On May 31st, AEW Collision delivered an exciting episode as part of the lead-up to their Texas event on July 12th. Mina Shirakawa rebounded from her loss to Toni Storm by defeating Sky Blue, while Okada triumphed over Anthony Bowens in the AEW Continental Championship Eliminator match. The show benefited significantly from its strong lead-in, airing right after the final episode of “NBA Inside the NBA” on TNT. This helped “Collision” attract an average of 504,000 viewers, a 43% increase from the 353,000 viewers the previous week, and far exceeded the four-week average of 376,000 viewers, according to Wrestlenomics. The lead-in contributed to a total of 961,000 viewers during the first quarter, although viewership dropped to 273,000 by 1:43 AM until the show ended.
In terms of the key 18-49 demographic, the strong lead-in helped AEW Collision achieve a 0.18 rating, marking a remarkable 125% increase from the 0.08 rating posted on May 22 and matching the four-week average. While Saturday night’s cable and network rankings remain unreleased, Wrestlenomics confirmed that “Collision” was positioned just behind the UFC Fight Night event on ESPN, which averaged 578,000 viewers and earned a 0.19 rating in the 18-49 demo.
Fan Take: This surge in viewership and demographic ratings is a positive indicator for AEW, showing growing interest and engagement among key wrestling fans. It signals strong momentum going into their July Texas event and highlights AEW’s potential to compete closely with major sports entertainment broadcasts.
