December is an eventful month for AEW, and the company aimed to close the year strongly with the Winter Is Coming edition of AEW Dynamite, which aired on December 10th. This show featured Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron becoming the inaugural AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions. At the Continental Classic, both "Speedball" Mike Bailey and Kazuchika Okada earned three points each, while Samoa Joe successfully defended his AEW Men’s World Championship against Eddie Kingston for the first time.
Given the packed card, AEW anticipated a rise in viewership, and the numbers confirmed this. Reports from Wrestlenomics and The Programming Insider revealed that the 2025 Winter Is Coming episode averaged 516,000 viewers, marking a 4% increase from the December 3 episode’s 496,000 viewers. Although this falls 2% below the most recent four-week average of 525,000 viewers, it remains the highest viewership for Dynamite since the Blood and Guts episode aired on November 12.
While overall ratings increased, the key 18-49 demographic viewership remained unchanged with a 0.09 rating for the second week in a row. However, this rating is 18% below the trailing four-week average of 0.11, and due to competition that night, Dynamite did not rank in the top five for Wednesday night primetime cable shows.
Next week, AEW will take Dynamite to Manchester, England, for its first-ever Holiday Bash special. Highlights will include The Elite facing the Don Callis Family for the first time in over two years, FTR defending the AEW World Tag Team Championship against The Bang Bang Gang, continuation of the Continental Classic Tournament, and the return of the Dynamite Diamond Ring Battle Royal.
Fan Take: This surge in viewership shows AEW’s growing appeal and ability to captivate fans with meaningful storylines and historic milestones, such as crowning the first Women’s World Tag Team Champions. The upcoming international Holiday Bash signals AEW’s expanding global footprint, which could significantly impact the sport by introducing new rivalries and exciting moments for fans worldwide.
