, WRESTLERS, STAFF! EVERYONE, LFG #AEW!!!! https://t.co/CMAT5F0jCd
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) October 18, 2021
The October 15 episode featured CM Punk vs. Matt Sydal and a six-man tag team bout in which former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos made his in-ring debut.
For a full discussion of all things AEW, please check out “2 Dynamite Dudes On A Rampage.”
