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AEW Beats NXT in TV Ratings with Sting, Young Bucks and Double or Nothing Hype
May 20, 2021
AEW Dynamite brought in better ratings than WWE NXT once again this week.
According to F4WOnline's Bryan Alvarez, Dynamite averaged 821,000 viewers during its two-hour broadcast on TNT, while NXT brought in 697,000 viewers for its two-hour show on USA Network, per Showbuzz Daily.
Dynamite primarily focused on building toward the upcoming Double or Nothing pay-per-view. That included a main event Tag Team Championship match pitting The Young Bucks against The Varsity Blonds.
The Young Bucks won to retain the titles, but Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston ran out and attacked them afterward. It was then announced that Mox and Kingston will challenge The Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championships at Double or Nothing.
Also, The Inner Circle accepted The Pinnacle's challenge of a Stadium Stampede match at Double or Nothing despite the stipulation that The Inner Circle must disband if they lose.
Additionally, Dynamite featured a brawl that saw Sting and Darby Allin clash with Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page, which set the stage for a tag team match at Double or Nothing.
Other moments of note included Christian Cage beating Matt Sydal, Moxley and Kingston defeating The Acclaimed, Hikaru Shida beating Rebel, Serena Deeb defeating Red Velvet, Anthony Ogogo beating Austin Gunn, and Orange Cassidy refusing to remove himself from the AEW World Championship three-way match at Double or Nothing despite Kenny Omega trying to convince him.
WWE NXT featured a major title change in the main event, as Bronson Reed beat Johnny Gargano in a steel cage match to become the new North American champion.
Reed overcame multiple attempts by Austin Theory to interfere and scored the biggest win of his career on the 14-year anniversary of his start in wrestling.
NXT also featured an appearance from WWE Hall of Famer "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, who distracted Cameron Grimes during his match against Jake Atlas, causing Grimes to lose.
Plus, Hit Row's Top Dolla and Ashante Adonis beat Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari, Toni Storm defeated Zoey Stark, Legado del Fantasma beat Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher, Sarray defeated Aliyah, and Killian Dain beat Alexander Wolfe, followed by Imperium members Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel attacking Wolfe.
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