Fans shared their reactions as this week’s AEW Dynamite ratings and viewership broke the million mark for the first time since October 2022.
AEW Dynamite paid tribute to Ring of Honor veteran Jay Briscoe following his tragic death last week. The main event featured the long-awaited debut of Mark Briscoe, who took on his brother’s legendary opponent and personal friend, Jay Lethal. It was an emotionally charged fight and Mark dedicated his victory to his brother in a fitting tribute.
Briscoe entered wearing both his and his brother’s ROH tag title belts, with the pair at their 13th reign when Jay passed away. He received a standing ovation from the moment he entered to the moment he exited the ring and won with his brother’s finisher, the J-Driller.
AEW Dynamite averaged 969k last week, as well as a 0.31 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This week, the Wednesday night flagship had 1,003,000 viewers with an improved 0.32 demo rating.
Fans have since had their say on the numbers, with a collective celebration of breaking the coveted million barrier.
As might be expected, most of the reactions were in solidarity with The Briscoes. It couldn’t have been more fitting for a tribute show than the best viewership since last October.
Despite the exceptional goodwill towards the figures and the show itself, there were, of course, detractors. Regardless, Dynamite saw steady growth in viewership on a weekly basis in January.
What else happened during this week’s AEW Dynamite?
Action Andretti and Ricky Starks kicked off the night with a tag team match against Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho. Despite both Andretti and Starks picking up individual victories over Jericho in previous weeks, he and Guevara were victorious on this occasion.
Darby Allin had his TNT title on the line next, as he faced Buddy Matthews of The House of Black. Darby retained his title despite interference from the rest of the faction. The ‘JungleHook’ tandem of Jungle Boy and Hook defeated The Firm’s Ethan Page and Matt Hardy.
Bryan Danielson continued his journey to face the MJF World Champion at Revolution, defeating Brian Cage, although a post-match attack left the American Dragon worse. Before the main event, Toni Storm clashed with Ruby Soho. Ruby got a surprise assist from Britt Baker to beat the Storm.
What did you think of this week’s AEW Dynamite? Share your thoughts in the comments below.