AEW Dynamite viewership drops with Khan’s major announcement as lead story

[Big Red Machine]

https://www.pwtorch.com/site/2022/04/21 ... ouncement/

BY ZACK HEYDORN, PWTORCH ASSISTANT EDITOR

April 21, 2022


This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite drew 930,000 average viewers and a 0.37 rating in the key adult 18-49 demographic. That viewership number is down from last week’s 977,000, while the key demo rating remained flat.

Dynamite featured seven matches and a major announcement from Tony Khan. During the first hour of the show, Khan walked to the top of the stage and welcomed the New Japan Pro Wrestling president with him. As the duo was about to make the major announcement, Adam Cole cut in and delivered the news instead. Cole revealed that AEW and New Japan would combine forces on a special PPV event on June 26 in Chicago called Forbidden Door. The show will feature the best of AEW against the best of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Cole then said that he had a special guest to introduce and Jay White. White briefly spoke on the mic and further hyped Forbidden Door. During this segment, Cole announced that he would be facing Tomohiro Ishii on Friday’s episode of Rampage in an Owen Hart Foundation tournament qualifying match.

The seven featured matches included C.M. Punk vs. Dustin Rhodes, Wardlow vs. The Butcher, Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jungle Boy in an Owen Hart Foundation tournament qualifying match, Blackpool Combat Club vs. Brock Anderson & Dante Martin & Lee Moriarty, Hook vs. Anthony Henry, Britt Baker vs. Danielle Kamela in a women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament qualifying match, and Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo in a Casket Match.